Burgoyne Bay land purchase campaign a success

Map of Burgoyne Bay area of Salt Spring showing newly acquired waterfront piece.

Image courtesy Nature Trust

By Mary Fowles

Driftwood Contributor

The last remaining parcel of land needed to complete the Mount Maxwell Ecological  Reserve on Salt Spring is now protected.

“This was the last privately held piece of land on the north side of Burgoyne Bay, which is surrounded by the Mount Maxwell Ecological Reserve, Mount Maxwell Provincial Park and Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park,” said Marian Adair, habitat ecologist with the Nature Trust of B.C. “This purchase ensures the entire area is now protected.”

Environment Minister Terry Lake and The Nature Trust of British Columbia made the joint announcement on Saturday.

Along with the surrounding parks and ecological reserve, the 22.3-hectare waterfront property protects the largest stand of Garry oak woodland in Canada. The total contiguous protected area is now 1,168 hectares, which includes 9.2 kilometres of continuous protected shoreline.

The property and surrounding protected areas are situated within the coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) biogeoclimatic zone, a geographical area that makes up less than .5 per cent of B.C.’s land base. In B.C. it is found only on the southern west coast of the mainland, throughout the Gulf Islands and the inland coast of Vancouver Island.

“Of the 14 biogeoclimatic zones found in B.C., four are considered of great conservation concern, and of those four, the zone of highest conservation concern is the CDF,” said Adair, noting that B.C. is home to 70-80 per cent of the world’s entire CDF biogeoclimatic zone.

“This zone has the highest density of species identified as both global and provincial conservation concern,” said Adair, describing the areas as having a special “Mediterranean-like” climate, home to unique ecological communities, or “assemblages” of diverse species that cohabit and thrive together.

One of these ecological communities is the Garry oak.

“Less than 10 per cent of the Garry oak ecological community that existed in 1860 still remains. This is because we have urbanized so much of these areas. What remains now are just fragments or remnants of what once was,” said Adair.

Mosses and lichens, invertebrate species that thrive in Garry oak meadows, stands of old-growth Douglas fir, owls and peregrine falcons are all found in this protected area.

“This particular piece of land, and the Garry oak ecosystem, is critical habitat that is very fragile. It’s not like a public park. There is no public access and the reserve is not open for hikers,” said Doug Walker, Nature Trust CEO.  “An ecological reserve means we don’t want people in there because it has rare and endangered species.”

“The reserve is adjacent to two provincial parks and there are many other surrounding areas for people to hike and recreate,” he said.

The purchase of the property completes land conservation efforts spanning more than a decade in the Burgoyne Bay/Mount Maxwell area. Last August, the Nature Trust of B.C. called on donors to help complete the purchase price of $1.2 million.

“This conservation achievement was not only a collaborative process with BC Parks, it was also made possible through the generosity and support of the private property owner, individual donors and the Government of Canada through the Natural Areas Conservation Program as facilitated by the Nature Conservancy of Canada,” said the press release from the government and the Nature Trust.