Denman Conservancy Association (DCA) purchased these two adjacent lots of maturing Coastal Douglas-fir forest ecosystems and valuable wetlands on Denman Island in September 2021. The properties, traditionally occupied by various Coast Salish peoples, and unceded, were most recently held by Raven Forest Products Ltd. of Campbell River BC. Together the new Conservation Area spans a total 32.02 hectares (~80 acres).
DCA plans to consult local First Nations in the formal naming of these lands, locally known as “The Raven Lands”.
The “Raven Lands” or “Pickles Waterfall Wetland” properties are contiguous with Denman Island Provincial Park land and are across Pickles Roadfrom the Inner Island Nature Reserve, held by Islands Trust Conservancy. The land also has a common boundary with DCA’s Settlement Lands. This new conservation area is home to the SARA listed Red-legged frog (Rana aurora) and contains habitat for many other species at risk recorded in adjacent conservation areas.
Veteran Douglas-fir at property edge
Securing this Conservation land rounds out a series of conservation campaigns and land acquisitions that spans the entire 30-year life of Denman Conservancy Association. Contiguous conservation lands now extend from DCA’s Central Park northward to Chickadee Lake and the main bulk of Denman Island Provincial Park.
“This is splendid news,” said Des Kennedy, a founding director of DCA, and a neighbour of the new Conservation Area, who has been active in conservation initiatives since the 1970s. “The current DCA Board of Directors is to be applauded for stellar work in significantly expanding the Pickles preserved area through this most recent acquisition,” Kennedy said.
This project was made possible by the Government of Canada through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, part of Canada’s Nature Fund, and the Provincial Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation’s Acquisition Grant, as well as DCA’s Acquisition Fund, a grant from Islands Trust Conservancy’s Opportunity Fund, in-kind support from Nature Conservancy of Canada and funds generously provided by DCA members and supporters including Denman Island Chocolate and the Denman Climate Action Network.
