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Myra Bellevue Provincial Park is known for its historic railway trestles, sweeping views and thousands of visitors who explore the area each year by foot and bike.
But what many may not know is that not all of the nearly 8,000-hectare park is publicly owned.
“Most people just assume that these parks have a big line around them and that’s that, but some of them are a little bit like Swiss cheese,” said Andy Day, CEO of the BC Parks Foundation.
The BC Parks Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to acquire one of the last remaining privately-owned parcels in the park in an effort to place it in public hands and protect it from any potential development.
“There’s always that threat that somebody else comes along, buys it and sees a real commercial opportunity,” Day said. “In many ways, the remoteness is becoming an attractive feature.”
The piece of land is 32 hectares and part of an area considered an important and biodiverse ecosystem.
“This whole area is a very rare ecosystem found only in this region of British Columbia and Canada,” said Scott Boswell, executive director of the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program.
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Boswell said any potential development could put pressure on the ecosystem and important corridor for a variety of wildlife between Okanagan Mountain and Kalamalka provincial parks.
“This area remains connected as an ecological corridor between two provincial parks and we want to maintain that connectivity over the long term, so acquiring any lands within the corridor is super important,” Boswell said.
“The species need to be able to move between the two big protected areas.”
Earlier in the year, a 64-hectare piece of land was acquired.
If the current campaign is successful, only one parcel of land in the park would remain privately owned.
The purchase comes with a $1.6-million price tag.
However, a matching commitment from the Wilson 5 Foundation means the public fundraising target is half that amount.
The foundation faces an April 14 deadline to raise the money needed to complete the purchase.
“If we aren’t able to protect this and raise the money, then this could be, you know, lost, permanently,” Day said.
You can go to the BC Parks Foundation website for more information or to donate.
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