DID YOU KNOW?
Local legend tells of "Little People" who live in Harper Creek area - making homes out of the limestone caves and causing mischief to anyone who ventures to close.
Access this Ecospace
The Harper Creek Natural Area is only accessible via ATV and snowmobile and is not frequented.
Harper Creek
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Undulating lowlands interspersed with wetlands and forests, Harper is an ecologically rich landscape that is home to free roaming bison and woodland caribou.
Sharing its eastern border with Wood Buffalo National Park, Harper is boreal forest landscape in far northwestern Alberta that is home to many wildlife species including wood bison and woodland caribou. Directly south of the Peace River and east of Fort Vermilion, AWA’s Harper Area of Concern is 428km2 of public lands that includes the Harper Creek Natural Area. Mixedwood forests, wetlands, limestone caves and oxbow lakes characterize these lowlands. Resource extraction, logging and agricultural developments continue to infringe on this sensitive landscape, ultimately changing its ecological integrity and functioning.
Designated in 1995 under the Special Areas Program, Harper Creek Natural Area is managed under the legislation of the Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangeland Act with the intent to “preserve and protect sites of local significance and provide opportunities for low-impact nature-based recreation and nature appreciation activities” (Government of Alberta 2017).
