Frog Bear Conservation Corridor

Northern leopard frog (Photo by Barb Houston)

The Frog Bear Conservation Corridor is located at the south end of Kootenay Lake in the Creston Valley. It is located right in the path used by an at‐risk population of grizzly bears as they move between the Selkirk and Purcell mountains. The valley is also the only known breeding location in British Columbia of the endangered northern leopard frog.

The Frog Bear Conservation Corridor is an ongoing project. It aims to create a zone of safe passage for bears and other wide-ranging animals. The area also protects essential habitat for the many rare and important species that rely on the rich lowlands of the Creston Valley. Anchored by the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, the Frog Bear Conservation Corridor protects important wetland and forest habitat. These valley bottom lands create a wildlife corridor that leads to and from Darkwoods, the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) flagship conservation area in the West Kootenay.

Conservation context

Frog crossing sign (Photo by Pat Morrow)

The Kootenay region in southeastern British Columbia is a hot spot for some of the province's most iconic species. Here grizzly bear, elk, cougar and other large mammals roam from mountain top to valley bottom. Rivers and lakes nurture a wide diversity of aquatic species. They also provide fresh water to local communities.

Biologists have confirmed that there few corridors that allow for movement of bears and other wide-ranging animals in the human-settled area near the Canada-U.S. border. The Frog Bear Conservation Corridor is one of those rare and vital movement areas. Protecting large blocks of habitat across this corridor will create critical stepping stones across the landscape.

About the Frog Bear Conservation Corridor

• Frog Bear helps to connect the isolated South Selkirk grizzly bear population with other bear populations to the east and south.
• Several rare or at-risk species have been documented in the Creston Valley. This includes northern leopard frog, northern rubber boa, great blue heron, American bittern and western screech‐owl.
• Frog Bear provides key links between aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
• The wetlands provide vital movement corridors for migratory birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Partners in conservation

We are very grateful for the support of our many partners in achieving this conservation success, including:

• Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
• Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
• US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Wilburforce Foundation
• Columbia Basin Trust
• TD Forests Canada
• Donner Canadian Foundation
• Kootenay Conservation Program
• The estate of Patricia Boyle
• Mr. Herbert Harold Kelland
• Gerald A. Cooper-Key Foundation
• and other private donors