The Virtues of the Chilcotin Ark

The Virtures of the Chilcotin Ark is our seventh album. It’s a rock album. Each song shares the unique features of the Chilcotin Ark and each of its eleven watersheds, highlighting the importance of conserving this internationally ecologically unique area. Download the album from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music and more. Read all the song lyrics here:

Verse 1
Deep in British Columbia’s mountain snow,
Where the coastal mountains cast their rain-shadow,
Lies the Chilcotin Ark—sprawling, wild and free,
A world-class wilderness, where life finds sanctuary.
Two and a half million hectares, a shelter so vast,
A rainbow of minerals, from copper to iron cast.
Snow veils the passes for most of the year,
Only in summer’s glow do hidden valleys appear.
Grizzly, black bear, cougar, and deer,
Wolverine, beaver and salmon appear.
Bald eagles soar on the thermals spun,
Their cycles enduring, their stories not done.

Chorus
Oh, Chilcotin Ark, hope for a changing Earth,
A sanctuary of wildness, of incalculable worth.
As climate shifts and the world rearranges,
This ark stands eternal—resilient to changes.

Verse 2
Endangered life thrives where three climates entwine,
Maritime, Arctic, Tropical—their borders align.
Twelve biogeoclimatic zones find their home here,
Grasslands to alpine peaks crystal clear.
Home to mountain goats from ages gone by,
Their sturdy hooves carry them high.
Eleven big game species, from elk to caribou,
In the north of the ark, in the Itcha Ilgachuz.
Whitebark pines crown subalpine heights,
Endangered, feeding grizzlies on a fall night.
Rivers are born here, four mighty courses,
Lakes and icefields—the continent’s water sources.

Chorus
Oh, Chilcotin Ark, hope for a changing Earth,
A sanctuary of wildness, of incalculable worth.
As climate shifts and the world rearranges,
This ark stands eternal—resilient to changes.

Verse 3
This wilderness Ark, a refuge of time,
With rainforests, icefields and mountain pines.
A global biodiversity hotspot, a promise clear,
Where the future of flora and fauna is safely here.
Deep in the valley, secret swamp meadows,
With wild horses roaming in Nemiah snow.
A quarter of BC’s birds in summer flights,
From eagles to loons filling alpine nights.
When winter snows melt, wilderness calls
To those who work hard to conserve it all.
A team of wilderness stewards unite,
Preserving this landscape—doing what’s right.

Chorus
Oh, Chilcotin Ark, hope for a changing Earth,
A sanctuary of wildness, of incalculable worth.
As climate shifts and the world rearranges,
This ark stands eternal—resilient to changes.

Bridge
The Ark, a name from Ric Careless’s heart,
The Chilcotin Region, where nature won’t part.
Fourteen parks, conservation runs deep,
Our commitment to conservation we keep.

Chorus
Oh, Chilcotin Ark, hope for a changing Earth,
A sanctuary of wildness, of incalculable worth.
As climate shifts and the world rearranges,
This ark stands eternal—resilient to changes.
So let’s guard its wonders, let’s honour its song,
Together in stewardship, where we all belong.
For the Chilcotin Ark and all life it deserves,
You and for all to protect and preserve.

Lillooet, Land of Lakes and Ranges

Verse 1
Where jagged Coast Mountains rise from ancient granite bold,
And the Fraser carves deep canyons east, in stories yet untold.
Northward, the rolling South Chilcotins—shale and sand, rain-shadow land,
Paradise Valley in bloom and green jade mountains stand.

Chorus
Lillooet, watershed of the Chilcotin Ark, wild and pure and free,
Home to rainbow trout in crystal pools, calling loons and pine trees.
Spruce, Warner, Trigger, Hummingbird Lakes, a chain of living gems,
This geologic rainbow, jade-green mountains, is a treasure without end.

Verse 2
Downton, Carpenter, Seeton, Anderson—long lakes gleam and flow,
Twin peaks of Sheba touch the clouds, wildflowers thrive below.
Big Creek meadows—moose and wetlands, pine and spruce combine,
Big horn summer on high country slopes, mule deer in grass and pine.

