Skaha Conservation Area

Purchased in 2008 by TLC, Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Province of BC, Skaha Conservation Area is one of the largest undeveloped properties located on the east side of Skaha Lake, south of Penticton. The property was purchased by the partners with funding from Mountain Equipment Co-Op, BC Conservation Lands Forum, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, public donations and a partial donation from the previous owner. In March 2012, The Land Conservancy and Nature Conservancy of Canada agreed to transfer their interests to the Province of British Columbia, to be managed under the same mandate as the adjacent Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park and protected by a conservation covenant held jointly by the two land trusts.

Skaha Conservation Area is comprised of 761 acres of open Ponderosa Pine forests, grasslands, riparian forest, rugged terrain and towering cliffs. The landscape consists of a variety of distinctive terrain features, which function together to provide habitat for many provincially or federally listed species at risk including California Bighorn Sheep, Western Screech Owl, White-throated Swift, Canyon Wren, Lewis’ Woodpecker, five snake and four bat species as well as many other wildlife species.

The purchase of the property also secured permanent access to the neighbouring property, the nationally-acclaimed Skaha Bluffs climbing area, which became a Class A Provincial Park in 2010. Located in the south Okanagan valley, the Skaha Bluffs are believed to be among the oldest rocks in BC. Over the centuries, the Bluffs have been weathered and ground down, re-compressed and covered with solid ridges and deep ravines, making them excellent for rock climbing.

Please view the Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park & Skaha Conservation Area map.