The Nature Trust will receive three extraordinary gifts just in time for the holiday season.
These properties are owned by families who love their land and want the natural values protected in perpetuity. This is why they are donating their property to The Nature Trust of BC.
Acquiring land is only the first step. We need to care for these properties in perpetuity. This is why The Nature Trust is fundraising for immediate and future land management costs for these three properties. If you value what we do, please consider making a special year end gift to support land management and help us care for these wild spaces into the future.
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Breton Island–Whitridge Reserve is a 12.6 acre island located near the east coast of Quadra Island. The island has excellent conservation values because it has no existing structures or docks and supports thriving plant and bird populations.
The property contains three sensitive ecosystems: mature coniferous forest, herbaceous rocky shoreline, and shallow marine area. All three ecosystems are in a relatively natural state.
This is a bird lover’s paradise. The shallow marine area provides important habitat for sea ducks, shorebirds, seabirds, and other waterbirds. Among the bird species using the island are the threatened Marbled Murrelet, and three species of special concern – the Ancient Murrelet, Cassin’s Auklet, and Great Blue Heron.
Other birds using this paradise include Bald Eagle, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Common Loon, Common Merganser, Double-crested Cormorant, and Harlequin Duck.
By protecting the island, this acquisition will protect 1.2 km of coastal shoreline and approximately 22 acres of shallow marine area surrounding the island by ensuring that no infrastructure will extend over or through this important habitat.
Marsden Face – Rixen Creek
Ten families have come together to gift 80 acres in the West Kootenay, north of Nelson, to The Nature Trust of BC.
Walking the property you will find an intact riparian corridor along Rixen Creek surrounded by mature Western Redcedar and Western Hemlock. The property supports a diversity of wildlife habitats. Lodgepole Pine is a dominant tree species on-site. Rainbow Trout have been seen in the creek and the land is used by a variety of wildlife species including Cougar, Bobcat, American Black Bear, Mule Deer and Moose.
Caring in Perpetuity
On behalf of the 10 families donating this property, Chris and Val Speed shared their story:
We like The Nature Trust of BC’s approach to stewardship of the properties that they own and look forward to passing our property on to them.
We feel as if we’ve found the right “family” to move into our “home”.
As of late 2018 we have been working with them on designing a management plan, and touring the property to learn its history and many attributes.
We are all very excited about this arrangement with The Nature Trust and are glad to know that they will take care of this property in perpetuity.
Cowichan River – Gibbins Road
The Nature Trust is delighted to be receiving a donation of 36 acres of forest and riparian corridor along the Cowichan River near Duncan, on Vancouver Island. For over 30 years, The Nature Trust of BC has been focusing on the Cowichan River. With our partners we have conserved over 988 acres.
The Cowichan River is designated as a Canadian Heritage River System because of its significant abundance and variety of fish. Historically, the river supported some of the largest spawning runs of Chinook salmon in the entire Georgia Basin, along with substantial runs of Coho and Chum salmon. The river provides habitat for the Blue-listed Cutthroat Trout as well as Rainbow Trout and Steelhead.
The Cowichan River–Gibbins Road property is in a relatively natural state consisting of primarily young with some mature coniferous forest ranging from 40 to 250 years old, as well as 400 metres of sensitive riparian ecosystems along the Cowichan River. Black Cottonwood, Bigleaf Maple, Western Redcedar, Common Snowberry, Douglas fir, Dull Oregon Grape, and possibly Grand fir all grow on the property.
The shores around the Cowichan River abound with biodiversity and contain rare and endangered birds and other animals including the Vancouver Island Ermine, Roosevelt Elk, Peregrine Falcon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Barn Swallow, and Common Nighthawk.