Chorus
Lillooet, of lakes and ranges, wild and pure and free,
Home to rainbow trout in crystal pools, calling loons and pine trees.
Spruce, Warner, Trigger, Hummingbird Lakes, a chain of living gems,
This geologic rainbow, jade-green mountains, is a treasure without end.

Verse 3
The Fraser’s mighty passage, five salmon species, strong and proud,
Their ceaseless migration feeds the land, draws eagles from the clouds.
Grizzlies feast where pine cones fall; big horns climb the heights,
Ice age mountain goats roam snowy slopes in dawn’s first light.

Verse 4
Wolves and coyotes, lynx and wolverine, prowl the forest here,
Cougar, bobcat, moose, mule deer, black-tail and white-tail deer.
Bunchgrass waves at canyon’s edge, among Ponderosa pine,
Engelmann spruce and heather bloom in meadows so divine.

South Chilcotin, Land of Glacier Lakes

Verse 1
Where Graveyard Valley rests in shade,
Across vast plateaus the cold winds wade,
Through spruce and pine on the Fraser height,
Where glaciers feed Lorna’s light.
Turquoise waters, Dill Dill wide,
Sub-boreal pines on the plateau side,
Here moose and deer roam calm and free,
In this land of diversity.

Chorus
South Chilcotin, one of the Chilcotin Ark’s water ways,
Where canyons thunder deep and blue lakes blaze.
Benchlands green and grasslands gold,
A refuge for the mighty and the bold;
From rainbow trout to grizzly’s den,
May its wildness never end.

Verse 2
Big Creek winds through meadows wide,
Where moose stand tall in the summer tide.
Fletcher Lake’s trout grow strong and round,
In quiet waters they are found.
French Bar, Junction’s rugged land,
Big horns hold their winter stand,
Cougar prowls, coyote sings,
Wolf and lynx on silent winds.

Verse 3
The Fraser carves through canyon walls,
Where raptors ride and echo calls,
Bunch grass sways in summer heat,
Ponderosa scents the air so sweet.
No dam will still this river’s run,
Its salmon rise with setting sun,
A corridor for life to flow,
Through fire-weed fields and winter snow.

Verse 4
Montane spruce to meadows high,
Goats and deer where the ridges lie,
Big horn sheep in numbers grand,
The largest herds in all the land.
Grizzlies feed on white bark pine,
Black bear in the forest fine,
This arc of life, this ark of dreams,
Holds more than gold in canyon streams.
Chorus
South Chilcotin, one of the Chilco

tin Ark’s water ways,
Where canyons thunder deep and blue lakes blaze.
Benchlands green and grasslands gold,
A refuge for the mighty and the bold;
From rainbow trout to grizzly’s den,
May its wildness never end.

Taseko Lake, Land of Grizzlies and Pelicans

Verse 1
Where milk-blue waters glimmer cold,
Fed by glaciers, fierce and old,
Upper, Lower, side by side,
A silken channel’s narrow tide.
On southern shore, long sands declare
The heavy tracks of life that share,
Moose and deer, the wolf, the goat,
Through Nuntzi’s realm they walk remote.

Chorus
Taseko in the Chilcotin Ark, wild and free,
From glacier streams to salmon sea.
Where grizzlies roam and pelicans soar,
Guarded lakes and mountain lore.
Its unlogged forests, its untamed land,
Will forever free and steadfast stand.

Verse 2
Scum Lake under summer skies,
White pelicans in bright surprise—
Their only nest in all BC,
A guarded shore where young fly free.
California big horns climb the height,
Moose wade deep in dawn’s first light,
Mountain goats where cliffs are steep,
In Montane spruce their secrets keep.

Verse 3
Up the river to Warner Pass,
Boreal fescue, alpine grass.
Migration road for grizzlies bold,
And ancient trails the Chilcotin hold.
Here salmon spawn where rivers meet,
A copper flash in the glacier’s heat.
Wolves’ long song at dusk will rise,
As eagles wheel through cobalt skies.

