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Lake Country family passes on big payout to preserve wetland

LAKE COUNTRY — They could have taken home a pretty nice payout, but instead of selling off their pristine wetland, the Young family from Oyama decided to donate it.

Joyce Young and her two sons, David and Robert, gave away roughly three hectares of wetland to Ducks Unlimited, to preserve and protect the area’s waterfowl.

“The wetland habitat in the Okanagan is really valuable,” says Brad Arner with Ducks Unlimited Canada. “Some estimates [say] 85 per cent of natural, historic wetlands [in the Okanagan] have been lost.”
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The property itself has been in the family for generations, dating back to the early 1900’s. The Youngs have been in the area so long, there’s even a street named after them.

But after nearly 60 years living on the property, Young and her sons decided to donate part of the land.

“It’s been a private sanctuary for us and we’ve enjoyed looking after it, but it’s time,” she says.

Developers had been knocking on their door for decades, but the Youngs weren’t interested in making a quick buck.

“I think we should think of the environment and the future,” says Young.

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