A large chunk of Clayoquot Sound is now permanently protected from logging, with the creation of 10 new protected areas.
The conserved areas cover 76,000 hectares of Crown land, including portions adjacent to Strathcona Provincial Park in the centre of Vancouver Island.
Josie Osborne, MLA for the region, says the new protected areas respect the interests and values of West Coast First Nations. They also provide clarity to recreational users, the tourism sector, and industry.
The new conservancies follow changes made in 2020 by the provincial government to protect old-growth forests in BC.
The conserved regions will be removed from Crown lands under Tree Farm Licence 54, which is currently held by a partnership of five West Coast First Nations.
According to a statement from the province, Nature United, a conservation organization that has been working in partnership with First Nations in Clayoquot Sound for more than a decade, helped secure funding for the licence holder to compensate for the removed land.
As well, the federal government provided $8 million through the Old Growth Nature Fund “to help restore the areas consistent with the land-use visions of the Nations.”
The province says “the creation of these new conservancies is part of a larger reconfiguration of the TFL that supports predictable fibre flow through First Nation held tenures in the future.”
The changes will be effective June 26.
