Young Point, Lasqueti Island

Aerial view across the water toward the forested shoreline of Young Point on Lasqueti Island

About this conservation project

Young Point (Tahini Cove) on Lasqueti Island is a remarkable 104-hectare (256-acre) coastal property in the heart of the Salish Sea.

Thanks to the generosity of MapleCross, supporters, partners, and the landowners, BC Parks Foundation successfully protected this extraordinary landscape forever. Located within the traditional territories of Snaw-naw-as First Nation and Tla'amin Nation, the property sits beside Squitty Bay Park, expanding a connected network of protected lands on the southern end of Lasqueti Island.

The landowners generously reduced the purchase price to make conservation possible, while donors, philanthropic partners and supporters from across British Columbia contributed the remaining funds needed to complete the acquisition.

Why is Young Point important?

The acquisition preserves one of British Columbia's finest examples of the Coastal Douglas-fir Biogeoclimatic Zone—the province's most under-represented protected ecosystem.

Young Point protects an exceptional diversity of ecosystems within a single property. Its forests, shoreline, wetlands and rocky headlands support ten sensitive ecosystems, including three red-listed and one blue-listed plant communities.

The property also provides habitat for at least nine species at risk, protects more than five kilometres of shoreline, and includes veteran Douglas-fir trees estimated to be more than 350 years old, seasonal vernal pools and two small offshore islets. Together, these features make Young Point one of the most ecologically significant coastal conservation properties in the Salish Sea.