In Land We Trust
The Comox Valley Land Trust is a charity that works to protect, conserve, and restore the natural environment in the Comox Valley. Since our formation in 1999, we have protected almost 300 hectares of ecologically significant land and wildlife habitat. This success is thanks to the vision and generosity of our donors and partners.
We respectfully acknowledge that the land we gather on and work to protect is the unceded territory of the people who are today called the K’ómoks First Nation, consisting of the Pentlatch, E’iksan (eye-ick-sun), Sasitla (sa-seet-la), Xa’xe (ha-hey) and Sathloot (sath-loot) peoples.
Like all land trusts, we identify ecologically important private lands and work to purchase them, or to develop conservation covenants with the property owners. If your property is ecologically significant and you want to see it protected in perpetuity, please contact us. If you wish to support our work financially, your donation will go directly to acquiring and protecting the natural wealth of the Comox Valley.
Protecting what remains of our natural environment is critical to keeping our local salmon runs and our wildlife. It is also necessary to address climate change.
British Columbia’s coastal forests store huge amounts of living and dead carbon – in fact, together with the world’s other temperate rainforests, they store the largest amounts of carbon per hectare on the planet. Protecting these powerful carbon sinks is one of the most effective ways to reduce global carbon emissions while providing many additional benefits – like flood management, fresh water, and salmon and wildlife habitat.
Globally, natural climate solutions are an essential solution to climate change. In addition to forest conservation, solutions include reforestation, protecting and restoring wetlands and peatlands, and conservation agriculture. Together, these solutions can deliver a third of the global emissions reductions needed by 2030. These solutions store so much carbon, they are the equivalent of stopping burning oil globally!
“With so much lost and so little remaining, the preservation of the Comox Valley’s sensitive ecosystems is a high priority. To maintain biodiversity and livability, we work with local governments and take direct action to protect strategic private properties for conservation in perpetuity.”
~ Pieter Rutgers • President, Comox Valley Land Trust
A 2018 review of a Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory completed in 2014 shows that less than 5% of the previously extensive and connected ecosystems remain intact. The light green corridors show possible connections between intact ecosystems, as described in Nature Without Borders.
Working Together
All our work is about collaboration. In addition to working with private landowners, we work with local governments and industry to assess land development projects, and to promote land uses that protect natural assets and mitigate climate change impacts.
We also host the Comox Valley Conservation Partnership. This is an alliance of 26 local environmental non-profit organizations, stewardship groups and local residents’ associations that work together to provide a voice for conservation of our natural areas. The Comox Valley Land Trust supports the Partnership through providing a venue and a part-time coordinator.
Latest News:
Excitement builds in campaign to protect an evergreen spring-fed sanctuary for salmon and endangered species on Vancouver Island
Crowd funding campaign launches for conservation of Comox Valley mecca for fish and wildlife, including a species found nowhere else on Earth. November 15, 2022, Courtenay, B.C. Janet Gemmell remembers the day almost two decades ago when she and husband Jim Palmer saw their young daughter Carly discover a rare and mysterious fish species while on a family outing to
HELP US PRESERVE THE BEAUTY OF THE COMOX VALLEY
Since our formation in 1999, the Comox Valley Land Trust has protected and conserved almost 300 hectares of ecologically significant land and wildlife habitat. This success is thanks to the vision and generosity of our donors and partners. Your donation to CVLT goes directly to acquiring and protecting the natural wealth of the Comox Valley.
Background photo by Don Tait