Province is adding 467 acres to six provincial parks in BC

British Columbia is planning to expand parks and protected areas in the province with new legislative amendments. This move will strengthen biodiversity conservation and provide more opportunities for outdoor recreation, Province said.

As part of the expansion, 189 hectares of land will be added to six existing provincial parks and one conservancy. The additions will include private land acquisitions, private donations and Crown lands. The additions consist of private land acquisitions, private contributions and Crown lands and include:

Tribune Bay Park (on Hornby Island): Ten hectares, including three hectares of adjacent marine foreshore. It consists of the last remaining beachfront property at Tribune Bay and an existing private campground with 135 sites.

Muncho Lake Park (near Fort Nelson): 2.5 hectares to protect additional waterfront along the jade-coloured Muncho Lake, that is located a few minutes from the Alaska Highway.

Edge Hills Park (near Clinton): Eleven hectares to protect panoramic river canyon vistas, forested slopes, grassy benchlands and ravines along the Fraser River.

Valhalla Park (near Slocan): Six hectares to reduce the number of private land inholdings (land surrounded by the existing park), protecting the diverse topography, majestic peaks and unique vegetation of the Selkirk Mountains;

Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park (near Kaslo): 24 hectares to reduce the number of private land inholdings in the park that includes habitat for mule deer and grizzly bears;

Mount Pope Park (near Fort St. James): 4.8 hectares to expand parking in the park that’s popular with hikers and rock climbers

Taku River/T’aḵú Téix̱’ Conservancy (near Atlin): 127 hectares that could not be added to the conservancy when it was established in 2012 due to an active mineral tenure that has now expired.

In addition to these expansions, Cardiff Mountain Ecological Reserve will be renamed to Tŝi ʔEẑɨsh (pronounced Tsy-ezoish) Ecological Reserve to better reflect the First Nations place name for the area. BC Parks collaboratively manages the ecological reserve with Xeni Gwet’in First Nation in the Tŝilhqot’in Declared Title Area, located 70 kilometres southwest of Hanceville.

The province acquires land annually through the BC Parks Land Acquisition Program to expand parks and protected areas. The cost for these acquisitions is often augmented by partnerships with conservation groups, individual donors, and corporations.