Comox Valley Land Trust and Nanaimo & Area Land Trust each commit $50,000 and rally local communities behind conservation effort
September 2, 2026 – Deep Bay, BC – BC Parks Foundation has launched a campaign to protect 122.5 acres of forest, wetland, estuary, and shoreline in Deep Bay, with $395,000 left to raise from the community by September 30.
BC Parks Foundation has secured an agreement to purchase the property for $4 million. With generous support from the Wilson 5 Foundation and other donors, just $495,000 remains to reach the goal. The Comox Valley Land Trust (CVLT) and Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (NALT) have each committed $50,000, bringing the amount still needed to $395,000.
CVLT and NALT are now working together with BC Parks Foundation to rally their members, donors, and communities to help raise the remaining funds and protect this ecologically significant property.
“Opportunities like this don’t come along very often. It’s one of those rare spots where forest, wetland, estuary, and ocean still meet the way they’re meant to,” said Andy Day, CEO of BC Parks Foundation. “By protecting this land now, we’re keeping salmon moving through its creeks, birds returning to the estuary year after year, and the shoreline doing its job of filtering water before it reaches the Salish Sea. Opportunities to protect an intact land-to-sea system like this are increasingly rare, and stepping up here makes a real difference for this coast and all the life that depends on it.”
For CVLT, the effort to protect the property goes back more than a decade.
“The Deep Bay property has been at the top of our list of the most important areas in the Comox Valley to conserve for over 10 years,” said CVLT Director Nick Page. “Its mature forest, salmon streams, and diverse shoreline make it incredibly ecologically valuable, particularly as part of an expanding network of protected areas around Deep Bay. We’re delighted to help preserve it in perpetuity. In addition to our $50,000 donation, we’re partnering with the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust to rally our members, donors, and communities to help raise the remaining funds needed to protect this special place.”
The 122.5-acre property sits beside an 83-acre property already protected by BC Parks Foundation. Together, the two properties will connect more than 4,300 acres of protected lands to Baynes Sound and nearby marine protected areas, creating a continuous conservation corridor from inland forests to the Salish Sea.
Nearby protected lands include Rosewall Creek Provincial Park, the Bowser Ecological Reserve, Old Growth Management Areas on Crown land, and thousands of acres of Crown land set aside by the Province in 2018 to protect the forests of the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone. Together, these protected areas encompass one of the least-developed stretches of coastline remaining on eastern Vancouver Island.
“This is an excellent opportunity to protect some of the rich marine waters and natural shoreline of our region, and ensure that it stays connected to important freshwater ecosystems that provide exceptional fish-rearing habitat and the mature forests that surround them,” said NALT Stewardship Manager Linda Brooymans. “We are especially pleased to partner with the Comox Valley Land Trust and the BC Parks Foundation in our efforts to protect important habitats that border our two regions.”
The property includes salmon-bearing waterways, wetlands, forest, estuary, and shoreline habitat, including the estuaries of Cook Creek, Sandy Creek, and other waterways flowing into Baynes Sound. Its protection will help safeguard an increasingly rare intact land-to-sea ecosystem in a region known for its ecological importance, including Baynes Sound’s globally significant shellfish and herring habitat.
Local organizations are already rallying around the effort. The Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society has donated $5,000 to the campaign and committed an additional $3,000 in native plants and labour. CVLT volunteers will also contribute to restoration work on the property, including creating artificial nurse logs to support forest regeneration.
BC Parks Foundation, CVLT, and NALT are calling on people across the region and province to help raise the remaining $395,000 by September 30, 2026.
Donate to help protect the Deep Bay property.
View photos and video of the property here.
