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More on Land Trusts
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A Land Trust is a non-profit
community organization directly involved in protecting land
and its resources through voluntary conservation. Most Land
Trusts or conservancy groups are locally or regionally based
charitable organizations that rely on public membership and
broad community support. Provincial or national trusts provide
valuable leadership and support for smaller local groups.
The Comox Valley Land Trust works in partnership with the Land
Conservancy of British Columbia and the Nature Trust. |
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Land Trusts undertake
a wide range of land protection activities, which may include:
conservation of natural sites and wildlife habitat
promotion of community-based forestry and agriculture
preservation of greenway corridors for habitat or recreation
protection of sites of cultural, historic or scenic significance
As public funds for acquiring or managing lands decrease,
governments are less able to protect our heritage of land
and resources. Land Trusts are playing an ever greater role
in protecting private lands, working with each other and with
government agencies to acquire and manage valuable areas.
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The Land Trust
Movement in British Columbia and Elsewhere
In the United States there are over 1200 active Land Trusts
(63% more than in 1988) which have acted to preserve approximately
6.2 million acres of valuable lands. In Britain, the National
Trust cooperates with private landowners to manage more than
575 miles of coastline and over 240,000 hectares of natural
and historic sites.
In the last few years, local Land Trusts or Conservancy Groups
have formed in more than 40 communities throughout British Columbia.
These organizations have worked with hundreds of volunteers
to purchase land, obtain conservation covenants and establish
land stewardship programs. Lands protected range from Cariboo
ranchlands to Garry Oak meadows on Vancouver Island.
In the Comox Valley, individual landowners and local conservation
groups have acted to protect areas such as Macdonald Wood Park,
Hurford Hill Park, Farquharson Farms and Dyke Road Park. Across
Baynes Sound, the Denman Island Conservancy has protected the
26 hectare Inner Island Nature Reserve. They are now raising
a Legacy Fund to purchase environmentally sensitive land starting
with 80 acres on Chickadee Lake. North of the Oyster River,
the Discovery Coast Greenways Land Trust is working closely
with the District of Campbell River to implement a greenways
plan. |
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