Chilko-Nemiah, Land of Wild Horses

Verse 1

Where glacier-fed, light-blue waters flow,
Chilko Lake guards the valleys below;
Fifty kilometers of mountain embrace,
With old growth fir and icy grace.
Where sacred peaks in silence stand,
Guarding this wild and timeless land.
Nemiah’s meadows, still and wide,
Where wild horses wander and hide.

Chorus
Chilko, Nemiah, Chilcotin Ark so free,
Spirit lake and valley sea,
Home to horses, bears, and deer,
Where salmon run and eagles appear.
From glacial shore to alpine peak,
May its wild heart ever speak.

Verse 2
All five salmon, in autumn’s glow,
Rush the Fraser and Chilko below—
A million strong in mighty years,
Their passage feeds the land and clears.
Grizzlies gather at the northern end,
As eagles wheel and salmon ascend,
Sock-eye crowd the spawning ground,
Life returning, cycles wound.

Verse 3
California bighorn, sturdy and proud,
Trout in deep Choelquoit shroud,
Wolf and cougar, silent glide,
Moose and deer on forest side.
Sub-boreal spruce whispers north,
Boreal fescue, alpine worth,
Choelquoit ’s banks and valley floor,
Resound with hoof and paw and roar.
Chorus
Chilko, Nemiah, Chilcotin Ark so free,
Spirit lake and valley sea,
Home to horses, bears, and deer,
Where salmon run and eagles appear.
From glacial shore to alpine peak,
May its wild heart ever speak.

Verse 4
In Nemiah, wild horse herds still roam,
Genetically unique, they claim this home.
Protected lands, ancient right,
Tsilhqot’in watch the mountain light.
Old stories woven through each stream,
Guardians of a living dream,
The Chilcotin Ark, a haven great,
Where wildness leans against the gate.

Tatlayoko Lake, Land of Wild Potatoes

Verse 1
Where blue-green waters stretch long and deep,
And the Niut peaks their vigil keep,
Tatlayoko rests in the mountain’s arm,
Eniyut’s grace, both fierce and warm.
Old-growth fir on the northern shore,
Roots in the earth since days of yore,
Cougar’s track and mule deer’s flight,
Move through meadow in dawn’s first light.

Chorus
Tatlayoko, in the Chilcotin Ark so wide,
Where grizzlies roam and glaciers glide.
From towering peaks to Douglas shade,
Nature’s fortress, unafraid.
Within the Ark its wildlands rise,
A refuge under northern skies.

Verse 2
A “hot spot” here for the grizzly bear,
Where Homathko winds through alpine air,
Wolf and cougar in shadows stay,
While goat hooves chip the cliffs to gray.
At Potato Range a treasure’s found,
Its wild potatoes below the ground,
Springtime blooms of flowers white,
Mark their place in morning light.

Verse 3
To the west, the Waddington crest,
Highest of the Coast Range west,
Glacier rivers spill from stone,
Through valleys that remain their own.
The Niut’s lakes like jewels lie,
Beneath the clean and open sky,
Where eagles sail and shadows creep,
And meadows fold in silence deep.

Verse 4
Protected lands by the Homathko’s side,
No Logging Zones where wild can hide.
Niut to Potato, Coast Range to plain,
Fir stands old as the winter’s reign.
Here mule deer herds in numbers grand
Share the season with cougar’s stand,
And still the grizzly finds its way
Through alpine bloom and autumn day.

Verse 5
From Lincoln Creek to high icefields,
The Tatlayoko valley yields
A fortress for the life it keeps,
Where snow in quiet silence sleeps.
In ranch lands saved for science’s sake,
And lakeshores left for the wild to take,
The Chilcotin Ark holds strong and true—
A promise kept in skies of blue.

West Branch Valley, Land of the Tallest Peak

Verse 1
Where ice-clad giants touch the sky,
Mount Waddington’s crown stands high.
At four thousand, nineteen metres, its glaciers pour,
Across wild rock to the valley floor.
The West Branch flows with silver gleam,
Through forests deep in an ancient dream,
Where elk move silent by hidden trails,
And cougar’s shadow through dusk prevails.

