The David Otter Nature Reserve was protected in 2006.  The three hectare (7.4 acre) reserve protects two creeks and a riparian forest, including a stand of 200-year old Douglas-firs.  Some of these old fir trees died over the years and now offer nesting cavities and habitat for owls, eagles, hawks and a variety of songbirds.  Maturing western hemlock and western red cedar trees can be found scattered across the reserve.

The reserve borders Crippen Regional Park and a large Crown land parcel encompassing Mount Gardner.  The protected area acts as a corridor for species to move between these two large natural areas.  Rocky outcrops, rock piles and steep slopes offer ideal reptile habitat on the upper slopes of the reserve.

Imagine a clearing, hidden deep in a forest of cedars and Douglas-fir, shadowed by surrounding hills.  You might only stumble across it when lifting one of the thick branches of needles that hide it from view.

One summer day, eight-year old Flora Dunster did just that, accompanying her mother who was conducting a wetland inventory of Bowen Island.  Flora floated on a bed of moss and watery earth below, charmed by the dragonflies and glistening sundews - possibly the fairies, too.  And so, on the advice of Flora, the pair celebrated the magical place by calling it Fairy Fen.

That wetland inventory of Fairy Fen revealed a Bowen Island gem - a peat-forming fen that was intact and undisturbed, something rare in the islands.  It's a fascinating place that floats between aquatic and terrestrial.  The moss-covered ground is firm enough to walk on, but poking a walking stick into the soggy earth reveals water hiding just below.  Coastal reindeer lichen, Labrador tea, bog cranberry and yellow starry feather-moss are just a sampling of the plants found at Fairy Fen.

In partnership with the BowenIsland Conservancy, the Islands Trust Conservancy protected an 18 hectare (44 acre) nature reserve around Fairy Fen through B.C.'s Sponsored Crown Grant program in 2010.  The reserve protects the fen, a second wetland, and the headwaters of Huszar Creek, an important watershed.

This 9 hectare property transferred to the Islands Trust Conservancy in 1999 as a requirement of development.  Big-leaf maples, Douglas-fir, western redcedar and western hemlock make up the second-growth forest on the property, while tall sword fern, salal and salmonberry form a rich, green understory.

Singing Woods Nature Reserve protects the headwaters for Davies Creek flowing east and Dorothy Creek flowing west.  A marsh and swamp regulate and clean the freshwater leaving the property, making this reserve an important piece of Bowen's freshwater supply.  The reserve, together with adjacent areas, including parks, an ecological reserve, properties protected by conservation covenants, and Crown land, comprise an important wildlife corridor between Crippen Park and Josephine Lake.

Betty McIntyre owned an undeveloped forested lot that had been in her family since the early 1900s.  Before passing her property along in her will, Betty wanted to make sure her forest would remain forever.  In 1999, she enlisted the help of the Islands Trust Fund and the Bowen Island Conservancy to protect her land with a conservation covenant.  Betty had the foresight to see that future owners might want to build a home.  So Betty covenanted 1.2 hectares of the forested lot, leaving a small building envelope for the future.

With Betty gone, a home now overlooks the protected forest of cedar and maple.  The lush understory includes mosses, ferns and mushrooms.  Although the property no longer remains with her family, the forest that her family stewarded for close to a century remains.

The Terminal Creek Covenants were donated by Moon Valley Holdings Ltd. in 1999 to protect this salmon-bearing stream from any future development in the Cates Hill subdivision.  These covenants form a 1.2 hectare greenway along Terminal Creek, protecting fish habitat, a small waterfall and a riparian ecosystem which shades and supports the creek.  The covenants hold a section of the Bowen Island Trans Island Pathway, serving as an important link for local residents walking to nearby Snug Cove.

The Denman Conservancy Association donated this 9.4 hectare nature reserve in 1992, making it the first nature reserve protected by the Trust Fund Board.  The reserve protects a forested lot providing critical green space buffering Pickles Road Marsh on the north and south sides. The forest of Douglas-fir, western redcedar and hemlock, and grand fir provide perches for osprey, bald eagles, great horned owl, and Cooper's hawk hunting in the marsh.  Sword fern, salal, vanilla leaf and woodland rose make a lush understory.

Two small creeks draining the marsh run through Inner Island Nature Reserve, eventually feeding Beadnell Creek - a salmon spawning stream.  The reserve is a safe wildlife corridor between the marsh and adjacent Provincial Park.

More than 10 years of negotiations between the Islands Trust Fund, the Denman Island Conservancy, the Province of British Columbia and the Lindsay Dickson family cumulated in the protection of 52 hectares of forested land on Denman Island in 2001.  The Lindsay Dickson Nature Reserve stretches from the sandstone shore of Lambert Channel to the shores of Graham Lake. 

Even with a rich cultural history, nearly the entire property is forested.  A grove close to the shoreline is particularly spectacular as one of the island's few remaining patches of undisturbed ancient forests.  Exceptionally large Douglas firs, western redcedars and grand firs stand tall over the ocean.  In late winter and early spring, sounds of drumming echo through the forest as a rich assortment of woodpecker species use large old-growth snags for foraging and nesting.  A nearby population of marbled murrelets, a threatened species in B.C., likely nest on the large limbs of this coastal forest.

After several years of behind the scenes work of the Denman Conservancy Association, Morrison Marsh Nature Reserve came to the Islands Trust Fund in 2005 as a generous donation from an anonymous donor.  The 50 hectare (125 acre) reserve protects forest, rock bluffs, the headwaters of Boyle Creek and the southern end of Denman Island's largest marsh - Morrison Marsh.  The marsh is home to more than 80 bird species; a key waterfowl over-wintering and breeding area.  Several species of special concern live on the property, including Great Blue Herons, Hutton's Vireo, Band-tailed Pigeons, and red-legged frogs.  Beaver, mink, otter and Pacific chorus frogs live there as well.

The nature reserve provides an important link between the marsh and Boyle Point Provincial Park, giving wildlife a safe corridor between this freshwater resource and the ocean.  Protecting the marsh also benefits the community as a groundwater recharge area.

Marilyn Wan and Dr. Kal Holsti donated the Valens Brook Nature Reserve in 2012.  The nearly four hectare reserve protects a portion of its namesake waterway and diverse riparian forest.  Salmon spawn here, as the creek runs through a lush, maturing forest of cedars, firs, ferns and sedges.  The riparian ecosystem supports a great diversity of species, including red-legged frog, salamanders, Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons and beavers. 

For many years, Valens Brook has been part of an Urban Salmon Habitat Program and other salmon enhancement projects.  Marilyn and Kal's donation of land represent a larger effort to permanently protect the creek from its headwaters to the sea, creating a green belt for habitat to thrive and others to enjoy.

After a number of nearby lots were heavily logged, Tom Knott found himself the custodian of the last privately-owned natural space between Strachan Valley and the bluffs and Garry Oak grove near the end of the ridge, a forest corridor important to animals and plants.  Worried that future owners might not realize the importance of this forest after he was gone, Tom chose to protect the natural portion of his land with a conservation covenant.  Tom's covenant is unique in that it allows him to maintain a sustainable working relationship with the land - the covenant allows him to take small, carefully regulated amounts of firewood from within the protected area.  Meanwhile, the covenant ensures the sensitive ecosystems on Tom's land will always remain healthy for future generations of species and people.  

Tom named the covenant Myra Powers in memory of his grandmother whose enthusiasm for the natural world inspired his lifelong connection with nature.  "The biggest reward for me would be if one day, after I'm gone, my actions protecting this land provides a new generation of children a space to wonder and discover, just as she encouraged me to do."

Tom donated his covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing him to reduce his annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on his land.

Winter Wren Wood protects large old Douglas-firs, marshy wetland areas, and a collection of provincially-listed at-risk plants, such as quillwort and heath.  The protected area boasts a short trail and raised walkway over the marsh.  A short bike-ride from the local school, Winter Wren Wood offers students an exciting outdoor classroom away from textbooks and chalkboards. 

The Denman Conservancy Association purchased Winter Wren Wood in 2000.  The property provides a forested buffer to Chickadee Lake, the island's largest freshwater lake.  In 2002, the Conservancy asked the Islands Trust Conservancy to hold a conservation covenant on Winter Wren Wood, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property.  The Islands Trust Conservancy monitors the property annually and works with the Conservancy to make sure the biodiversity values of Winter Wren Wood remain for the future.

Karin and her husband purchased the Hornby Island property in 1980 after moving from Geneva, Switzerland. Originally planning on retiring on Gabriola Island, they ventured farther north, discovering and falling in love with Hornby Island and the property Karin has now protected. The couple returned to Geneva, packed their belongings and travelled back to Canada via the Panama Canal, settling in their new Hornby Island paradise where Karin lived with her husband until his passing.

