The Peace River Break is in
the north east section of the province situated at the narrowest point of the
Rocky Mountain range allowing for critical movement and ecological connections
east-west over the Rockies and north-south between the mountain national parks
and the Muskwa-Kechika Management area to the north.
In partnership with Landsong Heritage Consulting, Ltd. and
the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and with funding support from
Mitacs, a national, not-for-profit research organization, the University of
Northern British Columbia is starting a new project beginning in January 2014
to develop a comprehensive, web-accessible mapping portal for the Peace River
Break that brings together a combination of community and traditional knowledge
and values along with scientific and technical information in a spatially-based
geographic information system.
Utilizing the Data Basin platform, this
Conservation Atlas is designed to facilitate the open exchange of critical
conservation information and impart the value of having a clear conservation
strategy between partners, the public, stakeholders and policy-makers. Based on
the principles of conservation biology and informed by local knowledge this
information will then be used to help shape comprehensive conservation planning
and implementation strategies for the Peace River Break to help identify areas
of high conservation value, including areas of high habitat quality for key
species and movement corridors.