Tag: North Pender

Islands Trust Conservancy contributes funds to protect KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on SDȺY¸ES/North Pender Island

Posted on June 2, 2022

 

Lək̓ ʷəŋən, METULIYE/Victoria, B.C. –With one week left to double the impact of donations made to the protection of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest, Islands Trust Conservancy has shown their support. 

 

With just seven days left to raise an additional $100,000 to meet their $200,000 fundraising target, Islands Trust Conservancy has announced an Opportunity Fund grant of $5,000 to help Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the Pender Islands Conservancy Association protect 18 hectares (44.5 acres) of land known as KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on North Pender Island. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor and the Sitka Foundation this donation will be matched, making it a $10,000 contribution towards the protection of this forest.

Aerial view of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on SDȺY¸ES/Pender Island
Aerial view of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on SDȺY¸ES/Pender Island. Credit: Alex Harris.

 

“Supporting community-based conservation efforts is vital if we are to reduce biodiversity loss on the islands in the Salish Sea,” says Kate-Louise Stamford, Chair of the Islands Trust Conservancy Board. “More than 200 individuals have contributed to Islands Trust Conservancy’s Opportunity Fund since it was started in 2005. This generosity allows us to support campaigns on the islands when it is needed most.”

“This $5,000 contribution is a welcome gift that will certainly help us to meet our fundraising goal. What’s more, it is a demonstration of Islands Trust Conservancy’s support of the protection of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Islands Trust Conservancy is a regional land trust focused on safeguarding the lands and waters of the Salish Sea. It is staffed by biologists who intimately know and understand the condition of Coastal Douglas-fir forests and associated habitats. To have their support is more than a financial milestone, it is a recognition of the ecological value of this 45 acre habitat at the edge of the Salish Sea.” – Shauna Doll, Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator, Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

 

Since launching this matching campaign, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the Pender Islands Conservancy Association have raised nearly $90,000 in donations from individuals and small businesses, mostly based around the Salish Sea.

 

Belted Kingfisher sits on a dock piling in the Salish Sea
Belted Kingfisher in the Salish Sea. Credit: Kristine Mayes

“Islands Trust Conservancy has been a long-time supporter of ecosystem conservation on Pender Island, most notably through their commitment to land protection via conservation covenants and nature reserves. As a co-manager on many of these protected lands in our community, the Pender Islands Conservancy has enjoyed a strong and collaborative working relationship with Islands Trust Conservancy that has spanned decades. We are grateful for Islands Trust Conservancy’s support for our efforts to protect KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest as it symbolizes our continuing shared commitment to the protection of Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems and their diverse habitats on these unique islands in the Salish Sea.” – Erin O’Brien, Ecology and Conservation Director, Pender Islands Conservancy Association.

 

All donations made to the protection of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest will be doubled until June 8th (World Oceans Day). Individuals who are interested in making a donation are encouraged to visit Pender Islands Conservancy or Raincoast Conservation Foundation fundraising pages below:

Pender Islands Conservancy: https://www.penderconservancy.org/kingfisher-forest

Raincoast Conservation Foundation: https://www.raincoast.org/forest/.

 

About the Islands Trust Conservancy Opportunity Fund Grant

The purpose of Islands Trust Conservancy’s Opportunity Fund is to support timely opportunities to protect biodiversity in the Islands Trust Area. The Opportunity Fund provides support for ‘hard to fundraise’ costs associated with land protection and can be used to leverage increased donations to land acquisition projects. Since 2005 more than 200 donors have contributed $200,000+ to the Opportunity Fund, enabling Islands Trust Conservancy to distribute 28 grants that have helped protect more than 530 hectares of land across the islands in the Salish Sea.

 

Quick Facts

  • Currently only 19% of land in the North Pender Island Local Trust Area is protected, despite having high biodiversity values.
  • Islands Trust Conservancy protects natural landscapes across the Islands Trust region. The support of individuals and partners has helped to protect more than 1,365 ha of land within 32 nature reserves and 79 conservation covenants on islands in the Salish Sea.
  • More than 65% of land on islands in the Salish Sea are privately owned – meaning that individual landowners’ voluntary conservation actions are critical to protecting biodiversity and addressing impacts from climate change in the region.
  • B.C. is the most biologically diverse province in Canada– but it also has the largest number of species under threat of extinction.
    • Nearly 300 species are listed as being at risk of extinction in the Islands Trust Area, representing 25% of rare species found in BC. Protecting habitat is one of the best ways to prevent species from becoming extinct and aids in the recovery of those species currently at risk.

 

About Islands Trust Conservancy

Islands Trust Conservancy is the conservation land trust for over 450 islands of the Salish Sea and is a part of Islands Trust. Since 1990, Islands Trust Conservancy has protected more than 110 properties, covering more than 1,365 hectares of island ecosystems. This success is thanks to the vision, support, and generosity of donors and partners. Learn more online at islandstrust.bc.ca/conservancy.

 

Press Assets

Logos for all parties named in this release and high resolution images have been made available to download online.

Please use only in the images identified in the Islands Trust Conservancy Media Assets gallery in support of this story with credit to appropriate authors (in file name).