This special ridge top property on the south side of Hornby Island is home to towering veteran Douglas-fir trees and undulating Garry oak meadows that erupt every spring with chocolate lilies, white fawn lilies, camas lilies, and shooting stars and native grasses. The land provides habitat for bald eagles, garter snakes, giant silkworm moths. It is also home to the propertius duskywing butterfly and western pondhawk dragonfly, both provincially rare, and coastal wood fern, a federally listed Species of Special Concern. A conservation covenant is now registered over 6.12 ha (15.1 acres) of the property, protecting it forever from development and human disturbance. Conservancy Hornby Island co-holds the covenant with the Islands Trust Conservancy.

The Settlement Lands Covenant protects 64 hectares (157 acres) of large old Douglas-firs, marshy wetlands and breeding habitat for the federally endangered Taylor’s Checkerspot butterfly. Taylor’s Checkerspot butterflies are extremely rare. Following 2001-2003 surveys they were thought to be extirpated in Canada. In 2005, they were found on Denman Island where they continue to live and breed. The location of these lands provides important forest, meadow and marshland habitat connectivity between already conserved lands, including the Denman Island Provincial Park, the Islands Trust Conservancy’s Inner Island Nature Reserve and the Winter Wren Wood Covenant.

The Denman Conservancy Association acquired the Settlement Lands in 2006 as part of the settlement in a legal case. In 2015, the Conservancy asked the Islands Trust Conservancy to hold a conservation covenant on the Settlement Lands, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property. The Islands Trust Conservancy worked with the Denman Conservancy Association to develop a comprehensive management plan to guide the care of this special place. The Settlement Lands Covenant will be managed to ensure the ecological features are monitored and maintained for the future.

Burren's Acres is the product of one woman's mission to heal a scarred landscape.  Margaret Taylor purchased this two hectare property to restore its ecosystems reeling from an industrial past, including diatomite drying, logging and a former car dump.  Over ten years, Margaret recruited her friends to help remove garbage and invasive species from the site.  Today, their efforts have cumulated into a precious and fragile mossy meadow where each spring camas, blue-eyed Mary, seablush and several species of orchid grow.

In 2013, Margaret donated the sanctuary she created to the Islands Trust Conservancy to be protected forever as a nature reserve.  She named the nature reserve Burren's Acres, a tribute to her beloved canine companion who long accompanied her on walks through the property's forest.

The Coats Millstone Nature Reserve is a 0.25 hectare property encompassing part of a ridge rising above Descanso Bay.  The reserve is an old sandstone quarry.  Today, its young forest and water-filled millstone holes provide habitat for various birds and animals.

The different tiers of the ridge offer very different habitats for plants on the reserve.  The escarpment is covered in Douglas-fir, broadleaf maple and young cedars.  Mosses and lichens cover rocky outcroppings, while salal, kinnikinnick and honeysuckle blanket the forest floor.  The forest around the lower millstone pools hold red alder, small lady fern, wall lettuce, and fireweed.

When walking under the gnarled branches of the old cedars of this nature reserve, keep your mind open  to the possible presence of ancient spirits housed in these cedar giants.  Snuneymuxw linguist and elder Dr. Ellen White honoured this special place with a Hul'qumi'num name - S'ul-hween X'pey - meaning Elder Cedar.  Dr. White translated the name to mean more than old; it has connotations of unseen ancestors and guardians.  Spared from much of the logging that has occurred on Gabriola Island, these 65 hectares may well have guardians looking over this forest.  The property is now protected as the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve.

Elder Cedar holds some of the last remaining mature forest on Gabriola Island.  Rocky outcrops, several interconnecting streams and wetland complexes travel through the property.  The diversity of landscapes on the 65 hectare reserve provide habitat to a wide array of species, including the threatened Red-legged Frog and Western screech owl, and Townsend's big-eared bat.

Elder Cedar Nature Reserve was protected through the Sponsored Crown Grant program, with the support of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, the Gabriola Land Conservancy and local governments.

Karl Bachmann knew his land on Gabriola Island was special.  Hidden away in the mature woodland forest were boulders and sandstone deposits left from the last Ice Age.  Arbutus and Douglas-fir trees stood tall on the site, and salal, vanilla leaf and trailing blackberry created a rich, green understory.  Karl wanted to make sure this woodland would never be lost.  In 2005, he protected the natural area of his property with a conservation covenant, leaving aside a small area containing his house and gardens.  The covenant is co-held with the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust.

In 2010, Karl recruited the help of the Islands Trust Conservancy to revise his covenant to fit NAPTEP (the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program), giving him a 65% exemption on his annual property taxes.  Now, his land remains protected while he enjoys extra savings in exchange.

Stanley and Maxine McRae's undeveloped property on Gabriola holds a rocky meadow where lichens, herbs and moss creep along shallow soils.  Camas, fairy-slipper orchids and shootingstar bloom in the spring, while vernal pools and seepages create a diverse home for a variety of species.  One of the McRae's favourite things about the property is the abundance of wildlife they see every time they walk through.

Stanley and Maxine wanted to make sure their property remained a safe place for wildlife, especially as Gabriola's population grows and development encroaches on the island's remaining natural areas.  So in 2010, the McRae's protected their property with a conservation covenant, permanently protecting its natural features. Leaving a small section of the property outside the covenant, the McRae's not only provided the gift of a protected area to their community, but a beautifully natural backdrop of meadow and forest for a family who might one day build a home on the property. 

The seven hectare (18 acre) covenant area was donated through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program.

When Ruby Chapman and her brothers applied to the local government to build a guest cottage on their ocean-front property, they learned that a brackish marsh on their property that the family had always referred to simply as 'the swamp' was an extremely rare and unique ecosystem to the region.  When the family recruited the help of ecologists to investigate the values of the marsh, a treasure hunt ensued.  Camas, chocolate lilies, pacific silverweed and Arctic rush were just some of the special, and in some cases endangered, plants the family discovered.  After that, Ruby and her family were inspired to protect their 'swamp'.  

A brackish marsh is a wetland have has a mix of both fresh and salt water.  The Reid Chapman marsh is tucked between two bays on Gabriola Island, and is fed by freshwater runoff from the upland areas and a continued inflow of saltwater from the incoming tides.   In 1999, the Reid Chapman family protected the marsh permanently with a conservation covenant. 

Today, the Reid Chapman family still enjoy the property and their special swamp, watching the wildlife come and go and each season makes its mark on the landscape.  The knowledge that the unique and rare species will be protected long after they're gone is the greatest gift the covenant has given them.

James and Christina Barrineau protected the natural portion of their Galiano property because they wanted to preserve its unique features forever.  The Barrineau Conservation Covenant protects 1.8 hectares of maturing forest with snags and wildlife trees that will one day be home to a diversity of raptors, woodpeckers and songbirds.  The covenant protects a seasonal stream and the riparian area that supports it. 

The Barrineau Covenant is near Bodega Ridge Provincial Park and Laughlin Lake Nature Reserve, providing a safe haven for wildlife outside these larger protected areas.  Combined with another conservation covenant nearby, the Barrineau's covenant is part of an important protected area network, or wildlife corridor, along the upland forest of Trincomali Channel.

This covenant came to the Islands Trust Conservancy's board through NAPTEP (the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program).

Cable Bay, a 61 hectare waterfront property, and the neighbouring Pebble Beach have a rich First Nations history.  But in the 1900s, the ancient forest was logged heavily, cumulating in a complete clearcut of the land in 1978. Every piece of vegetation was bulldozed along with the top soil, and uniform rows of Douglas-fir seedlings were planted as the next crop of trees for harvest. 

This industrial cycle was broken in 1998 when the Galiano Conservancy Association recognized the potential of the site to provide connectivity in a future protected area network, and teamed up with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Province of B.C. to purchase the Cable Bay property.  The Galiano Conservancy Association protected the property as a reserve and educational site, and asked the Islands Trust Conservancy to hold a conservation covenant, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property. 

Today, Cable Bay is the site of an innovative restoration project, where the Conservancy is helping the plantation shift towards a healthy mature forest that supports a diversity of species.  For more information about the Conservancy's work, please visit them here.

Finlay Lake is one of Galiano’s largest wetlands. The 6.73 hectare property property features nearly 2 hectares of shallow water wetland, and nearly five hectares of endangered riparian and upland Coastal Douglas-fir forest. The lake is man-made, created when a small dam was built at the north end of the lake in the early 1900s.

The dam at Finlay Lake created a wetland ecosystem with key habitat for a variety of plant and animal life, as well as providing water for residential purposes. The riparian area is extensive, and the lake itself holds numerous snags and woody debris. The upland Coastal Douglas-fir forest has stands of trees of multiple ages and there is abundant understory including sword ferns, salal, and stinging nettles.

