Forests and Flowers

The natural splendour of Wells Gray Country is one of the greatest attractions for many visitors. Here you will find high tundra, alpine meadows filled with wildflowers, dense forests populated by ancient trees, and lush river-valleys. This is a meeting-point for several of BC's biozones, which gives us a very varied population of trees and plants.

Meadowlands
When the land just below the high peaks and alpine tundra eventually loses its snow-cover sometime in June, spectacular displays of wild-flowers burst into bloom. The first is of yellow Avalanche or Glacier Lilies which carpet the meadows until mid-July. Later, Indian Paintbrush, Alpine Daisies, Lupins and Horsehairs provide an amazing multi-coloured display into the middle of August. The Trophy Meadows offer some the most impressive displays to be found anywhere, with others near Fight Lake, the Caribou Meadows and Table Mtn.

The fat roots of Glacier Lilies are a prime source of food for the grizzly population. Not all the holes to be seen up here are the work of marmots and gophers!

The Deep, Dark Woods
Thick forests blanket the land lower than 1800m (6,000ft). In the upper elevations the trees are mostly subalpine fir and engelmann spruce, merging into interior cedar-hemlock lower in the valleys. This is a rich and varied habitat, in which fire plays an important role: after an area burns, ‘pioneer species’ such as silver birch, aspen, willow and cottonwood are the first to grow. These provide ideal habitat for moose, which feed on the new shoots (‘moose’ comes from a native word meaning ‘twig-eater’) and are able to see predators in the more open country. In time, this light cover gives way to fir, spruce and pine, and the shade-intolerant hardwoods fade away. The ‘climax forest’ which eventually develops, after perhaps as long as 400 to 700 years, is typified by stands of large western red cedar and hemlock. The scene is then set once again for lightning to ignite a wildfire, and for the cycle to start all over again. Patches of the younger, more varied woods are often clearly visible among the darker stands of conifers: look out for them on the hillsides as you tour the area!

Fire On The Mountain
Fire is an important component of the natural system, but humans should always take great care to prevent setting wildfires themselves! Please pay particular attention to anything which might set natural material alight, such as campfires, hot machinery and - above all - cigarettes. If a fire is started by lightning, it’s part of the environment. If it’s set by humans, it’s not - and it is then also much more likely to be dangerous to people, property, or both.

Leave It As You Found It
This is a wild place, a land where nature still reigns supreme: we all need to take responsibility for keeping it this way. The following are excellent principles to follow:
    - Take only memories and photographs: leave only footprints
    - If you take it into the Park, take it out again
    - Travel and camp on durable surfaces wherever possible
    - Minimize campfire impacts
    - Respect wildlife: this is their home, not yours
    - Be considerate of other visitors
    - Safeguard the purity of water in rivers and lakes