Rare grasslands in the Okanagan, a heritage river in the Cowichan Valley and the largest freshwater marsh in southwestern B.C. are among the unique ecosystems to gain more protection through planned expansions to B.C.’s parks and protected areas system.

The Province has acquired more than 229 hectares of land intended to be added to seven provincial parks and one protected area.

“Our parks and protected areas are rich with biodiversity and provide critical habitat for numerous species,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “By working with our partners, the ecological, recreational and cultural values of these unique and special places will be protected and enjoyed for years to come.”

Through the acquisition of private land and partnerships with conservation groups, individual donors, the BC Parks Foundation and supporters, the Province regularly adds land to the parks and protected areas system, which is one of the largest parks systems in the world.

The newly acquired land is valued at more than $2.47 million and is located at:

• Edge Hills Park near Clinton
• Blue River Black Spruce Park near Blue River
• Pinecone Burke Park near Coquitlam
• Cowichan River Park near Duncan
• White Lake Grasslands Protected Area near Okanagan Falls
• Wakes Cove Marine Park near Nanaimo
• Gowlland Tod Park near Victoria
• Cypress Park near West Vancouver

The Province will now consult with First Nations' governments about adding these lands to the parks system, and will then undertake a number of additional steps to legally establish them as parks and protected areas.

“Growing our park system is important. Growing our understanding about our place and nature is just as important,” said Kelly Greene, Parliamentary Secretary for Environment. “Increasingly, our parks offer us the opportunity to appreciate the importance of Indigenous knowledge and teachings to better understand the changes happening to the land.”

British Columbia has 1,036 provincial parks, recreation areas, conservancies, ecological reserves and protected areas covering more than 14 million hectares or approximately 14.4% of the provincial land base. During the past four years, BC Parks acquired 1,144 hectares of land to expand provincial parks and protected areas.

Learn More:

To view the 2020-21 BC Parks Land Acquisition Report, visit: https://bcparks.ca/land-acquisition/docs/bc-parks-land-acquisition-annual-report-2020-2021.pdf?v=1625854170949

For more information about BC Parks, visit: www.bcparks.ca