Chorus
West Branch, of the Chilcotin Ark free,
From glacier peaks to the sheltered sea.
Its forests stand, its rivers run,
Beneath the watch of ice and sun.
Within the Ark, its wildlands stay,
A refuge for the world today.

Verse 2
Wolf-song echoes in alpine air,
Mountain goats cling to ledges bare,
Moose browse willow near Homathko’s side,
Where coastal rains and snow collide.
Deer step soft through hemlock shade,
In Coastal Mountain meadows laid,
Life’s full thread is woven here,
From icy crest to valley clear.

Verse 3
This is a land the saw won’t claim,
A No-Logging Zone in wilderness name.
The Homathko River protected land
Guards the heart where old trees stand.
Hemlock, mountain and coastal kind,
With Boreal fescue alpine twined—
Biomes meeting, sky to stream,
A living, breathing, timeless dream.

Chorus
West Branch, of the Chil-coe-tin Ark free,
From glacier peaks to the sheltered sea.
Its forests stand, its rivers run,
Beneath the watch of ice and sun.
Within the Ark, its wildlands stay,
A refuge for the world today.

Verse 4

Here runs the heart of the Chilcotin Ark,
From plateau brow to fjord land dark.
Glaciers feed the rivers’ might,
Through storm and calm, through day and night.
Connection forged from coast to plain,
Wildness here will still remain.

Verse 4
The West Branch Valley holds the key,
To corridors where life runs free.
For elk, for wolf, for goat and deer,
For moose that wander year to year.
In this untouched and guarded ground,
The pulse of the Ark is strong, profound—
A sanctuary, beneath the snow,
Where ancient waters rise and flow.

Kleena Kleene, Land of Rainforest and Rivers

Verse 1
From the dry plateau’s wind-swept crest
To Waddington’s feet where glaciers rest,
The Klinaklini carves a deep-cut line,
Through a trench of ice and ancient pine.
In U-shaped shadow, rivers gleam—
A wild domain where grizzlies dream,
A land untouched by time and hand,
Valley of giants, bold and grand.

Chorus
Kleena Kleene in the Chilcotin Ark wide,
Where grizzlies rule and waters glide,
From mountain peaks to forest floor,
Life moves freely evermore.
Within the Ark its heart remains,
A refuge kept while wildness reigns.

Verse 2
Wetland meadows, shining bright,
Harbour moose in dawn’s first light,
Waterfowl rest on reed-mirrored waves,
Safe on their journey through mountain caves.
Here is the only place in southern land
Where moose traverse to meet the strand—
From Chilcotin’s heights they wander free,
Past snow and stone to meet the sea.

Verse 3
Wolf and deer in the morning haze,
Cougar’s footfalls and silent gaze,
Mountain goats on granite heights,
Grizzlies roaming in northern nights.
The Klinaklini’s winding way
Supports the greatest bears today—
A haven for clans and cubs alike,
Where predator and prey both thrive.

Verse 4
A rapid sweep through biomes rare,
From rainforest green to thinner air,
Coastal hemlock, fescue plain;
Heather alpine drinks the rain.
Ancient forests line the side,
One of the largest old-growth tides,
In southern BC’s mainland vast,
Protected now—safe at last.

Verse 5
Migration flyways cross the range,
Birdsong echoes, seasons change,
Moose and waterfowl move anew,
On journeys only they pursue.
Surrounded by pure wilderness deep,
No mines or roads disturb their sleep,
Linked to the Great Bear’s shadowed halls,
It answers the wild’s enduring calls.

Atnarko River, Land of Salmon and Eagles

Verse 1
Where alpine meadows kiss the sky,
The Alplands roll as eagles fly,
A tapestry of lake and stream,
Reflecting peaks in a summer’s gleam.
From Charlotte’s depths to Turner’s brim,
Where snow-fed waters fall and swim,
Hunlen’s veil drops silver light,
Four hundred metres in endless flight.

