Land Acquisition Partnerships

How does the Land Acquisition Process work?

BC Parks staff in each region of the province identify priority acquisitions and take the lead role in bringing the acquisition to completion.

From the valuation and assessment to negotiating a settlement and ensuring technical requirements are met, BC Parks works collaboratively and in consultation with First Nations, land owners, conservation agencies, local governments and other interested parties to include land in new or existing parks, protected areas, ecological reserves, conservancy or wildlife management areas.

Once the boundaries of the property have been legally mapped and appropriately designated, BC Parks continues to work with the partners to develop or amend a management plan for the area to protect and enhance its recreational and/or habitat conservation values.

Properties can be legally designated under the Wildlife Act, Park Act, Ecological Reserve Act or Protected Areas of British Columbia Act.

Recent Acquisition Projects

Skaha Bluffs

A 2009 BC Parks partnership with The Land Conservancy of BC, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Mountain Equipment Co-op and an ecogift from a private land owner made possible the acquisition of 304 hectares of land, valued at 5.25 million, to create the new Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park.

Located in B.C.’s southern interior, the Skaha Bluffs is a popular rock climbing site and home to a variety of distinctive terrain features, including steep cliffs, riparian areas, grassland and open forest, which function together to provide habitat for many provincially or federally listed species at risk, including bighorn sheep, western rattlesnake and western screech owl.

Valhalla Mile

The Valhalla Mile acquisition along the west side of Slocan Lake in the Kootenays resulted in 63 hectares of land being added to the existing Valhalla Provincial Park.

This 1.625 million acquisition was made possible by the Province, through BC Parks, with the land owner who made an ecogift valued at $325,000 and The Land Conservancy, the Columbia Basin Trust, the Valhalla Foundation as well as many other private individuals and organizations.

This addition provided an important buffer between the park boundary and private development and maintained a significant wildlife corridor.

Partners

Land acquisition partnerships may involve non-governmental conservation organizations, various levels of government, industry, communities, First Nations, and other interested parties or individuals. Some of the ministry’s recent land acquisition partners include:

Land Trusts/Conservation Organizations Ducks Unlimited Canada The Nature Trust of BC Nature Conservancy of Canada The Land Conservancy of BC Princess Louisa Society Marine Parks Forever Society Pacific Salmon Foundation Hornby Island Conservancy Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation Living Rivers Trust Fund

Local Government Capital Regional District Metro Vancouver District of Pitt Meadows Comox-Strathcona Regional District Nanaimo Regional District Federal Government Capital Regional District Metro Vancouver District of Pitt Meadows Comox-Strathcona Regional District Nanaimo Regional District

Industry Teck-Cominco TimberWest Western Forest Products Merrill and Ring

The ministry also participates in a number of multi-partner conservation programs that include land acquisition as part of their mandate. For more information, refer to Multi-partner Conservation Programs.