The ecosystems at Finlay Lake provide significant habitat for a wide range of species. Protection of the property contributes to foraging and breeding habitat for at least 54 species of birds, including at least 14 non-waterfowl migratory species, and several provincially and federally listed species. Additionally, the habitat supports mammals, amphibian, and insect species including beaver, red-legged frog, pacific sideband snail, and blue dasher dragonfly.

A conservation covenant was placed on the property by the Galiano Conservation Association and the Land Conservancy of BC in 2001. Finlay Lake was then donated to the Galiano Conservancy Association in 2014 with the intention of maintaining and enhancing the ecological integrity as a nature reserve. Galiano Conservancy Association asked the Islands Trust Conservancy to hold a conservation covenant on Finlay Lake, adding an additional layer of ecological protection to the property. For more information visit Galiano Conservancy Association.

Generations of beavers have come and gone, making these headwaters of Beaver Creek rise and fall.  Today, beavers have returned once again, causing Great Beaver Swamp to swell.  Red-tailed Hawk and Red Winged Blackbird perch above the swamp and Mallards visit in the winter.  Great Blue Heron can often be seen wading in the shallow waters. 

In 2003, the Galiano Conservancy Association jumped at the opportunity to purchase the Great Beaver Swamp and surrounding forest, protecting one of the island's largest wetlands forever.  The Islands Trust Conservancy and Habitat Acquisition Trust hold a conservation covenant on the 18 hectare reserve, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the swamp and surrounding woodland.  The property forms a central link in a protected area network the Conservancy hopes will one day span across Galiano Island.

Rose Longini's certified organic farm and surrounding natural land are a sanctuary for the island's wildlife and migrating birds.  One naturalist described Rose's ponds as "the kidneys" of southern Galiano Island, storing and filtering upland water to the most populated area of the island.  Bald eagles wash salt water from their wings in the pond after fishing in the ocean, and give flying lessons to their young in the cedar snags that surround the wetlands.   Old-growth maples, cedars and firs stand tall over the forest, some older than 400 years old.  They shelter the more than 60 species of resident and migratory birds that visit Rose's wetlands throughout the year. 

In 2001, Rose was ready to part with the residential portion of her 32 hectare property, keeping just the farm and supporting ecosystems.  But she wanted to make sure the landscape would remain intact no matter who owned the land in the future.  As an organic farmer, Rose felt a strong sense of responsibility for the land.  So Rose enlisted the help of the Islands Trust Conservancy and Galiano Conservancy Association to put conservation covenants on both the farm and the proposed lot. 

The Green Frog Farm covenant allows the 25 hectare property to continue to be farmed in a sustainable way while protecting the habitat of a diversity of species.  The neighbouring 7 hectare Longini covenant allows for future owners to live on the land while making sure they respect the ecosystems that were once part of Rose's farm.  With these two covenants, Rose's dream of leaving the landscape intact forever has come true.

As the largest body of freshwater on Galiano Island, Laughlin Lake is an important resource for the residents of this island.  It stores and regulates the amount of water that leaves the island, an important service especially during the dry summer months Galiano often experiences.  The 11.5 hectare protected area is home to several at-risk species, including Red-legged frog, Blue Dasher, Western Pondhawk and Great Blue Heron.  The lake forms the headwaters of Greig Creek, the focus of a coho and chum salmon re-introduction program. 

The Laughlin Lake protected area forms the central link in a conservation network that spans across Galiano Island.  With Bodega Ridge Provincial Park to the west, and the Cable Bay Covenant nearby to the east, the Mid-Galiano Conservation Network is an important corridor for species to find sanctuary within.  The Galiano Conservancy Association leads school trips and interpretative walks through the protected area.

After living on Retreat Island for close to a decade, Robin and Jillian Ridington decided to take steps to make sure the island's natural areas remained undeveloped and pristine forever.  Retreat Island hosts a glorious Garry oak meadow, with fawn lily, death camas, chocolate lily, chickweed monkey-flower and a myriad of other wildflowers growing amidst the trees and rocky outcrops.  Mink, river otters, alligator lizards, and Rufous Hummingbirds live on and visit the property. 

Robin and Jillian protected more than half of the island in 1999 with a conservation covenant registered to the Islands Trust Conservancy and the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society.  Shortly after, the Ridington's donated the covenanted portion of the island to the Galiano Conservancy Association.  Now, as a nature reserve and with the added protection of a covenant, the island is sure to remain a natural haven for a diversity of species long into the future.

Trincomali Nature Sanctuary begins at the water's edge with high coastal bluffs towering over Trincomali Channel.  The 12 hectare sanctuary continues on to protect a second-growth coastal Douglas-fir forest at the top of the bluffs, protecting veteran old growth giants that were spared from past logging activity.  The sanctuary as also provides a natural green buffer to a wetland on an adjoining property.

Trincomali's cliffs are a sanctuary to nesting Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants - biologists say this protected area may be one of the most successful colonies in the Strait of Georgia.  Cormorants choose steep rock faces for their nests to protect their young from their biggest predators - Bald Eagles.  Other seabirds, such as Glaucous-winged Gulls and Pigeon Guillemots also nest on the cliffs away from the hungry beaks of eagles.

Situated between the Great Beaver Swamp and the Galiano Conservancy Association's Learning Centre, this 40 hectare (100 acre) nature reserve bridges the gap between these two protected areas, creating a continuous protected area of more than 500 hectares known as the Mid-Galiano Conservation Network. 

Vanilla Leaf Land Nature Reserve protects the remaining portion of the Great Beaver Swamp and much of its upland forest.  Pockets of old-growth Douglas-fir and Garry oak stand on an inland bluff stretching across the property.  Below, a lush forest of red alder, Western redcedar and bigleaf maple drapes over the new protected area.  The 40 hectare reserve provides vital habitat for a variety of at-risk species, including Olive-sided Flycatcher, blue dasher, and Great Blue Heron.

Overlooking Montague Harbour, the maturing forest on Dr. David and June Collins' property is often bursting with the sounds of songbirds. Red huckleberry, salmonberry and oceanspray provide habitat to the chickadees, wrens and sapsuckers that dance through the forest understory.  High above, the cedar and fir trees are shadowed by the wings of Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons as they make their way between inland forests and their fishing grounds.

David and June protected the forested portion of their land with a NAPTEP covenant in 2009, ensuring future landowners will continue to be delighted by the diversity of life that appears at their doorstep.  By protecting their land, the Collinses, and any future landowners, enjoy an annual 65% exemption on their property taxes.  For more information about how you can protect your land while saving on your property taxes like the Collinses do, please visit us here.

The Brigade Bay Bluffs Nature Reserve is a steep forested bluff, rising 240 meters above Howe Sound on the east side of Gambier Island.  The reserve protects five hectares of rocky outcrops and veteran trees saved from much of Gambier's logging past because of the steep nature of the landscape.  Red alder, bigleaf maple and western hemlock stand tall along the bluff, while western fescue, bracken fern and twinflower fill spots in the understory below. 

Red-breasted Sapsucker and Pileated Woodpecker feed in the snags along the bluff.  The rocky ridge provides a natural corridor for wildlife and the reserve links undeveloped crown land to the west with a municipal park to the east. 

In 2000, heavy logging in the Brigade Bay area led to significant damage of tributaries making up the headwaters of the Long Bay watershed.  Slash blocked channels upstream and downstream of the Long Bay wetland, and silt covered fish spawning habitat downstream.  The Gambier community was devastated by the destruction. 

Together with the local community, the Gambier Island Streamkeepers approached the landowner in 2002, working out a remediation plan to restore the watershed back to its original beauty and habitat.  Contractors volunteered their time to clear away the slash and replace culverts, and residents planted thousands of cuttings and saplings to stabilize the stream banks and wetland edges.  After only three years, the wetland and tributaries were rehabilitated.  To protect the watershed from ever being damaged again, the developer donated a 38 hectare portion of the property to the Islands Trust Conservancy, to be preserved as the Long Bay Wetland Nature Reserve. 

Long Bay Wetland Nature Reserve includes not just the wetland, but upland forest and a number of tributaries flowing down from the forests to the wetland.  Frogs and salamanders breed in the wetland, and a diversity of birds forage and nest in the upland forests.  Long Bay Wetland Nature Reserve joins with the Mount Artaban Nature Reserve and neighbouring local, regional and provincial parks to create a continuous protected area of 525 hectares.

At 107 hectares, the Mount Artaban Nature Reserve is the single largest Islands Trust Fund protected area to date.  The reserve links with neighbouring local, regional and provincial parks and protected areas, including the Brigade Bay Bluffs and Long Bay Wetland Nature Reserves, to form a continuous protected area of 525 hectares - an area 30% larger than Vancouver's Stanley Park. 