Chorus
Atnarko of the Chilcotin Ark so free,
From alpine crest to salmon sea,
Where caribou roam, and trumpeters call,
Life finds safe harbour for one and all.
Within the Ark, this river flows,
Through timeless lands where wildness grows.

Verse 2)
In Tweedsmuir’s heart, since ’38
These woods and waters held their fate,
Old-growth shaded, deep and wide,
Bears and wolves in shadow hide.
Here grizzly meets the icy shore,
Goats and mule deer wander o’er,
And the Alplands cradle high and clear
The wildest herds of caribou near.

Verse 3
Two hundred caribou strong and sure,
A southern herd that will endure,
Cold-climate spirits from Ice Age years,
Feeding on lichens the old growth rears.
With winter snows and alpine air,
They find their refuge hidden there,
Protected heights where forests stand,
An ancient life in a modern land.

Verse 4
Here northern winds and southern rains,
Meet above the highland plains,
A climate crossroads, rare and grand,
That shapes the life of mountain land.
Greatest spread of alpine lakes,
Where rainbow trout the stillness shakes,
And headwaters to rivers run—
Atnarko’s song has just begun.

Verse 5
Where Turner spills to the trench below,
The salmon’s tide begins to grow,
Five salmon species crowd the stream,
In autumn’s red and silver gleam.
Along the banks, the bear and bird
Take what the spawning flows afford,
Eagles wheel and waters shine,
A constant thread through place and time.

Lower Dean Valley, Land of Caribou and Engelmann Spruce

Verse 1
Where Rainbow Range rises gently high,
Ancient volcanos touch the sky,
Basalt plains laid wide and low,
Echo stories from long ago.
Anahim Peak stands bold and keen,
Obsidian cliffs with a hidden sheen,
From volcanic birth still guarding land,
Wild rivers run where lava fanned.

Chorus
Lower Dean Valley of the Chilcotin Ark,
Through ancient forests and a protected heart,
From caribou range to salmon stream,
It holds the Ark’s enduring dream.
Beneath the peaks, through rain and pine,
Life persists in an ageless line.

Verse 2
In Tweedsmuir’s shelter, deep and grand,
The caribou roam this northern land,
Five hundred strong the herds still go,
Across subalpine drifts of snow.
Ice Age remnant, cold and fleet,
On lichen mats they pause to eat,
Old-growth pillars shade their way,
Through winter’s depth and summer’s day.

Verse 3
Moose move slow where meadows gleam,
Wolf pads silent beside the stream,
Mountain winds through forests sing,
Of Engelmann spruce in the mountain ring.
Sub-boreal spruce on slopes descend,
To Coastal Hemlock where rivers bend,
A braid of climates, wet and dry,
Where plateau meets the western sky.

Verse 4
Shield volcanoes built this ground,
Layered rock where life is found,
Basalt plains and forest stands,
Linked in the Ark’s protecting hands.
Here the Dean runs cold and fast,
Through country wild, free, and vast,
Its salmon bound for ocean deep,
Its valleys quiet in winter sleep.

Verse 5
This is a refuge strong and true,
For grizzly bear and black bear too,
For wolverine, for lynx, for deer,
For all who find their shelter here.
Across this wealth, from peak to plain,
The Chilcotin Ark secures the chain—
An ancient bond of land and life,
Withstand the march of change and strife.

Itcha Ilgachuz, Land of Ancient Volcanoes

Verse 1
Where shield volcanoes rise from plain,
And lava flows still mark their reign,
The Itcha and Ilgachuz stand in grace,
Broad, gentle slopes in a timeless place.
Red and yellow on mountain side,
The vents where molten stone once cried,
Now meadows roll where fire once shone,
And alpine winds carve rock and stone.

Chorus
Itcha Ilgachuz of the Chilcotin Ark, so wide,
Where ancient peaks stand side by side,
From grassland rare to lichened height,
Life endures in the northern light.
Within the Ark, its highlands stay,
A refuge strong for all our day.

