Article by Paul McNair & Sheila Harrington
Recent articles have brought to the forefront the conservation of private lands by land trusts in British Columbia. BC land trusts thanks to their donors and partners protect these important places – trails, greenways and other recreational areas, riparian & wetland areas, grasslands, forested sites, ranches and farms, habitats which are home to rare wildlife, in addition to historic and cultural sites. Through the work of volunteers and paid staff, land trusts, like the Central Okanagan Land Trust and Habitat Acquisition Trust and their many partners, areas such as Thompson’s Wildlife Sanctuary in the Okanagan and the Matson Conservation Area in Victoria are now protected for all to enjoy in the years ahead.
A land trust is a non-profit charity who works to legally protect privately held land that, because of its significance, is deemed important to conserve for natural or historic purposes. There are 34 land trust organizations which have collectively conserved more than 1 million acres of land in BC. The Land Trust Alliance of BC is an umbrella organization that was formed in 1997 whose purpose is to provide professional education, research and resources, communications and outreach, and financial support.
British Columbia has two provincial land trust organizations – The Nature Trust of BC and TLC The Land Conservancy of BC – in addition to two national organizations, Ducks Unlimited Canada and NCC The Nature Conservancy of Canada. These groups have extensive programs and holdings in our province. They are complemented by smaller, community-based land trusts such as the Kootenay Valley Land Trust, Savary Island Land Trust and the Cowichan Land Trust.
Together, these groups raise tens of millions of dollars annually to conserve areas for the public interest. Joining the talents of thousands of dedicated volunteers and professional staff, land trusts arrange for legal protection of areas designated as important, raise funds from individual donors, foundations, and government partners, in addition to managing and monitoring the lands for the long term. Emerging in this time of climate change and increasing development, is the importance of protecting intact natural areas for biodiversity, and for the ecosystem services that provide us all with fresh water, clean air, wildlife and our food supplies. This is especially true of forests and grasslands which store carbon and mitigate climate change.
The Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia (LTABC) represents the collective interests of its member organizations. One of the ways this is done is through providing educational training and a new web-based assessment tool along with the Land Trust Standards & Practices program. As the first provincial land trust alliance in Canada, LTABC has led the way with this innovative program. Formalized by the Canadian Land Trust Alliance (CLTA), LTABC works to specifically address and provide additional resources on issues related to BC.
The CLTA says that the Guiding Principles are intended to offer standards of behaviour and aspirations for all land trusts to aim for and be guided by. The four principles of Integrity, Perpetual Responsibility, Excellence and Good Governance reflect the long-term and positive values of the land trust community.
In British Columbia, LTABC has designed a ground breaking on-line tool allowing member land trusts access to policies, templates and procedures which can be used to guide their activities. Our members, large and small operate within the guidelines of the Canadian Revenue Agency as well as striving to be land trusts that will not only conserve BC today but that will be effective organizations for the protection of land in our province for centuries to come.
Land trusts are created for public benefit. On Denman Island, Daniel Terry of the Denman Island Chocolate Factory worked with the Denman Conservancy Association to conserve a small ridge of Coastal Douglas Firs on his factory property, through a conservation covenant. Ab Singh sold his land in the Fraser Delta to Ducks Unlimited which allowed him a lease back option and the financial resources to enable him to grow his vegetables organically, while facilitating protected grazing forage for thousands of waterfowl annually. There are many ways to leave a lasting legacy, including conservation covenants, donations and acquisitions
Not all land trust activity is nature-related. In Grand Forks, the Land Conservancy owns and operates the historic Hardy Mountain Doukhobour Village, a unique historic site featuring traditional housing and displays from the early 1900’s while in Victoria their efforts have included restoration of the historic Ross Bay Villa.
Land trusts offer invaluable protection and conservation of natural areas and cultural heritage. The financial investment by these organizations, and their partner foundations, corporations, government agencies and private donors are essential to their future success. Some of this financial support must include operational expenses – for the offices, equipment, and staff needed to do the work. The legal protection of land requires professional staff and resources, or the many dollars donated by the public would be lost to ineffective or worse, non-binding agreements that in future would result in the loss of the conserved area.
On its website, CLTA says that support from the community is essential for sustaining conservation over time, meeting conservation goals, defending conservation actions and obtaining financial support.
The Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia encourages residents of our province to become familiar with land trusts in their community and to support this inspiring work. To find out more, go to www.landtrustalliance.bc.ca.
Paul McNair is the Executive Director and Sheila Harrington the Program Director of the Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia
