West Ballenas Island

This is an unbelievable story. Thousands of British Columbians, and people from around the world, have come together to protect a beautiful place, forever, through the spirit of gratitude.

We have a feeling this story is not over and is part of something much bigger. If you want to continue to contribute, all additional funds will go into our Parks Bank of British Columbia to be used to protect other beautiful places like West Ballenas. Stay tuned!

1.7 million thanks to you.

With gratitude,
Andy Day (aka the luckiest person alive to have this job)
CEO, BC Parks Foundation

West Ballenas Island is an undeveloped 100-acre island gem floating in the Salish Sea – one of BC’s most threatened environments. Listed as one of the top ten most biodiverse sites in the Gulf Islands, West Ballenas is home to abundant bird populations, rare plants, threatened species, and marine life.

It’s also in a prime location for human use, being close to the rapidly growing Nanaimo-Parksville region of Vancouver Island. Part of Snaw-naw-as Nation territory, and long popular with local and international boaters visiting the surrounding archipelago, most people are not aware the island is privately held and zoned for development into a number of individual parcels.

West Ballenas Island is within the Snaw-Naw-As Nation’s territory. BC Parks Foundation has discussed the purchase of West Ballenas with the Snaw-naw-as Nation. If this private land is acquired in order to create a park, all communities and the Snaw-naw-as people will regain access to West Ballenas.

Snaw-naw-as have let us know that they “continue to work toward including the Department of National Defence property on Wallace Point and the Nanoose peninsula into properties and uses that the Snaw-naw-as can once again access.” We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with Snaw-naw-as in the future.

Recognized by the Conservation Data Centre as one of the ten most biodiverse sites in the Gulf Islands with coastal bluff and coastal woodland sensitive ecosystems. Home to red-listed Garry Oak-Arbutus community and a rare Shore Pine-Cladina-Kinnnikinnick plant community as well as blue-listed species.

Contains the endangered species Water-plantain buttercup, one of only two locations in British Columbia. As an island, the property is virtually undisturbed by grazing and other human impacts. Foreshore serves as winter haul out for California and Northern Sea lions.

Adjacent to Federal Fisheries and Oceans' Rockfish Conservation Area. Surrounding waters support rafts of diving sea birds, orcas, and other marine mammals; the passage between the two Ballenas islands contains eelgrass beds.