Verse 2
Here roams the caribou, two thousand strong,
Through snowy winters, they travel long.
Ice Age remnant, high and cold,
In subalpine forests and meadows bold.
In lichen-rich old growth they feed,
A winter bounty for every need,
Their high calf rates a hopeful sign,
In one last herd of southern line.

Verse 3
California big horns on northern rim,
The farthest edge of range for them,
Moose in the valley, winter and summer,
A land where migrants are a welcome comer.
Cougar and wolf, grizzly and black bear,
Mountain goats scaling rocky fair,
Beaver, otter, marten, roam,
In wetland, forest, meadow home.

Verse 4
In grasslands rare by Itcha Lake’s shore,
Altai fescue and lichens store
Life unseen in BC’s expanse—
No other place gives such a chance.
Dry alpine species meet the edge
Of arctic kin on southern ledge,
A mingling of the cold and dry,
Beneath the wide Chilcotin sky.

Verse 5
Rainbow trout in the clear lakes run,
Bull trout, blue-listed, prize of some,
And salmon rivers flow around
These ancient shields, a spawning ground.
Sub-boreal pine, montane spruce,
Engelmann spruce where snows hang loose,
Boreal fescue alpine high,
Where eagles wheel and shadows lie.

Upper Eutsuk Lake, Land of Lakes and Caribou

Verse 1
Where Tweedsmuir’s forests spread so wide,
And Entiako’s wetlands touch the tide,
Eutsuk’s waters, deep and clear,
Hold the wild in balance here.
From Tetachuck’s bays to sheltered shore,
Loons call out where the eagles soar,
Reflections catch the mountain height,
And moose move slow in the evening light.

Chorus
Upper Eutsuk in the Chilcotin Ark so free,
From lichen woods to the inland sea,
Keeper of herds and waters bright,
Stronghold of life in the northern light.
Within the Ark its wildlands stay,
A refuge sure for all our day.

Verse 2
In winter’s deep and frozen reign,
Caribou cross the snowy plain—
Five hundred strong in the alpine cold,
An Ice Age herd, enduring, bold.
Here old-growth spruce and pine still stand,
Feeding the herd through the frozen land,
Lichen hangs where the branches weave,
Shelter that winter will never leave.

Verse 3
Moose browse deep in the willow bends,
While wolves track routes the river sends,
Mountain goats on the ridges high,
Trace the edge of the clouded sky.
Wetlands hum with a thousand wings,
Songbirds, ducks, and the life spring brings,
All finding home in lakes and fen,
Safe in the Ark’s unbroken glen.

Verse 4
This is the heart of the plateau’s keep,
Flatlands stitched with waters deep,
Flowing north to the Nechako’s vein,
Binding forest, marsh, and plain.
Since ’37, Tweedsmuir’s grace
Has held this wild and timeless space,
And Entiako, by law and land,
Still guards what nature’s hand has planned.

Verse 5
In bio-geo-climatic blend,
Where pine and spruce to hemlock bend,
And Engelmann spruce meets alpine snow,
The seasons turn, yet the wild will grow.
From the Ark’s high crown this place will guide,
Life’s migrations far and wide,
An anchor strong for a changing age,
Written deep on nature’s page.

Are you ready for more in life?

You are the master of your destiny. Will you take ownership for your life today?

Join us on the Trail to Empowerment towards a greater sense of personal development, nature connection, nature conservation, self-sufficiency, empowerment and consciousness & awareness. Evolve with a positive mindset by facing challenges and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

The only remaining question: If not now, then when?

Gain FREE access to our Personal Development Course today!

All of our programs and courses with our training partner the Institute for Human Potential are self-directed providing you with information, inspiration and self-reflection prompts for you to put into action.

Are you ready to gain free access to your Personal Development course?

You will:

discover your interests, goals and purpose
create a mission statement to live your life with purpose
self reflect and be inspired to grow and evolve to be your best self

The Virtues of the Chilcotin Ark

Are you ready for more in life?

Gain FREE access to our Personal Development Course today!

Have you checked out all media our content?