This rugged reserve protects a maturing forest including some trees near the summit that are over a century old.  The water flowing from the pristine landscape provides clean drinking water for surrounding communities and feeds aquatic habitats below.  Bald Eagles are often seen in the skies above the nature reserve, and Steller's Jays, Rufous Hummingbirds and Blue Grouse inhabit the forest.

Amelia Humphries donated her forested property in 1997 so that the people of Lasqueti could continue to appreciate the beauty and importance of nature on the site.  Much of Kwel Nature Reserve is second and third-growth forest, but two stands of 'big tree' old growth forest that escaped Lasqueti's logging past remain.  These few large old trees are a reminder of the magnificent stands that formerly occupied much of Lasqueti Island, and show us that the rest of the reserve's forests will one day mature to their former splendour.

Kwel Nature Reserve is often filled with the sounds of song and foraging birds, with Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker often sighted in the trees.  Veteran old-growth trees serve as perches for Ospreys, Bald Eagles, and Red-tailed Hawks.  Pacific yew trees grow amidst the Douglas-firs, shore pines and arbutus trees, creating a diverse mixed forest that contains at least two rare plant communities.

Kwel Nature Reserve has a storied past, serving as the site of Lasqueti's first school.  Today, the reserve continues to offer a learning experience for all ages as a continuously evolving ecosystem moving along a successional spectrum as a maturing forest.

The Gordon family donated this 58 hectare nature reserve in 2005 to make sure future generations could always enjoy the splendour and delight found on Lasqueti Island's highest peak.  With an elevation of 327 meters (1073 feet), Mount Trematon offers a spectacular 360 degree view of the Strait of Georgia, Quadra and Cortez Islands, Mt. Baker in Washington State, and Mt. Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island. 

Mount Trematon Nature Reserve protects undisturbed stands of old-growth forest, with majestic Douglas-firs that are up to 500 years old.  The property serves as a natural bridge between a protected ecological reserve to the south, and vast expanses of undeveloped Crown land to the north. 

The Mount Trematon summit offers a unique growing environment for a diverse range of lichen and spring-flowering plant.  Near the summit, biologists have discovered one of B.C.'s three known populations of hairy gumweed, designated as endangered in the province.

John Osland settled on Lasqueti Island in 1948 after serving with the US Coast Guard during the Second World War.  He found a piece of land near the base of Mount Trematon with ancient trees and green pastures that would support a quiet, simple life.  After 62 years on the island, he and his property became well-known in his community.  He lived lightly on the land and developed a great respect for the veteran old-growth firs he shared his property with.

John passed away at his homestead in 2010 at the age of 91.  In his will, he left his 64 hectare property to the Islands Trust Conservancy to be protected as a nature reserve.  He hoped people seeking the delights of nature would enjoy and care for it with as much love as he did.

Walking through his property, one is reminded of his legacy at the sight of some of the remnants of his life, including an old steam donkey, retaining walls at the site of his old homestead, and several apple trees that once stood at the foot of his porch.  The John Osland Nature Reserve now protects a wetland pond with several streams and seepages.  A riparian and maturing forest surround the pond, and rocky outcrops stand high over the property looking out to Mount Trematon and beyond.  The protected property is an important wildlife corridor, bridging some of the divide between undeveloped Crown land to the south and nearby protected areas Mount Trematon Nature Reserve and the Lasqueti Island Ecological Reserve. 

The Horton Bayviary Nature Reserve was protected by American landowners with the assistance of the American Land Conservancy in 2001.  The picturesque 0.52 hectare property protects a Douglas-fir and western redcedar forest looking out over Horton Bay.  The maturing forest provides habitat to the abundant diversity of bird species that visit the mudflats of Horton Bay.  Preserving forests upland of the sea is also important for the health of marine invertebrates and forage fish species.

A sandy beach containing a significant archeological midden encloses a brackish marsh at Medicine Beach Nature Sanctuary.  Exceptionally rare in the Gulf Islands, the marsh - a mix of fresh water runoff from forested uplands and salt water from incoming tides - supports a unique collection of plants.  Great Blue Heron, Western Grebe and Belted Kingfisher are just some of the bird species visitors see in the marsh.  The site has become a sanctuary for migrating and breeding populations.  

With Medicine Beach, the wetland, and nearby bluffs protected, the sanctuary offers the community an exceptional living classroom, where visitors can learn of the ecological relationships between upland forests, marsh and tidal flow, and the importance these delicate connections have to wildlife.  The beach is a favourite among the community and visitors alike for picnics and walks along the ocean, with easy access from Old Bedwell Harbour Road.  The bluff trail offers a magnificent view to and beyond the mouth of Bedwell Harbour.

Brooks Point is a rare unspoiled coastal headland on the southeastern tip of South Pender, extending into Boundary Pass.  The Point is well known for its fields of chocolate lilies each spring.  Abundant offshore marine life gives visitors to the Point a rare treat with orca whales often seen feeding close to shore.

When the opportunity arose to protect Brooks Point, seven conservation groups, including the Islands Trust Conservancy, teamed up to raise the purchase price.  The groups raised enough to purchase two parcels of land encompassing the Point, and the Brooks family, keen naturalists, generously donated a third parcel to complete the new regional park.   In 2000, the Capital Regional District asked the Islands Trust Conservancy and Nature Conservancy of Canada to hold a conservation covenant on Brooks Point, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property.  The Islands Trust Conservancy monitors the property annually and works with the District to make sure the biodiversity values of the park remain for the future.

In 2003, Barrie and Nancy Morrison covenanted their land, protecting a seasonal creek, upland forests and rocky outcrops.  The protected area includes a forested riparian wetland with black cottonwood, an uncommon tree in the southern Gulf Islands.  The property also protects sharp-tailed snake habitat, an endangered species in B.C. 

In 2005, after purchasing an adjacent lot, the Morrison's expanded their covenant to include the second property.  The Morrison's recognized that landscapes constantly change as ecosystems grow and adapt, and their long term goal is to create an everlasting oasis of natural habitat for local wildlife.  The covenant is co-held by the Islands Trust Conservancy and Pender Islands Conservancy Association.

Rocky Mountain juniper trees are rare in the Gulf Islands, pushing the boundaries of the most western extent of their range. On a rocky Pender point, a grove of ancient junipers look out over Swanson Channel, part the beautiful view scape greeting visitors to the island as they pass by on the ferry.

In 1999, the owners of this point, Dave and Isobel Dennis, protected the shoreline portion of their property with a conservation covenant.  The covenant permanently protects the junipers as well as the habitat the shoreline provides for other species like the Pileated Woodpecker and rattlesnake plantain.

Enchanted Forest is a seasonally-wet woodland that holds and absorbs groundwater for the surrounding community.  Willows and western redcedar shade the swamp below, and slough sedge, small-flowered bulrush, and salmonberry create a lush understory.  Visitors to the park can enjoy an interpretative walk through the forest, learning about the different plant species that thrive in its wet environment.  The trail ends at a scenic seasonal waterfall.

The Capital Regional District protects Enchanted Forest as a regional park.  A conservation covenant in favour of the Islands Trust Conservancy was placed on the property as a condition of a larger subdivision.  As a regional park with the second layer of security offered by the covenant, the forest will remain protected in perpetuity for future generations to enjoy.

Bob and Fran Rose's love affair with their land started more than twenty years ago when they first purchased their North Pender property. Even before work started on their house, Bob and Fran worked to create a sanctuary for native species, pulling the scotch broom that had invaded the Garry oak meadow. Today, the Roses are delighted by the camas, fairy-slippers, buttercups and blue-eyed Mary that carpet the meadow where the broom once stood.

In 2011, the Roses protected the natural area on their property with a conservation covenant. As well as the meadow, the covenant protects a grove of Garry oak and a forest of veteran Douglas-firs, arbutus, bigleaf maples, and western redcedar.

"We were inspired to protect our land by other families on Pender Island who've been doing the same," said Fran. "Realizing the development pressures that exist on the island, we're reassured that by registering the covenant we are protecting the natural habitat on our property from being broken up or built on in the future."

The Roses donated the Garry Oak Conservation Covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program.

The Kikuchi Memorial - Frog Song Forest Covenant protects a 1.8 hectare property rich with natural habitat. Inside the covenant area sits a wetland singing with the chorus of tree frogs, and an older forest with trees over 100 years old. The protected space forms a vital link between two Parks Canada properties, providing a safe corridor for species to travel within.

The Kikuchi family protected the North Pender Island property for the benefit of future generations and in honour of their family ancestors. With a covenant, the property will remain protected forever, even after it passes from the family's hands. The Kikuchi children explore the rich undergrowth for hidden species, never having to worry if the canopy of trees over their heads will one day be lost to houses and roads.

