Public comment is invited until Jan. 15, 2018, on a proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem protected on southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

The Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem is ranked both globally and provincially as high-priority for preservation, and is home to 29 endangered plant communities. Eighty per cent of the global range of Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem occurs in the southern Strait of Georgia area. Of the 256,800 hectares in British Columbia, only nine per cent, or 23,500 hectares, is provincially owned.

The proposed new areas for protection are located along the southeast coast of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. The land parcels total 1,125 hectares, and supplement the 2,024 hectares already protected. As part of the Province’s old growth initiative, this proposal will contribute in the long-term toward old growth protection.

A copy of the proposed land use order and maps are available online: www.for.gov.bc.ca/TASB/SLRP/southisland/CDFAmendment.html

Written comments may be sent on or before Jan. 15, 2018, to: CDFOrderAmendment2017@gov.bc.ca