In early 2020, the Ktunaxa Nation, with the support of federal and provincial governments, declared the Qat’muk Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area, protecting the Jumbo Valley and 700 square kilometres around it forever.
The fight for Jumbo was always about more than just stopping a ski resort. It was about defending the heart of the wild Purcell Mountains and giving grizzly bears the freedom to roam.
Now, a new ski resort is threatening to fragment a different population of grizzly bears — as well as wolverines, mountain goats, and many other species — in Canada’s neighbouring Selkirk Mountains.
The proposed Zincton Resort would operate year round — skiing in winter, hiking and biking in summer — across 5,500 hectares near New Denver, British Columbia. If it proceeds, it would isolate a vulnerable grizzly bear population from larger populations to the north, and destroy important grizzly bear foraging areas, as well as fragmenting important wolverine denning areas.
Despite the significant threat this resort poses to local wildlife, BC’s government decided the resort won’t undergo an environmental assessment. Wildsight filed a petition in the BC Supreme Court seeking a judicial review of that decision. Should this petition succeed, it could set a precedent for when and how future all-season resorts are evaluated.
Learn more about the proposed Zincton Resort, and help safeguard the wild central Selkirks.