"People can't own the land. We're only borrowing it from the future," Arthur Kikuchi says, as he points to his four children playing among the branches of a nearby cedar. "When we die, we can't take what we own with us. Therefore, our legacies are what we leave behind. I want to leave this protected place behind for my children, their children and the next generations in my community. That's what makes me most happy about the covenant."

A stroll down Clam Bay Road feels like stepping back in time.  Old trees toe in on the pavement; heavy branches arch from either side to meet in the middle, creating a green canopy overhead.  Local residents cherish the scenic features along the largely undeveloped road.  When one landowner applied to subdivide a property to create three residential lots, the Islands Trust Conservancy and Pender Islands Conservancy Association worked with him to ensure the rural roadside character would be maintained.   

Today, the Ledingham Conservation Covenant protects one hectare of forest buffering Clam Bay Road along the three lots.  The covenant protects the trees, some old-growth, from harvesting or pruning.  The Islands Trust Conservancy helped the landowner enrol in the Ecological Gifts program, providing him with tax benefits as a result of his covenant donation.

While building their home, Andy Nowak and Mary Reher stumbled across an almost perfectly camouflaged Nighthawk nesting in the bushes near their new home.  The couple took great care to give the mother space to raise her young.  Since then, the Nighthawks have returned annually, soaring along the ridge above the couple's home, greeting Andy and Mary at dusk with their wild calls.  "It's their hill - Nighthawk Hill" says Mary.  "We just happen to be here to share their home."

Andy and Mary protected the undeveloped portion of their property, a high benchland and surrounding forest, with a conservation covenant, preserving the beauty of their land forever.  Ladyslippers grow along the ridge each spring, and coralroot and indian-pipe are found on the forest floor below.  Andy and Mary took great care in choosing which parts of their land they would protect, balancing their vision of protecting ecosystems with the different ways their children may want to use the property in the future.  The couple donated the Nighthawk Hill Conservation Covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program.

Marilynn King protected this waterfront property on North Pender Island with a conservation covenant co-held by the Islands Trust Conservancy and the Pender Islands Conservancy Association. The covenant protects a lush forest of Douglas-fir and western redcedar. The forest ends on a point of land that juts into the sea, surrounded on three sides by rich eel grass beds. Seals can often be seen resting on the rocks and sandy beach below.

Marilynn named the property Oscar's Landing in memory of an orphaned river otter her daughter once rescued and raised.  Marilynn has protected four other properties on North Pender, building a legacy of protected areas on Stanley Point close to Oscar's Landing. She also made a significant donation to the Islands Trust Conservancy's Covenant Fund to ensure these and other protected covenants remain healthy forever.

This conservation covenant was donated through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program.

Sharp-tailed snakes (nicknamed affectionately by biologists as 'Sharpies') are common in California and Oregon, but found in only a few isolated locations in B.C.  Nationally endangered, and provincially rare, Sharpies are unique in that they're the 'only child' of the genus Contia (unlike garter snakes, of which there are 11 species).  In B.C., most sharp-tailed snake habitat is in the most densely populated parts of the province, making their future insecure.

A rocky knoll on Don and Teresa Williams' property was found to contain vital sharp-tailed snake habitat, and the only known winter hibernation site in Canada.  Biologists have studied the snakes on Don and Teresa's property since 1996.  Much of our understanding of this endangered species originates from this property, and the habitat provided here is thought to be essential to the survival of this species in B.C.

In 2003, the Williams' protected the Sharp-tailed Snake habitat on their property with a conservation covenant.  The covenant protects the snakes by preventing current and future owners from cutting trees, removing snags and woody debris, introducing non-native plant species or damaging the rocky outcrop where the snakes are known to hibernate.  The Provincial Sharp-tailed Snake Recovery Team assisted the Williams with the costs associated with registering their covenant.

The Stanley Point covenants are five stunning protected areas that along with Oscar's Landing Covenant, Woodwinds Covenant, and George Hill Park, make up a local conservation network on the north end of the Pender Islands. All five properties were protected by Marilynn King. Combined, the five covenants protect 3.8 hectares of land. Old-growth Douglas-firs still stand tall over the properties despite Pender's logging history. The secluded cliffs and waterside boulders create safe sanctuaries for nesting birds and river otters. Band-tailed Pigeons, Western Screech Owls, Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers forage in the protected areas' forest and wildflowers bloom in the spring and summer on the herbaceous meadows.

All five conservation covenants are co-held by the Islands Trust Conservancy and Pender Islands Conservancy Association. Two of the covenants were donated through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program.

Sara and Richard Steil have explored and enjoyed each nook and cranny of their property on North Pender since they purchased it 15 years ago.  Their wetland hosts amphibian critters and visiting Great Blue Herons.  Wild strawberry and western trilliums fill in spaces on the forest floor between tall firs, cedars and maples.

Before moving to Pender, Sara and Richard watched as natural habitat in the communities surrounding Vancouver was lost to development.  Learning from that experience, the Steils have worked to protect Pender Island from a similar fate.  They've cared for the natural habitat on their property, and in 2009 enlisted the help of the Islands Trust Conservancy and Pender Islands Conservancy Association to continue that protection into the future.  The Steil's Woods Conservation Covenant prevents future owners of the property from destroying the natural features that Sara and Richard cherish.  It ensures the North Pender community will never lose this natural space to development.

Keith and Sylvia Pincott recognize the importance of caring for wildlife habitat at home. Their property on North Pender Island acts as a haven for over 55 species of birds, with over 20 species nesting each spring. Wildflowers and ferns flourish on the mossy slopes and several veteran Garry oak and arbutus trees provide rare habitat.

With the help of the Nancy Waxler-Morrison Biodiversity Protection Fund administered by the Pender Islands Conservancy Association, the Pincott's protected a portion of their property with a conservation covenant. The covenant protects endangered plant communities found in the Pincott's forest, as well as the wildlife trees and snags where vulnerable species like the Band-tailed Pigeon and Western Screech Owl can be found.  The Pincott's donated their covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing them to reduce their annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on their land.

Ann and Michael Philpot are avid boaters who love exploring the islands of the Salish Sea. Their Wallace Point property neighbours the sheltered waters of Peter Cove, making it a perfect home base for the Philpots as well as ideal habitat for many plant and animal species.

The Wallace Point NAPTEP Covenant protects 1.63 hectares of woodland, forest, coastal rocky bluff and herbaceous ecosystems. Surrounded by kelp beds, Wallace Point supports habitat for marine and terrestrial species including river otters, mink, and seals. Old-growth Douglas-fir trees provide nesting for Bald Eagles. Provincially blue-listed Seaside Juniper grows on the rocky bluffs of the property.

As the Philpots learned more about the sensitive ecosystems, native plant and animal species and special geological features of their property, they decided to register a conservation covenant to ensure the natural habitat would be protected. The protection of Wallace Point with a covenant provides solace to the Philpots, who know that the land they love will be preserved forever.

This conservation covenant was donated through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEP).

Clam Bay Farms is an active 43.3-hectare farm on North Pender Island. The large property is partially Agricultural Land Reserve and includes significant forested areas. The owner applied for re-zoning on portions of the property through the Islands Trust. One of the conditions of rezoning was to protect 8.26 hectares of provincially red-listed ecosystems through a conservation covenant.

The covenant area is mature forest of Douglas-fir, Western redcedar, grand fir and bigleaf maple. The Clam Bay conservation covenant protects two veteran (500-800 year old) Douglas-fir trees. Protecting the lush forest and ancient trees on the property is a source of pride for the landowner and farm team.

The Clam Bay conservation covenant extends a network of protected places on North Pender Island. To the west is the Found Road Ocean Access managed by the Pender Islands Parks and Recreation Commission and a 30 hectare covenant held by the North Pender Island Local Trust Committee restricting tree-cutting. To the east, a one-hectare conservation covenant held by the Islands Trust Conservancy follows the southern side of Clam Bay Road. Connected protected areas allow forest dwelling species to move freely and safely through a variety of habitats.

The Cunningham Nature Reserve and Conservation Covenant combined protect 22 hectares of open, park-like woodland, with a mix of old-growth Douglas-fir veterans, arbutus, Garry oak, and broad-leaf maple.  The protected areas run a steep course across the lower slopes of Mount Tuam, overlooking Satellite Channel.   The Cunningham protected areas join existing ecological and nature reserves, provincial parks, conservation covenants, and planned conservation projects to create a proposed protected area network that will one day stretch from the shores of Satellite Channel, over Mount Tuam, into Burgoyne Bay and towards Mt. Maxwell and Sansum Narrows.

Deep Ridge Nature Reserve protects a 14 hectare strip of forested ridge above Cusheon Creek Valley.  The reserve borders the Peter Arnell Community Park, providing a natural buffer to the recreational area, and a wildlife corridor between the park and Captain Passage.  Although logged in the distant past, Deep Ridge Nature Reserve's forests are maturing into an older forest ecosystem, with older trees, standing dead trees (snags), and canopy gaps allowing a diversity of early and late successional species to grow.  The reserve's snags offer perches for birds of prey, foraging habitat for woodpeckers, and nesting habitat for several other bird species.  