 

Contact

For all Islands Trust Conservancy media enquiries please contact: Carmen Smith, A/Communications Specialist, Islands Trust Conservancy, csmith@islandstrust.bc.ca

Available to speak to media:

  • Kate-Louise Stamford, Chair, Islands Trust Conservancy Board via Kate Emmings, Manager, Islands Trust Conservancy, 250-405-5191
  • Shauna Doll, Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, 250-886-3735 or shauna@raincoast.org
  • Erin O’Brien, Ecology and Conservation Director, Pender Islands Conservancy Association, 250-222-0370 or biologist@penderconservancy.org

Islands Trust Conservancy celebrates the protection of Woodpecker Forest on SDȺY¸ES/North Pender Island this Earth Day.

Posted on April 20, 2022

Lək̓ ʷəŋən, METULIYE/Victoria, B.C.  –   Islands Trust Conservancy (ITC) celebrates the addition of Woodpecker Forest, a new protected area that will add 3.6 ha (9 acres) to nearly 17 ha (41.5 acres) of protected wildlife corridors on SDȺY¸ES/ North Pender Island.

Protected lands provide many benefits to island communities. The forests and wetlands of Woodpecker Forest will purify the air and water and actively remove and store carbon.

The land was protected through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEP), a program unique to Islands Trust in B.C. that allows landowners who protect private land to receive a property tax exemption for their contribution to the islands.

 

Lisa Baile and Peter Pare in Woodpecker Forest

Introducing Woodpecker Forest Covenant on SDȺY¸ES / North Pender Island.

Thanks to the ongoing generosity of islanders Peter Paré and Lisa Baile, an additional 3.63 hectares of land near the existing Lisa Baile Nature Reserve has been protected on SDȺY¸ES / North Pender Island. This recent addition builds on existing protected land to create nearly 17 hectares (41.5 acres – approx. the size of 4 BC Place Arenas) of protected land along Clam Bay Rd. Connecting protected areas provides movement corridors for wildlife, helps buffer impacts of climate change, and aids in stemming biodiversity loss on the island.

Lisa Baile and Peter Paré first protected land near their home in 2021, with the creation of the Lisa Baile Nature Reserve. When the lot next door came on the market, Lisa and Peter decided to act.

“We bought the lot next door to connect it to our existing property with the goal of placing a conservation covenant on part of it to protect it,” says Peter.

Lisa and Peter state climate change and a strong desire to protect endangered Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems are what motivate them to keep finding ways to protect more land on North Pender. “We want to protect as much rare and endangered Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems as we can,” says Peter. “The development on these islands has led to a progressive loss of trees – which are one of the best carbon capturing devices out there – we have to do more to protect what biodiversity is left.”

“We need to respect all species on the planet, to protect their habitat, to speak up for them – for without the animals, birds, plants and insects and the services they provide, we cannot survive.,” says Lisa Baile.

“It is our hope that each little piece we can protect and set aside will help protect not just the rare coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems, but people as well in the face of climate change.” – Lisa Baile and Peter Paré.

Woodpecker Forest contains several at-risk ecosystems, including rare Douglas-fir and Western redcedar stands. The land rises steeply from a wetland and mature forest into mossy bluffs and dry woodlands. This diversity provides habitat for a rich variety of plants and animals. There are remnant old-growth trees and wildlife trees scattered throughout the forest, and a wetland complex that supports river otters, amphibians, an incredibly diverse bird community—including several species of woodpeckers—and at least one bat species. There is a public trail through a part of the wetland that is to be maintained by the Alternative Transportation Society’s Moving Around Pender project (MAP). This conservation covenant will be jointly managed in partnership with the Pender Islands Conservancy Association.

Conservation Covenants and voluntary actions by private citizens are critical to stemming biodiversity loss on islands in the Salish Sea.

These islands provide sanctuary to some of BC’s most endangered species and ecosystems. Conservation covenants help stem the loss of habitat for plants and animals from deforestation, development, and damage from human use, and ensure the persistence of the beaches, forests and wetlands. They can also be used to help conserve areas of cultural significance to First Peoples, now and into the future.

“Thanks to the generosity and actions taken by Lisa and Peter, these incredible places – full of rare and wonderful ecosystems and species – will remain protected and intact,” says Kate Emmings, Manager at Islands Trust Conservancy. “I’d count that as a win for residents, a win for nature, and a win for generations to come.”

This property was protected using a conservation covenant in the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEP). For qualifying properties, NAPTEP provides landowners with a 65% property tax reduction for the portion of the property protected by a conservation covenant.

Lisa and Peter were also the first ever recipients of the Morrison Waxler Biodiversity Protection Legacy Fund that was established by a generous donor to help North and South Pender island residents protect land on these special islands.

The Islands Trust Conservancy website provides information and resources to landowners determine if a conservation covenant is right for them. Visit https://islandstrust.bc.ca/conservancy/protect-nature/conservation-covenants/ for more information.

 

Media Assets

We have both video and photo assets available to support this story. Please use only in the images identified in the Islands Trust Conservancy Media Assets gallery in support of this story.You can access these assets here.

If you require access to additional high-res video reels from the property and the island we can make those available – please contact our Communications Specialist – Carmen Smith, 250-405-5183, csmith@islandstrust.bc.ca.