The Nature Trust of British Columbia gives a holiday gift to nature. With the help of many community partners, The Nature Trust has purchased the Park Rill Creek property in the Okanagan.
Jasper Lament, CEO of The Nature Trust of BC, says, “Thanks to the outstanding support of key partners and individual donors, we are able to protect this important habitat for a wide range of wildlife and plants. This property connects to other Nature Trust lands, expanding conservation in the South Okanagan.”
Located in the White Lake Basin in the South Okanagan, this 32.2 hectare (80 acre) parcel is home to some of the most endangered and rare species in our province such as the endangered Half-moon Hairstreak butterfly and the rare Painted Turtle which is named after its distinguishing bright yellow and red stripes. And this area also provides important habitat for birds including the Sage Thrasher which nests in sagebrush. The property is rich with vegetation including aromatic gray sagebrush, desert grassland and broadleaf woodlands. Park Rill Creek winds through the property.
“The White Lake Basin is one of the gems in The Nature Trust of BC’s conservation land portfolio,” says Nick Burdock, Okanagan Conservation Land Manager. “The Park Rill Creek property is one of the finest examples of mixed riparian habitat along the Park Rill corridor. You really get the sense that this piece of land has been cared for in a way that protected its conservation values.”
The property will be added to The Nature Trust of British Columbia’s White Lake Basin Biodiversity Ranch complex which is one of the largest intact grasslands in the region. The White Lake Basin Biodiversity Ranch is an innovative program where The Nature Trust works with a ranching family to help protect species at risk while they maintain a viable ranching operation.
“The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is very pleased to support The Nature Trust of BC with the purchase of this key inholding property within the wider 8000+ hectare White Lake Basin Biodiversity Ranch, one of the largest intact grassland areas in the South Okanagan and a biodiversity hotspot in BC,” says Brian Springinotic, CEO of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
Funding for this project was provided by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, South Okanagan Conservation Fund which is overseen by the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen, BC Conservation Foundation, Sitka Foundation, Collings Family Foundation, Gosling Foundation, Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, BMO Bank of Montreal, Odlum Brown Limited Land Acquisition Fund, the South Okanagan Naturalists’ Club and individual donors. This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change. Ce projet a été réalisé avec l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada agissant par l’entremise du ministère fédéral de l’Environnement et du Changement climatique.
Media Contact
Robin Rivers, Communications Manager
The Nature Trust of BC
604.969.3244 or 1.866.288.7878 ext. 226