Jonathon and Evelyn Oldroyd and Robert and Rosemary Trump donated the reserve to the Islands Trust Conservancy in 1992, with the hope that the ridge and its forest would be protected forever.

Dr. J.H. (Jack) Fisher protected the lower slopes of Mount Erskine by donating this property to be used as a nature reserve and park.  Rare wildflowers lie at the heart of this 22 hectare property.  Dense forests of Douglas-fir, arbutus, cedar and big-leaf maples blanket the slopes, and rare stands of manzanita, mosses and lichens can be seen on rocky outcrops.  The maturing forest offers prime habitat for a variety of ravens, raptors and woodpeckers.  

Lower Mount Erskine Nature Reserve connects to the Mount Erskine Provincial Park through the popular Jack Fisher Trail.  As the largest recreation area close to Ganges and Vesuvius, the protected areas are popular with island residents and visitors.  Fairy doors set along the trail offer exciting memories for visitors of all ages. Spectacular views reward hikers throughout the climb.

Ruby Alton's family, the Lacy family, settled on Salt Spring Island at the start of the Depression.  Ruby grew up digging clams, fishing, raising sheep and growing vegetables on the family farm to supplement the family's income.  As an adult, she was an ardent environmentalist and had a love of gardening.

When  she died, Ruby bequeathed her property, including the house, gardens and forest, to the Islands Trust Conservancy.  Her gift to the community protects the lower reaches of a creek and the surrounding forest filled with big-leaf maple, Douglas-fir and western redcedar.  At low tide, rich mud flats are revealed in front of the waterfront property, with ample clam and eelgrass beds supported by the creek.  Lush vegetation along the high tide mark provides cover for the marine habitat.

Beginning with Arthur Lineham in the early 1900s, many generations of the Lineham family have enjoyed this vacation property set along the shores of Maxwell Lake.  The lakeshore and surrounding wetlands are home to Great Blue Herons and western painted turtles.  Thick, maturing forests of Douglas-firs, big-leaf maples and Garry oaks host an assortment of native wildflowers, such as chocolate lily, nodding onion, and shooting stars.

The Lineham family have lovingly stewarded this property over the last century, taking care to leave the land as undisturbed as possible.  In 2005, Arthur's descendants enlisted the help of the Islands Trust Conservancy and Salt Spring Island Conservancy, placing a conservation covenant over much of the property, protecting the forests, wetlands and lakeshore for many generations to come.  The 24 hectare covenant links to neighbouring protected areas, creating a wildlife corridor stretching from the Maxwell Lake to the shores of the ocean. 

The family donated the covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing them to reduce their annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on their land.

Eileen Wttewaall and her husband bought their Salt Spring property in the late 1970s with the intention of living lightly on the land.  During their time living on their land they realized their dream; a sanctuary of nature surrounds the Wttewaall's passive solar home.  The land's rocky ridge-top is blanketed with moss and wildflowers.  Vulnerable species, such as red-legged frog and Western Screech-owl find sanctuary here.

After many years exploring the diversity and seasonal changes on the property, Eileen decided that the abundance of life that brings her so much joy needed to be permanently protected.  Eileen protected the natural portion of the property with a conservation covenant in 2008.  She named the nearly four hectare protected area Frog Haven, for the wetland on the property that comes alive each spring and summer with the sounds of breeding Pacific chorus frogs.

Eileen donated the covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing her to reduce her annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on their land.

Sitting in a dry, upland area of Salt Spring Island, the wetland on Pat and Rosemarie Keough's property is one of the few sources of summer water for aquatic and amphibious species in the area.  The Keoughs watch Red-winged Blackbirds, Hooded Mergansers, and Virginia Rail flying among the reeds in the wetland.  Red-legged frogs and long-toed salamanders can be found breeding here in the spring.

The Keoughs are conservationists at heart.  Before 2001, part of the wetland on their property was shared with a neighbouring property.  When Pat and Rosemarie learned the neighbouring property, along with part of the wetland, was slated for development, they sprang into action and purchased the remainder of the wetland from their neighbour.  The couple then protected the entire wetland with a conservation covenant, preserving the unique habitat forever.

Ilse Leader protected the coastal bluffs and forest on her property with a conservation covenant in 2005.  The bluffs are home to a colourful array of wildflowers, including white fawn lily, fairy-slipper orchids, blue-eyed mary, and red columbine.  Ilse's property holds one of only 16 known occurrences of Banded Cord Moss in Canada.

Ilse believes the preservation of her property compliments her small B&B business.  The covenant preserves the sensitive ecosystems thriving on 90% of her land, leaving a small excluded area where she is free to use the land without impacting the native species she shares her home with.  Ilse donated the covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing her to reduce her annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on her land.

The Lot 31 Covenant protects 67 hectares of older forest and riparian ecosystem from ever being subdivided, logged or built upon.   The covenant came to the Islands Trust Conservancy as a result of the transfer of the property's development rights.  On Salt Spring Island, landowners owning properties in certain areas can take the theoretical number of lots the Official Community Plan allows their property to be subdivided into and sell those development rights to other properties in designated 'receiving ' areas.  This unique planning tool allows the community to intensify development in suitable areas on the island while preserving the most ecologically significant areas.

The landowner of Lot 31 was one of the first to apply to the local government to sell the property's development rights.  In exchange, a conservation covenant was placed on the property to signify that the land would remain natural forever.

Manzanita Ridge protects the south-facing ridge of Mount Erskine, with old-growth fir groves, cliff-top shore pines, and rare arbutus/hairy manzanita plant communities.  Manzanita Ridge joins a larger network of protected areas around Mount Erskine, combined protecting more than 200 hectares of habitat.  The popular Jack Fisher Trail network travels down from Mount Erskine to Manzanita Ridge.  Hikers marvel at the dramatic rocky outcrops and magnificent viewpoints along the trail.

The Salt Spring Island Conservancy purchased Manzanita Ridge from Martin Williams in 2003.  Shortly after purchasing the property, the Conservancy asked the Islands Trust Conservancy to hold a conservation covenant on Manzanita Ridge, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property.  The Islands Trust Conservancy monitors the property annually and works with the Conservancy to make sure the biodiversity values of Manzanita Ridge remain for the future. 

Mt. Tuam, and the neighbouring Mounts Bruce and Sullivan make up a mountain range stretching more than 600 meters above the waters of Satellite Channel on southern Salt Spring Island.  Mt. Tuam is a rare haven for some of the province's most at-risk species.  Yellow Montane Violet and Coastal Scouler's Catchfly dot the grassy mountainside.  Biologists have sighted Northern Pygmy-Owl, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Barn Swallow in the trees.  The Salt Spring Island Conservancy has identified a total of 24 species at risk on Mt. Tuam.

In 2013, the Salt Spring Island Conservancy and Islands Trust Conservancy teamed up to protect more than 13 hectares near the summit of Mt. Tuam with a conservation covenant.  The covenant prevents the private landowner or any future owners from developing inside the protected area, keeping intact the vast Garry oak meadow.  The covenant was made possible with the generous support of Environment Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk.

A sports fisherman once dreamed of building trout ponds spanning two watersheds on his property, creating a personal fishing paradise.  Now, nearly 20 years later, his ponds have turned into an oasis of a different kind - wetland marshes providing breeding habitat for a variety of birds and amphibians, including the endangered red-legged frog.  The wetlands filtrate water flowing from upland neighbours, purifying the fresh water as it travels to St. Mary's Lake and McFadden Creek.  

Ling Weston purchased this property in 2007 specifically to protect this marsh oasis for future generations.  With the Islands Trust Conservancy, Ling protected more than 70% of the three hectare property, restricting future landowners from ever developing or filling in the wetlands.  Ling donated the covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing her to reduce her annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on her land.

Fulford Creek supports a population of coho salmon and endangered cutthroat trout.  It's the largest fish bearing stream on the southern Gulf Islands.  The Ministry of Environment designated it one of the most sensitive streams in the province, with priority placed on its conservation.

In 2005, a landowner protected a section of the creek passing through her property and its surrounding riparian area with a conservation covenant.  The covenant creates a setback from the creek where no future owners can build or disturb the ecological processes that foster healthy downstream habitat.  She donated the covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing her to reduce her annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on her land.

Rodney and Penny Polden bought their island property, perched high overtop of Cusheon Lake, over 25 years ago, building their home and raising their children there.  The spectacular views, magical beauty of fir and arbutus groves, and rocky ridge topped with moss and wildflowers originally drew them to this property.  Throughout the summer, rarely are the skies above the Polden's home empty of turkey vultures which roost in the trees below their house and ride the up-draughts over the ridge all day long.  During their time here, they've stewarded the natural features on their property, providing habitat for a diversity of wildlife species.

