Mallory Ridge Needs Protection
The upland area to the south of Gardom Lake contains two parcels of Crown Land referred to as Mallory Ridge.
More than 100 hectares of this area is within the 417-hectare Gardom Lake watershed and it provides a significant portion of the water reaching the lake.
The remaining area contains the headwaters of two watersheds that are critical to the communities along Glenmary Road and Grange/upper Mallory Roads adjacent to Mallory Ridge.
The first attempt to protect this area occurred 23 years ago in the year 2000 when residents submitted a park proposal to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD). This resulted in Mallory Ridge being listed in the 2008 Area D Parks Plan as being high priority to become a Conservation Park in 1-2 years. At some point the Ridge became a low priority on the Regional District’s protection list and in 2020, TOLKO gave notice that it is interested in logging parts of this Crown Land including 47 hectares within the Gardom Lake watershed. This has resulted in renewed efforts to protect the area by members of the surrounding communities.
Because of the importance of these parcels of Crown Land, an Ecological and Conservation Assessment of the 255-hectare area was carried out in the spring and summer of 2022. The assessment recommends preservation of Mallory Ridge and finds it particularly valuable for the following reasons:
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Maintenance of water quality and avoidance of disruption to ground water flow to Gardom Lake
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Avoidance of groundwater impacts on residential water usage in surrounding communities
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Support of historical and on-going stewardship work at Gardom Lake
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Retention of indigenous values in the area
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Preservation of old growth recruitment forest
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Protection of species at risk in a unique transitional habitat
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Maintenance of an undisturbed wildlife corridor and habitat
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Recreational values to surrounding communities
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Mitigation of climate change as a carbon sink
NEW 2024! Click on the PDF symbol to read this document by Alex Inselberg M.Sc. (Ret.):
Characterization, Importance and Protection of Maturing Forest and Accompanying Ecosystems
on Mallory Ridge
Click on this PDF symbol to read the entire 2022 Assessment
(Protected Area Proposal) and see a map of the proposed logging (page 10):
If you wish to read a more detailed summary of the history and a list of the most recent
efforts by the Mallory Ridge Advocacy Group to achieve protection, click on this PDF symbol:
The original 2020 Mallory Ridge Threat Alert document is here:
IF YOU ARE WILLING TO JOIN THE MALLORY RIDGE ADVOCACY GROUP (NO MEMBERSHIP FEE) TO SUPPORT THE PROTECTION OF MALLORY RIDGE, COMPLETE THE MEMBERSHIP FORM ON THE HOME PAGE AND EMAIL IT TO: advocacy.mallory.ridge@gmail.com
IF YOU ARE WILLING TO HELP IN OTHER WAYS, LET US KNOW AT THE SAME ADDRESS.
VIEW FROM MALLORY RIDGE