The BC Parks Foundation says it has raised enough money to purchase an 800-hectare property on the south side of Princess Louisa Inlet.
The remote and picturesque fjord located near the top of Jervis Inlet is already the site of a marine park that is popular with boaters.
BC Parks Foundation CEO Andy Day said the plan came together after a a portion of the inlet was put up for sale.
WATCH: (June 21) BC Parks Foundation aims to raise money for land
“There were a couple of offers for it to be logged, so a lot of people came to us and said, ‘Is there something you can do? Can we get together, can we try to protect this place?’ So we said yes.”
Day said they negotiated a purchase price of $3 million with a deadline of Aug. 28.
The foundation reached out to the community to raise funds. They heard back from people — some as far as Germany and Japan — and businesses, and “slowly but surely” reached their $3-million goal.
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The deal will be completed next week, followed by discussion with a local First Nation.
The long-term goal is to combine the property with an existing park, Crown land, and properties with conservation covenants, to create a 9,000-hectare park.
Day said crowdfunding campaigns to create parks are relatively rare, but could become more common in the future.
“I think hospital foundations and all the charities out there know that government can’t do everything,” he said.
“So the way that companies and private citizens and governments can come together around things to do great things, that’s the model of the future, and I think it’s a really beautiful model in the sense that it just allows more people to participate and be a part of something great.”
— With files from Linda Aylesworth
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