Cherry Meadows
View of the wetlands from the Latters' house (Photo by Carol Latter)
Located in the Rocky Mountain Trench near Kimberley, British Columbia, Cherry Meadows features forests of ponderosa pine and extensive wetlands. Walking trails wind through the conservation area. Mather Creek flows through Cherry Meadows, connecting directly to Bummers Flats' ecologically sensitive wetlands.
Animals found on Cherry Meadows include badger, grizzly bear, bufflehead and westslope cutthroat trout. The wetlands are likely supporting western painted turtle, western toad, great blue heron, common nighthawk and short-eared owl. Sandhill cranes, a locally rare species, use the property. Flammulated owls and Lewis's woodpeckers have been detected nearby.
In 2018, NCC began a wetland restoration project to rehabilitate the agricutural fields to their former status as productive, naturally-functioning wetlands.
Landowners' legacy
“I'm watching for the sandhill cranes to come through right now.” ~ Walter Latter, March 2014
Walter and Carol Latter moved to Cherry Meadows in the mid-1990s after selling their previous home on Vancouver Island to BC Parks. Now the Latters have passed their land on for conservation, this time to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
“We are so glad to know it's in good hands and will be so for the foreseeable future,” Carol says.
The Latters have happily shared this land with cougars, grizzlies, moose, fox, deer, mink, river otters and many other animals.
Partners in conservation
The conservation of Cherry Meadows was made possible by generous donations from:
- Columbia Basin Trust
- Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
- US Fish & Wildlife service
- Carol & Walter Latter
