The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has purchased 37,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley from Doman Building Materials Group Ltd., in one of the largest private land contributions in the country.
The sale of the land closed on Sept. 29, in phase two of an acquisition for 45,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley and surrounding area.
"It's a defining moment for nature in Canada, let alone in British Columbia," said NCC Canadian Rockies program director Richard Klafki.
"It really is a once in a generation opportunity," he added.
NCC purchased 8,000 hectares on two separate parcels of land near Crowsnest Pass and the headwaters of the Flathead in March in phase one of the project. Phase two in the Elk Valley brings 37,000 hectares under the care of the NCC.
NCC also owns a few other properties scattered across the East Kootenay Region, from Yahk to Canal Flats.
The project is the result of 20 years of effort to conserve ecologically important land in the region.
"This area sits near the Waterton Glacier, provincial lands in Alberta that are wilderness areas, so this will add on to a 7,000 square kilometre area of conserved lands that connect the Rockies, the crown of the continent," Klafki explained.
Klafki said the area is part of an important wildlife corridor that wide-ranging carnivores like grizzly bears, wolves, cougars and lynx use for migration. It's also an important habitat for westslope cutthroat trout, that travel through Flathead Lake into the U.S.
Immediate efforts will focus on planting trees and water conservation. The NCC will be repopulating the formerly logged area with native trees like western larch, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, sub-alpine fir, and whitebark pine.
Klafki said NCC will be using small-scale timber harvesting as an ecological tool to help mitigate wildfires and restore dying forest.
Doman, a North American building materials supplier with a Canadian office based out of Vancouver, owned the land for nine years for lumber harvesting operations before selling it to NCC. According to a news release, the company's forestry management efforts saw 10 million new seedling planted on to the land.
The Free Press reached out to Doman for comment and did not receive a response.
Klafki said NCC has been in discussion with various recreational groups regarding trail usage, and noted they've been working with the Fernie Trails Alliance to identify the local biking paths. He also said they'll work with hunters, fishers, and motorized sports groups to ensure continued and responsible access.
Klafki said NCC has reached out to Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it First Nation for support on land stewardship, and the company looks forward to collaborating and preserving plants that are significant to the Ktuanxa people.
"Some of these lands straddle Highway 3 and so it'll be really amazing to work with partners in the future like the Ministry of Transportation, to provide wildlife crossing structures along highways and keep these lands connected," Klafki added.
NCC will collaborate with locals to come up with a long-term management plan, but for now the company remains focused on fundraising to cover costs associated with long-term care of the land, soliciting companies, philanthropists, foundations and local governments across Canada.
A similar project headed up by the Elk Valley Regional Land Trust, to acquire land on Fernie's western slope for conservation, was publicly announced last year.
Klafki said the Land Trust has been supporting the NCC's project.
"They've supported the project. They recognize the value. It aligns with their mandate. We're talking about contributing to stewardship as well as securement," he said.
NCC owns land scattered across B.C's interior and the coast, although its largest tracts of land are located in the Kootenay region.