More of Lasqueti Island's unique ecosystem conserved

Sometimes it seems like Lasqueti Island is an orphan among the Gulf Islands. The accessible-by-foot-passenger-ferry-only outpost with approximately 425 permanent residents is part of qathet Regional District (Area E).

Recently two new properties were added to a conservation area, according to a BC Parks Foundation media release on April 23.

The eight-kilometre wide and 22-kilometre long off-grid island is tucked in just southwest of Texada Island. The new ecosystem protections are considered by the foundation to be one of the largest land-based conservation areas on the Gulf Islands.

In total, five areas now create a contiguous mature coastal Douglas-fir forest and coastline, with wetlands, rocky bluffs and other habitats. 

"As our region’s population grows, these endangered ecosystems are increasingly important for the long-term protection of numerous species at risk," stated Ken Lertzman, professor emeritus of forestry at Simon Fraser University and director of the Lasqueti Island Nature Conservancy, in the release.

The acquisition of the land, which locals call Mystic Ridge, was done through a local crowdfunding initiative and major donor donations. BC Parks Foundation was able to purchase two parcels of land to add to an existing conservation area to form 568 acres in total.

Lasqueti locals Philippe and Alysha Taillefer bought the property because they didn’t want it to be logged or developed. Now, through a partnership with BC Parks Foundation involving a partial donation, their vision has become reality, according to the release. Mystic Ridge will be combined with other new and recent protections to form one of the largest land-based conservation areas on the Gulf Islands. 

"We’re thrilled to put the beautiful land of Mystic Ridge into conservation," stated Philippe. "It’s best for nature. It’s best for the community. It’s best for the people who will be here after we’re gone." 

Just south of Mystic Ridge lives Wayne Bright, a Lasqueti resident of more than three decades. His 84-acre property has Douglas-fir and cedar forests, camas-covered hilltops, mossy bluffs and ponds he dug himself. According to the release, Bright has planted more than 3,300 trees and raised close to a million salmon.

The property is also home to a monumental yew tree. Yews are the slowest-growing tree on the Pacific coast, so a tree this large is likely to be hundreds of years old. 

"This tree has been here a long, long time, and allowing it to continue to stand means I get to leave the world a little bit better than I found it," stated Bright. "My goal was to leave more biomass, more biodiversity, more life, for the future."

Mystic Ridge and now Bright's conservation vision is adjacent to and builds on a recent partial land donation called Young Point by another family, the Buttjes. BC Parks Foundation worked with them, and a local crowdfunding campaign, to protect five-kilometres of waterfront adjacent to Squitty Bay Provincial Park.

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