Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park gets bigger

A deal that will almost triple the size of a South Okanagan park is nearly complete following a land transfer agreement on Saturday.

The province of B.C. has taken on more than 300 hectares adjacent to the Skaha Bluffs in Penticton.

Conservation groups have been working hard for years to preserve and expand the provincial park, which was created just three years ago by the B.C. government.

308 hectares of private property next door to the park was purchased in 2008 for $5.25 million. The provincial government, federal government, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Land Conservancy of British Columbia helped purchase the land.

The land was transferred to B.C. Parks on Saturday to become part of the Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park.