Where Garry Oak Woodlands Exist Now

 In Canada, Garry oak ecosystems exist only in British Columbia — almost exclusively within a narrow coastal strip of southeast Vancouver Island, in the nearby Gulf Islands, and in two areas of the Fraser River Valley. 

 


They used to cover a much, much wider area but have been decimated to less than 5% of their original land. 95% of the Garry Oak Woodland is gone.

This is due to two main reasons. The first is destruction for cities, suburbs and agriculture. The second is due to fire suppression. Occasional low-intensity wildfires (set by First Nations) would clear out the Douglas Fir and other conifers, but leave the mature Garry Oaks. Now there's just lots of conifers everywhere, and the Garry Oak Ecosystem is rare.

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