Provincial Park Status Announced For Mount Erskine
By Staff Writer

The Mount Erskine summit will become a provincial park, following completion of its purchase through a partnership between the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, Ministry of Environment and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

A public celebration of the purchase of 40 hectares (100 acres) of ecologically sensitive habitat on northern Salt Spring’s highest point of land takes place Saturday, October 15 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Community Gospel Chapel on Vesuvius Bay Road.

“This project has been made possible by all those Salt Spring Island residents and businesses who donated so generously to the campaign to secure this key parcel of land, as well as a major donation of $60,000 received from Environment Canada (Georgia Basin Action Plan),” said conservancy president Peter Lamb in a press release. “We also acknowledge the valuable assistance and financial support we received from our conservation partners at the Islands Trust Fund, Habitat Acquisition Trust and The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, as well as the Salt Spring Island Foundation, the Capital Regional District, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Friends of Salt Spring Parks.”

Contributions to the $625,000 purchase price came from: • Salt Spring Island Conservancy — $375,000; • Province of British Columbia — $125,000; • Nature Conservancy of Canada — $125,000. The summit parcel forms the core of some 240 hectares (600 acres) of undeveloped Mount Erskine land. It includes a park reserve, the conservancy-owned Manzanita Ridge Nature Reserve, two Crown land parcels and adjacent lands protected by conservation covenants. The campaign to save the top of Mount Erskine was launched by the Salt Spring Island Conservancy in April.

"The Salt Spring Island Conservancy has taken a leadership role in seeing this vital habit protected," said Minister of Environment Barry Penner. "They, along with the residents of Salt Spring and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, should be commended for taking on this initiative."

The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s contribution was made possible by private donors and the B.C. Trust for Public Lands, an $8-million government-funded, multi-agency partnership announced in 2002. The fund, with matching contributions from the conservation sector, supports improved conservation planning, and acquisition and management of private lands that have unique ecological values. “We are proud to have been a part of this exciting conservation project,” said Jan Garnett, vice-president for the B.C. region of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “Mount Erskine is an important piece of the Gulf Islands’ natural heritage.”

Under the purchase agreement, B.C. Parks will manage the property on behalf of the partners. Sometime in 2006, Mount Erskine will be designated a Class-A provincial park, with the highest level of protection available.
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