Upper Pitt River

Frog spotted resting on a leaf in Upper Pitt

About this conservation project

Just northeast of Vancouver, in Katzie First Nation territory, the Upper Pitt River watershed is one of British Columbia's most ecologically significant landscapes.

Nestled between Pinecone Burke, Garibaldi and Golden Ears Parks, the 733-acre property provides an important wildlife corridor connecting three large protected areas. The glacier-fed Pitt River flows into Pitt Lake—the world's largest tidal lake—before joining the Fraser River and the Salish Sea.

BC Parks Foundation is working alongside partners and supporters to help protect this extraordinary landscape for future generations.

Why is the Upper Pitt River important?

The Upper Pitt River watershed supports an incredible diversity of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, cougars, mountain goats, wolverines, marbled murrelets and elk.

It is also one of British Columbia's most important salmon landscapes, supporting the largest remaining wild coho population in the Lower Fraser, a unique race of sockeye that takes up to six years to mature, all species of Pacific salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden and the largest remaining population of bull trout in the Lower Mainland.

Designated BC's most endangered river in 2000 due to development pressure, the Upper Pitt River remains one of the last undeveloped river valleys in the region.

A landmark conservation gift

The protection of the Upper Pitt River was made possible through a history-making $14.5-million gift from the Age of Union Alliance, led by tech leader and environmental activist Dax Dasilva.

The donation—the largest in BC Parks Foundation's history and one of the largest conservation gifts ever made in British Columbia—will help protect this remarkable landscape while inspiring others to take action for nature.

"We hope to preserve this land for generations to come and inspire others to take similar action both locally and around the world," said Dax Dasilva.

Thank you to our partners

Protecting the Upper Pitt River reflects what can be achieved when conservation organizations, philanthropists and supporters work together around a shared vision.

BC Parks Foundation is deeply grateful to the Age of Union Alliance for its extraordinary leadership and historic investment in this project, and to everyone whose generosity and commitment is helping keep British Columbia beautiful.