The Poldens wanted the assistance of a covenant to extend their care and preservation efforts beyond their own lifetimes, even beyond the lifetimes of their daughters.  In 2007, they donated a conservation covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing them to reduce their annual property taxes in exchange for permanently protecting the natural habitat on their land.  The covenant allows the Poldens to continue the life they've always lived here, taking from the land only what's necessary, while giving back to the land in all the ways they can.

Ann Richardson, one of the founders of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, lived on this property for over 20 years, observing and recording many species of birds, butterflies and plants.  Spotting Lewis's Woodpecker and dun skipper butterflies on her land - both species-at-risk - Ann knew her property held important habitat.  In 2007, Ann covenanted a portion of the property, protecting the natural ecosystems beyond her lifetime.

After Ann sold her property, subsequent owners entered the covenant into the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing them and future landowners to receive an annual property tax exemption in exchange for the habitat they protect with the covenant. 

At one time, grouse were a common sight on Salt Spring Island and their mating trills could be heard in the spring.  As the human population of this island increased and natural habitat was reduced, sightings became rare.  The Ruffed Grouse Covenants protect more than 11 hectares of prime Ruffed Grouse habitat set high on a rocky ridge between St. Mary's Lake and Trincomali Channel.  The dry ridges support woodlands of arbutus and salal, with a lush forest growing along the north side.  The covenants also protect a wetland, home to endangered red-legged frogs and a likely freshwater source for grouse and other birds that visit the ridge.

The Scott Covenant was the first area ever protected by the Islands Trust Conservancy, back in 1992.  This one hectare wetland hosts an abundance of plant life and attracts numerous bird species.  The covenant offers permanent protection to a recharge zone - a key feature for the surrounding neighbourhood where ground water is filtered and stored.

Shacum Covenant protects four hectares of open park-like Garry oak meadow facing west over Stuart Channel.  Shacum links with Lot 31 and Manzanita Ridge covenants, and the Mount Erksine protected areas to create a protected area network of more than 200 hectares. 

The landowners who donated this covenant named it Shacum in memory of their grandfather who was a dentist in Ladysmith.  Two Coast Salish men used to affectionately call him Shequm, meaning 'to open wide', as in to open a clam or shellfish wide.  He named his boat "Shacum", and it was a name he came to be known by.

Shacum Covenant came to the Islands Trust Conservancy as a result of the transfer of the property's development rights to another property.  On Salt Spring Island, landowners owning properties in certain areas can take the theoretical number of lots the Official Community Plan allows their property to be subdivided into and sell those development rights to other properties in designated 'receiving ' areas. This unique planning tool allows the community to intensify development in suitable areas on the island while preserving the most ecologically significant areas. 

The Tate Covenant encompasses 72 hectares of diverse landscapes and ecosystems on the western slopes of Mount Tuam on southern Salt Spring Island.  Ranging from dry highlands with scattered arbutus and Garry oak, to densely forested riparian areas and scattered wetland complexes, the Tate Covenant offers a wide range of habitats for the island's wildlife.

The slopes of Mount Tuam hold a rich pioneering past, first with local First Nations using the meadows for camas and other plant gathering, followed by decades of logging and subsequent sheep grazing.  The forests and meadows of the Tate Covenant hold evidence of this history.

This covenant protects the trees on the properties, restricting future logging or trimming.  Although the original property was subdivided since the covenant was placed on the land, the covenant remains and all new landowners must uphold the vision of the original landowners. 

The Tate Covenant joins nearby Crown land, nature reserves and provincial and regional parks to form a network of natural areas spanning from the shores of Satellite Channel to Burgoyne Bay.  Visitors to this area are reminded that the Tate Covenant remains private property and is closed to the public.  Please respect the good will of these and other covenant landowners who protect natural habitat for the benefit of their community by refraining from venturing onto their land.

This protected area features woodlands of Garry oak, arbutus and oceanspray standing high over the waters of Fulford Harbour.  Oda Nowrath and Cordula Vogt donated their property to the Salt Spring Island Conservancy in 2003, naming it the Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve.  Shortly after acquiring the property, the Conservancy asked the Islands Trust Conservancy to hold a conservation covenant on it, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property.  The Islands Trust Conservancy monitors the property annually and works with the Conservancy to make sure the biodiversity values of the Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve remain for the future.

Visitors to the nature reserve are greeted with beautiful views of Mounts Maxwell, Tuam, Bruce and Sullivan, as well as vistas of the other Gulf Islands.  Small marsh wetland complexes scattered across the property provide sanctuary for a diversity of species of amphibians and birds. 

Nina Raginsky's waterfront property overlooks Walter Bay, a place known by many to act as a refuge for migrating waterfowl and a diversity of marine life. Western Grebe, Great Blue Heron, and common wood-nymph butterflies are just some of the endangered species that visit her land. Harbour porpoises sometimes venture into the bay for refuge while giving birth.

Nina donated the Walter Bay Covenant, protecting her shoreline and inland riparian area where Mawhinna Creek empties into the bay. Nina's act of protecting her land is part of a larger provincial and federal effort to protect Walter Bay, its shoreline and upland area. The neighbouring Walter Bay fish and wildlife reserve protects a shallow intertidal mud flat, a peninsula containing a wetland/salt marsh and a sparsely vegetated spit. This area provides feeding, breeding and nesting habitat for bird species. The reserve is closed to the public.

Briony and Caroline Penn protected their property in the Monty Creek watershed, joining a protected area network that, thanks to other landowners in their community, protects the beautiful watershed all the way to the sea.  The creek hosts a huge diversity of flora and fauna, including species at risk like cutthroat trout and red-legged frogs.  After passing through the Penn's and neighbouring properties, the creek empties into an estuary where shellfish are abundant and sea birds overwinter.

Monty Creek was named by Briony and Caroline's great-grandfather after his son, their grandfather.  But the area and former village site near the mouth of the creek has a much older Sencoten name - Wennanec, meaning 'facing Saanich'.  Briony and Caroline honoured the original place name and Saanich people by naming their protected area Wennanec. 

Biologists believe Great Blue Herons, a species at risk in B.C., abandon their nests when loud or unusual noises occur within a critical distance of one kilometer of their rookeries.   The Where Ere You Walk Covenant protects a wooded lot within that one kilometer buffer of the former McFadden Creek heron rookery on Salt Spring Island.  The trees here offer a quiet sanctuary to visiting herons.  McFadden Creek runs through the property.

This property was protected in 2002 by the landowner who was keen to see the trees and creek watershed protected for the benefit of the species that live here.

The McFadden Creek Nature Sanctuary on Salt Spring Island joined the Islands Trust Conservancy’s network of protected places in 2014.

Between 1998 and 2002, the Islands Trust Conservancy worked in partnership with the Wild Bird Trust of BC and the Waterbird Watch Collective to raise funds for the acquisition of the 5.09 hectare property. Originally protected in 2002, the property was transferred to the Islands Trust Conservancy in 2014 to be managed as a nature sanctuary in perpetuity.

The sanctuary protects a forest of western red-cedar and Douglas-fir, as well as large cottonwood, big-leaf maple and trembling aspen trees. Threespine stickleback and coastal cutthroat trout are present in McFadden Creek.

Larry Appleby of Salt Spring Island permanently protected his private land on Old Divide Road with a Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEP) covenant in 2014.  The 0.8 hectare property features a Coastal Douglas-fir forest, a disappearing ecosystem in great need of conservation throughout the islands in the Salish Sea.

A unique feature of Mr. Appleby’s forest is that it is enclosed by a fence, which protects it from grazing deer.  Increasingly, biologists are concerned about the effects of overbrowsing by burgeoning deer populations on plants and young trees in the Gulf Islands. This already fenced area may provide an interesting study plot in the future.  The Salt Spring Island Conservancy co-holds the NAPTEP covenant with the Islands Trust Conservancy.

Mr. Appleby donated the covenant through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program, allowing him to reduce his annual property taxes in exchange for protecting natural habitat on his land.

A Salt Spring Island resident registered this 0.3 hectare covenant on her property in the Reginald Hill area to ensure permanent protection of both its natural and cultural features.  The landowner was motivated to protect her land after it became the permanent home of First Nations burial that needed to be relocated due to development in its original location.  A reburial ceremony was held in 2011 and the owner promised to permanently protect the reburial site.  Registering a conservation covenant on the land fulfills that promise and ensures it will be undisturbed, forever.  The natural features of the land include a maturing mixed conifer and deciduous forest and rocky outcrops, where the goldenback fern grows.

Long-time Salt Spring Island resident Basil Franey considers himself a custodian of the land and felt protecting the ecologically significant, scenic and historic Isabella Point property was something he had to do.

