Coal Creek Heritage Trail June 2026 | 页面 4

Ktunaxa women and children c 1900

First Conservation Club in

Fernie Rod & Gun Club photo

BC was Founded in Fernie

To ensure healthy wildlife populations,

MINERS up

visionary miners / settlers founded the

Fernie Rod and Gun Club( FRGC)

COAL CREEK were FERNIE’ S

Ktunaxa riders from Tobacco Plains c 1900

Fernie & District Historical Society, FMP01293

in 1899. The Club promotes ethical

hunting, fishing and habitat preservation.

As member George Wilson said at the

FRGC centennial,“ protecting the
animals ensures there’ s something left to
hunt the following season and successive
seasons – it sure beats extinction”.
Constructed in the early 1960s, the

The FRGC activities include archery shoots, youth programs, and promotion of safe gun handling.

Fernie Rod & Gun Club photo

FRGC rifle range helps members learn
safe and accurate firearm use.

FIRST
CONSERVATIONISTS

Fernie & District Historical Society, FMP01296

Resiliency is Embedded in

Members are engaged in critical wildlife habitat enhancement like the Wigwam Flats Ecosystem Enhancement Project.

Elk Valley Culture

The early days of coal mining were never steady.

Unstable wages due to the ebb and flow of coal
markets and labour unrest forced miners to be

Fishing bull trout near Coal Creek

Fernie & District Historical Society,

FMP00537

Early Coal Creek huckleberry picking

resourceful for their survival: hunting, fishing,
trapping, gardening, and small-scale farming.

For time immemorial, First Nations hunted,

During lean times, miners expected to hear the

gathered, trapped and cared for this land.

evening mine whistle( indicating work the next

day) only a few days a week. This reality sparked

The ʔakanuxunik’ used qukin nuʔkiyʔis, Raven’ s

a local practice of self-sufficiency – still a fierce

Rock or coal, found on the surface for transporting fire from site to site throughout their traditional

tradition of Elk Valley culture.

Elk Valley hunters

Fernie & District Historical Society, FMP00968

Fernie & District Historical Society, FMP4746do

territory. First Nations travelled through these mountains to hunt bison on the plains. Settlers from around the globe crossed these same prairies enroute to Coal Creek to mine coal and support this new industry.
AQUATIC CENTRE
FERNIE
MONTANE TRAILHEAD
approx. 1 km
COAL CREEK RD
RIVER RD- Closed to motorized vehicles
P
Coal Creek Heritage Trail
Coal Creek Heritage Trail- Phase 2
Other Trail
Road
Sign Locations
Road- Closed
Points of Interest

YOU ARE HERE 3.9 km

RIFLE RANGE
AMMONITE TRAIL
MATHESON FALLS TRAIL