B.C. buys land to expand 5 provincial parks

British Columbia’s provincial park network is set to expand to the tune of 109 hectares.

In a media release Tuesday, the Ministry of Environment said it had acquired parcels of land, worth about $1.9 million, that will be added to five parks in different parts of the province.

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The additions include an old-growth forest on Haida Gwaii, a popular canoe circuit and a swimming hole in southern B.C.

Sixty-four hectares of land that were surrounded by Haida Gwaii’s Naikoon Park will be absorbed into it.

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Wells Gray Park near Clearwater will see the addition of just over 33 hectares of wetland and second-growth forest.

Gladstone Park near Grand Forks will see the addition of more than eight hectares, including the popular Potholes swimming area.

A three-hectare forested hillside above Bowron Lake is being added to the Bowron Lake Park near Quesnel, and 0.15 hectares will be added to Mount Pope Park near Fort St. James to connect a climbing area to a planned parking lot.

The province said it consulted with local First Nations before legally establishing the lands as parks.

The acquisitions were accomplished with the help of the BC Parks Foundation.