Mission & Key Programs
The purposes of Elk Valley Regional Land Trust are to conserve and protect the environment for the benefit of the public by acquiring and managing property in the Elk Valley and through the establishment of conservation covenants designed to conserve, protect and rehabilitate ecosystems and the environment. Key facts about our organization include:
- We are a startup. Our focus is on prioritizing local projects with continental implications.
- We develop projects that support connectivity, conservation & sustainable use in the Elk Valley region.
- We prosecute those projects by aligning governments, corporations, scientists, users, and First Nations.
- We support those projects by raising capital in the form of grants, income streams and deductible donations.
- We provide donors with access to enhanced tax treatment for the gift of ecologically sensitive lands.
- We can but do not necessary acquire lands or covenants in lands, which we administer in perpetuity.
Service Area
Elk Valley in Southeast British Columbia.
Unique in the Transboundary Rocky Mountains
With the neighbouring Flathead Valley, the Elk Valley safeguards one of the greatest assemblages of large mammal species in North America. Decades of research have highlighted the immense value of this landscape for transboundary wildlife populations. The most prominent ecological role of the Elk Valley is as a connectivity corridor. The Valley serves as a genetic bridge that links wildlife populations in the Rocky Mountains of the United States with those in Canada. This connection sustains healthy levels of genetic diversity.
The Elk Valley is relatively narrow. The last ten years have seen an increase in recreational and resource extraction opportunities in the valley. This is especially so at Fernie, which is the largest town in the valley and sits at its narrowest point. The combined impact of greater traffic volumes, expanding housing developments, increased recreation use in the vicinity of Fernie will soon make it a chokepoint—a functionally impenetrable barrier across the Elk Valley that fragments habitat for species that depend on movement and interchange along and across the continental divide. The resulting loss of connectivity will have substantial knock-on effects. Animal populations, already in decline, face additional pressures. Genetic diversity made possible by this critical corridor will be substantially compromised.
“We’re different. We live here. We have a local focus. Our local focus allows us to identify and prioritize projects that national organizations cannot. Our projects are local, but they have national or continental impact on connectivity and biodiversity.”
Kevin LaRoche, Managing Director, Elk Valley Land Trust.
Project Highlight
The Trust’s immediate focus is on its West Slope Project.
- 1000 hectares, FAR to Fairy Creek.
- Urban bypass for wildlife.
- Globally important connectivity and biodiversity values.
- Substantial recreational values, which include:
- Mount Fernie Trail
- Fairy Creek Falls Trail
- Mount Proctor Approach Trails
- Immediate threat of development
- Project documents are at https://drive.google.com/file/
d/1DPN8RvdxGg0YD_ 2ZYeSGrVNd0UaT-QpH/view?usp= drive_link
