Klua Lakes Protected Area

Klua Lakes Protected Area overlaps with traditional use areas of the Sekani, Slavey, Cree and Beaver cultures of the Prophet River and Fort Nelson First Nations.

The area was identified as a feature of interest in the late 1970s. A Notation of Interest for future park development was established on June 15, 1984. The 1995 Protected Area Strategy report identified Klua Lakes as an area of interest. The Fort Nelson land and Resource Management Plan in 1997 confirmed the importance of protected status for this area.

The area provides representation of the Fort Nelson Lowland and Muskwa Plateau ecosections and is characterized by unique flat-topped plateaus with steep, near vertical faces. Klua Lakes occupy a basin scalloped into the sedimentary escarpment; a line of scenic bluffs mark the rim of the basin. These escarpments, located in the Boreal White and Black Spruce Biogeoclimatic Zone, are distinct landscape features and they are dominated by aspen and white spruce stands. The lakes drain eastward over the classic muskeg country of the Fort Nelson Lowlands to the northeast. The cliffs surrounding the lake are used by peregrine falcons, and support a small isolated goat population. Moose, beaver, otter and black bear are common.

Moose, black bear, woodland caribou, white-tail deer and mule deer are some of the species commonly observed in the park. Several other species make this park their home, some of which have been identified as rare or endangered. These include: 

• Cisco (provincial red list) Spottail shiner (provincial red list)
• Grizzly bear (provincial blue list)
• Trumpeter swan, Peregrine falcon
• Mountain goat