Isabella Point Covenant is a beautiful coastal property of maturing mixed conifer and woodland forests with rocky open bluffs. The land includes Douglas-fir, cedar, maple and arbutus trees, and provides habitat for several species at risk, most notably the Peregrine Falcon and Band-tailed Pigeon. Scientists have also located the federally endangered Sharp-tailed Snake nearby. A conservation covenant, held by the Islands Trust Conservancy and the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, now protects 2.15 hectares of rugged shoreline, forest and moss-covered rocky bluffs from human development and habitat loss.

When a group of neighbouring families applied to the local government to rezone their properties, they learned that the marsh they shared was exceptionally unusual.  Dense rafts of cattails interspersed with moats of open water make this maturing fen a sanctuary for secretive marsh nesting birds such as Virginia Rails and Common Snipes.  Large dead snags standing in the wetland fen provide bird habitat for cavity nesting, hunting, perches, and most interestingly, display stations during breeding.  River otters occasionally gather food here.

The families protected the wetland spanning these two properties with the Floating Cattails Marsh Conservation Covenant and Strand-Dohan Conservation Covenant.  Their efforts show that with collaboration, conservation can span property boundaries, just like the natural ecosystems do.

As part of a rezoning process, the Old Point Farm residential development on Saturna Island donated this conservation covenant in 2004, protecting nine hectares of the development's common property.  The Old Point Farm covenant protects nearly the entire western shoreline of Boot Cove.  Douglas-firs and arbutus blanket a ridge high above the water.  A steep sandstone escarpment plunges from the forest's edge to the water below.  Unique moss species find sanctuary among the cracks and crevices of the bluffs.  Osprey have been seen circling the skies above the protected area.

Ecologists say Little D'Arcy Island is possibly one of the most pristine and biologically diverse islands in the region.  Graduate students from the University of British Columbia have conducted intensive studies on the island because its coastal bluffs and woodland contain some of the highest levels of  species richness of all the small islands.  This rare coastal jewel can tell us much about unique island ecosystems.

Phil and Mary Middleton enlisted the help of the Islands Trust Conservancy to register a covenant on this island in 2006, protecting 95% of their eight hectare island.    The property has an interesting history spanning from early First Nations use to a former holding facility for Chinese immigrants afflicted with leprosy from 1907 to 1912.  Throughout that history, the ecosystems of Little D'Arcy Island remained healthy and vibrant.  Now protected, this habitat will continue to flourish long into the future. 

This covenant came to the Islands Trust Conservancy board through the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program.

The Burnt Snag Covenant protects coastal barrier dunes, behind which lie wetlands on a coastal sand plain.  The fragile ecosystem created by the dunes provide unique habitat where saltwater meets freshwater.   Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Song Sparrows are found in the sedge fens and marsh meadows of the protected area.  Howell's montia, an at-risk plant growing throughout the dune area, produces beautiful delicate flowers in the spring.

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

These freshwater ponds, originally created for fire protection on Sidney Island, have grown into a significant habitat area for birds and amphibians. Different varieties of ducks and seabirds such as Hooded Mergansers and Great Blue Heron come to the ponds to clean saltwater off their wings.

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

These two freshwater ponds provide habitat for a diversity of bird species.  Rufous Hummingbirds can be found nesting here, and Dark-eyed Junco, Greater Yellowlegs, and Violet-green Swallow are just some of the species found foraging in the reeds.  With less than 1% of the Gulf Islands landscape offering wetland habitat to birds, ponds like Kingfisher and Woodpecker on Sidney Island are invaluable for the bird populations in our region. 

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

Sandbanks Covenant protects a strip of spectacular coastal sand bluffs along the southwest shore of Sidney Island.  Sand bluffs are especially vulnerable to destruction and erosion from development and are one of the rarest landscapes in the Gulf Islands.  The Sidney Island landowners have made sure this beautiful feature will remain undeveloped by protecting the bluffs with a conservation covenant.  Cliff Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and Belted Kingfisher thrive in the coastal bluffs.  The natural erosion from the sandbanks is the single major source of sand for nearby Sidney Spit.

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

Sidney Islanders have long come to this rocky outcrop on east Sidney Island to watch the sun rise over the North Cascade Mountains.  The scenic area provides habitat for a number of uncommon plants, including desert rock purslane, slender plantain and threatened western pearlwort.  Song birds greet each day in the upland forests protected by the covenant.

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

Treetop Covenant protects a Douglas-fir and salal forest and mossy rock outcrops areas.  The property was once selectively logged during the 1940s to 1980s.  Today, its trees are maturing to support a diversity of birds moving back and forth from the forest to the sea.  The protected area shelters Howell's montia - an at-risk plant species known for its beautiful spring flowers. 

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

In springtime, the meadows of the Windthrow Covenant are abloom in colourful wildflowers and grasses.  The 26 hectare property protects a remnant of the Garry oak meadows and woodlands that once blanketed this region.  Waves crash onto the rocky shoreline below, creating a saltwater mist over the unique landscape.  Mosses and lichens growing on the south-west facing slopes provide habitat for a diversity of native species living here. 

The Sidney Island conservation covenants, eight in all, protect 53 hectares of the island's most fragile ecosystems.  The creation of the covenants coincided with a subdivision of nearby land for development and sustainable forestry.  In creating the covenants, the landowners wanted to achieve balance in their community, by protecting special areas on the island while making it possible to selectively harvest the forest and build houses.  With most of the covenants along the shoreline, the protected areas ensure the natural beauty of Sidney Island - as seen from the water by sailors and kayakers - will remain forever.

South Winchelsea Island is one of 19 islands making up the Ballenas-Winchelsea Archipelago.  Because few people arrive on these islands, South Winchelsea contains a relatively undisturbed Garry oak - Arbutus  ecosystem and provides nesting and resting habitat for many sea birds, such as the Black Oystercatcher.  California and Stellar sea lions often bask in the sun on the shores of the island. 

The Ballenas-Winchelsea Islands are blanketed with mosses, lichens, and wildflowers, including a number of rare species, exceptionally vulnerable to human impacts.  The Islands Trust Conservancy, TLC The Land Conservancy of BC, and the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust  worked together to purchase and protect South Winchelsea Island when the once-private island became available.  The Nature Trust of British Columbia now owns the island, and the Islands Trust Conservancy and Nanaimo & Area Land Trust hold a conservation covenant on the island, adding a second layer of permanent protection for the property.  The Islands Trust Conservancy monitors the property annually and works with the Nature Trust to make sure the biodiversity values of the island remain for the future.

Developer Ian Ralston protected the forested bluffs on northeast Thetis Island with a conservation covenant in 2005.  Although not a requirement of a subdivision, Mr. Ralston donated the covenant at the same time as he was developing the Meadow Valley Subdivision, permanently protecting the natural habitat on the development's common property.

The steep hillside holds small groves of arbutus and mature Douglas-fir.  Honeysuckle and other plants typical of the dry coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems grow there.  The covenant area also preserves a forested corridor along Pilkey Point Road, maintaining this scenic rural road.

The Moore Hill Nature Reserve was protected in 2017 thanks to the conservation vision of the previous land steward, the incredibly generous support of a local donor family and a grant from the federal Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. The 21 hectares (52 acres) reserve protects maturing Coastal Douglas-fir forest and rocky shoreline. Moore Hill was the 100th property protected by the Islands Trust Conservancy.

Moore Hill forms one of the highest peaks on Thetis Island and contains a rich mix of habitat types. The hill features sandstone cliffs and in places the cliffs have fractured into huge blocks, tumbling together to form caves that provide habitat for several species of bats. Huge first growth Douglas-fir trees rise from the cliffs on the west side of the hill, and in small grassy openings, camas, fritillaries and other wildflowers grow amongst the Garry oaks and arbutus. The eastern slope is a second growth Douglas-fir forest, with an understory mosaic of mosses and ferns.

The Fairyslipper Forest Nature Reserve was protected in 2018 in partnership with the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy and the Cowichan Community Land Trust, thanks to the incredibly generous support of donors and granting organizations. The 16-hectare (40 acre) reserve on lower Burchell Hill protects maturing Coastal Douglas-fir forest and is home to several species at risk, including the red-legged frog. Fairyslipper Forest is the first publicly accessible protected area on Thetis Island and is named after the fairyslipper orchid that dots the forest floor with its pink blossoms every spring.

Fairyslipper Forest has significant watershed values and contains sensitive Douglas-fir and arbutus woodland which is considered to be endangered or threatened in British Columbia. By protecting the property as a nature reserve, Fairyslipper Forest will mature into an old growth forest. Community members and visitors will enjoy the property’s hiking trail, local students will benefit from using the land as an outdoor classroom and habitat will be maintained for species at risk.