NEWS RELEASE

NEW CONSERVATION COVENANT PROTECTS ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE HABITAT
AND CONTRIBUTES TO PROTECTED LANDSCAPE NETWORK ON SOUTHERN CORTES ISLAND

Land holders voluntarily protect 16.49 acres of habitat with land trust in perpetuity

FOR RELEASE: October 4, 2021

Cortes Island, B.C. – The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) is pleased to announce the creation of a 6.67-hectare (16.49-acre) conservation covenant. Located on the southern portion of Cortes Island on the traditional lands of the Klahoose and Tla’amin First Nations, the conservation area protects critical, provincially listed habitat and a significant wildlife corridor.

The newly registered conservation covenant expands a known wildlife travel corridor that straddles the southern boundary of the covenanted property and continues a network of protected areas linking Hank’s Beach Forest Conservation Park in the west to Poison Cove in the east. Columbian Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), Gray Wolf (Canis lupus), and Cougar (Puma concolor) have been documented utilizing the corridor. In addition, the covenant protects a series of gentle walking paths that meander through the property, utilized by owners for walking meditation or forest bathing, and two ponds that provide native species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and invertebrates with feeding and breeding habitat.

Found within the Coastal Western Hemlock Xeric Maritime1 (CWHxm1) biogeoclimatic zone, the covenant area is dominated by mature forest. As the old forest structural stage of the subzone is under-represented in existing protected areas, the conservation of this property will protect biodiversity, multi-aged stands, and allow forest succession to proceed to a mixed-age old growth forest. A total of seventeen species or ecological communities at risk as identified by the B.C. Conservation Data Center are found on the property including blue-listed Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias fannini), Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora), and Wallace’s Selaginella/Reindeer Lichens (Selaginella wallacei/Cladina spp.).

Conservation covenants are collaborative and legal agreements, voluntarily registered by a landowner and an eligible conservation covenant holder such as a charitable land trust. A covenant is registered on land title, runs with the land in perpetuity, and restricts against further subdivision to minimize habitat fragmentation, support wildlife migratory opportunities, and encourage greater resiliency and adaptation opportunities in changing climates. As a covenant holder, TLC holds, monitors, and enforces more than 240 ecologically sensitive areas with conservation covenants throughout the province.

Current landowners have voluntarily registered the conservation covenant to ensure the site remains protected in perpetuity. In combination with the agreement on land title, the couple contributed to TLC’s Conservation Covenant Program Endowment Fund to support ongoing monitoring and enforcement.

“We are very grateful to TLC for working with us to enable the preservation of this ecologically diverse and important land into the future,” stated the current landowners. “The reality is that many ecologically important areas like ours would be lost to future development were it not for the existence of The Land Conservancy of B.C.”

“We are honoured to partner with local landowners to protect this special link in the Cortes Island wildlife corridor,” said Cathy Armstrong, TLC Executive Director. “Through sustainable legal mechanisms such as conservation covenants, we can ensure their vision remains upheld for future generations.”

For more information about TLC’s conservation covenant program and supporting B.C.’s critical ecosystems, please visit www.conservancy.bc.ca, email membership@conservancy.bc.ca, or call TLC at 1-877-485-2422.

About

The Land Conservancy of B.C. (TLC) is a non-profit, charitable Land Trust working throughout British Columbia. TLC’s primary mandate is to benefit the community by protecting habitat for natural communities of plants and animals. Founded in 1997, TLC is membership-based and governed by an elected, volunteer Board of Directors. TLC relies on a strong membership and volunteer base to help maintain its operations. Learn more about TLC by visiting www.conservancy.bc.ca.

Media contacts:
Cathy Armstrong
TLC Executive Director
Office (250) 479-8053
Cell (250) 588-4945
Email carmstrong@conservancy.bc.ca