A 50-hectare stretch of forest and shoreline in Deep Bay will be protected in perpetuity following a $4-million purchase by the B.C. Parks Foundation.
The property along Baynes Sound was purchased with support from the Wilson 5 Foundation, local land trusts and donors across the region.
Comox Valley Land Trust executive director Tim Ennis said the property includes one of the few undeveloped stretches of shoreline remaining on eastern Vancouver Island.
“It’s a really big estuary complex where a number of different rivers converge into the Deep Bay area,” said Ennis. “So Cook Creek, Chef Creek, Cabin Creek, Sandy Creek, McNaughton Creek, they all flow down into this one impressive estuary.”
The property protects mature forest, wetlands, salmon-bearing streams and shoreline habitat, helping connect more than 4,300 acres of protected land to Baynes Sound.
The Comox Valley and Nanaimo-area land trusts each contributed $100,000 toward the purchase. The Comox Valley Land Trust said its contribution was raised entirely through members and supporters, while the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust’s contribution included donations and conservation funds.
READ MORE: Local conservation groups raising funds to protect Deep Bay propert : My Comox Valley Now
The Comox Valley Land Trust hopes to open the area to public access once the property is ready for visitors.
