Kitty Coleman Creek

The property safeguards an important stretch of the Coastal Western Hemlock ecosystem while expanding the network of protected lands along this section of Vancouver Island's coastline.

For more than 20 years, the family who owned the property cared for it alongside the wildlife that called it home. Bears, raccoons, ravens, river otters and many other animals regularly moved through the property, while salmon returned to Kitty Coleman Creek each year to spawn.

The property is also home to the largest recorded tree stump in the Comox Valley. After the giant tree fell naturally more than a century ago, it became a nurse log, supporting new life as it slowly returned to the forest floor.

"We wanted to make sure this piece of land was preserved as an ecologically sensitive area because it's an animal corridor," says former landowner Cindy. "This land has always belonged to the animals. We wanted to make sure it stayed that way."

"Every protected property makes our natural world a little stronger," says Andy Day, CEO of BC Parks Foundation. "Places like Kitty Coleman Creek give salmon a place to spawn, provide habitat for wildlife, and help keep nature connected. We're incredibly grateful to the landowners, the Comox Valley Land Trust and everyone who helped protect this special place."

The landowners chose to donate a significant portion of the property's value so it could be protected forever. Their generosity, together with support from the Comox Valley Land Trust, ensured this special place will remain a haven for wildlife for generations to come.

Today, Kitty Coleman Creek is part of BC Parks Foundation's growing network of permanently protected conservation properties, helping protect wildlife and the natural places that make British Columbia extraordinary.