[7] The Syilx Nation is trans-boundary because the territory includes the Okanagan region of British Columbia and parts of Northern Washington State.

[5] The plants that are found within the Vaseux-Bighorn NWA (e.g. Arrow-Leaved Balsamroot, Saskatoon Berry, Chokecherry) have a variety of uses for the Syilx people as tools, food and medicine.

[5] The wildlife that inhabited the area (e.g., waterfowl, upland game birds, fish) provided a significant food source for the Syilx people.

The Syilx used fires to keep the forests open, improve wildlife habitat, and encourage the growth of plant species.

[5] Nonetheless, colonizers only fully settled in the area over a hundred years later (in 1918), when irrigation for agriculture and subsequent villages were established.

[4] The grassland and shrub-steppe are ideal feeding grounds for livestock, and fruit crops such as grapes for vine production flourished in the region.

[4] Despite its protection in 1979, agriculture and urban developments have transformed large parts of the area, reducing the natural plant biodiversity of the Vaseoux-Bighorn NWA and the larger South Okanagan-Similkameen region.

[4][5] For instance, excessive grazing led to a decrease in the native bluebunch wheatgrass and rare turf grasses.

[4] In addition, the damming of the Okanagan River in 1950 for flood control has altered the terrain of the Vaseux-Bighorn NWA and the Vaseux Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[5] Situated 25 kilometres (km) south of Penticton, B.C., between Oliver and Okanagan Falls, Vaseux–Bighorn includes the following six distinct management units:[8] The Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area extends over the Bunchgrass and Ponderosa Pine Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia.

[4] Both biogeoclimatic zones fall in the Coast and Purcell mountains' rain shadow, creating a dry climate in the Vaseux-Bighorn NWA with hot summers and relatively short winters.

[4] Scientists predict the southern Okanagan Valley, including the Vaseux-Bighorn NWA, to become warmer and more sensitive to heat stress under the influence of climate change.

[10] Because the Vaseux-Bighorn area is located in the driest part of the Okanagan region, a reduction in summer precipitation could increase the likelihood of forest fires due to droughts.

[10] Severe fires during the summer months could lower air quality and alter the abundance of local plant species.

To protect this area from invasive species, the government of Canada has planned to implement chemical treatment, hand-pulling, and biological control.

The third goal is the control of unauthorized activities in the protected area (e.g., ensuring that the public walks only on designated paths).

[11] The identified threats of this species' population decline have been narrowed to habitat loss due to urbanization, the logging industry and wildfires.

The Lewis's woodpecker require habitats with large diameter trees that are scattered around and separated by grasslands that plants occupy that insects are abundant in.

No viticulture occurs directly in the Vaseux-Bighorn National Park; however, it threatens the butterfly's habitat and long-term viability.

[3] Other endangered species located in the area include the spotted bat, American badger, Nuttall's cottontail, and the western harvest mouse.

This area also includes many invasive species such as the purple loosestrife, Eurasian milfoil, sulphur cinquefoil, reed canary grass, cheatgrass, smooth brome, bull thistle, diffuse knapweed, Hound's Tongue, and St. John's wort.