B.C. charity races to raise $4M to purchase private property, protect wildlife in Okanagan

Okanagan Lake is pictured in a photo on BC Parks Foundation's website. The charity is crowdfunding in hopes of purchasing a 151.7-acre parcel for $4 million, which would support its goal of protecting 25 per cent of land in the province by 2025, as well as plans for a wildlife corridor through the Okanagan. (BC Parks Foundation)

The future of a waterfront property in B.C.’s Okanagan is in limbo, as a charity races to raise the $4 million needed to purchase and protect the piece of land.

BC Parks Foundation still needs to raise 11 per cent of its target before July 15, the purchase deadline set by the private owners of the 151.7-acre parcel on Okanagan Lake.

The foundation, which is the charitable partner of BC Parks, wants to buy the property as part of its mission to protect 25 per cent of the province’s land and sea by 2025. A recent report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society found 19.6 per cent of B.C. has already been protected.

Jennie McCaffrey, BC Parks Foundation’s director of engagement, told CTV News on Wednesday that she’s confident the charity will be able to raise the outstanding $452,665 in three days.

“We’ve done this a few times before and British Columbians have shocked us every time,” McCaffrey said.

She pointed to the charity’s first crowdfunding campaign to protect a park in 2019, when it took just one week to raise the $3 million needed to preserve a portion of Princess Louisa Inlet. Since then, fundraisers by BC Parks Foundation have resulted in the protection of more than 5,700 hectares of land throughout the province, according to its website.

If the foundation reaches its target by Saturday, the purchase would support the goals of the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program, which are trying to create a 65-kilometre-long wildlife corridor stretching south from Vernon’s Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park.

According to the conservation groups, the Okanagan is home to “one of the most vulnerable ecosystems in Canada,” and the park protects a host of species—including elk, bears, badgers, golden eagles, bighorn sheep and cougars.

Dixon Terbasket, cultural co-ordinator with the Okanagan Nation Alliance, worries about what will happen if a wildlife corridor isn’t established.

“If we block the animals … we’re slowly going to peter out the numbers, the numbers are going to decrease, and we’re not going to have any more,” he said in a statement provided by BC Parks Foundation.

Protecting the privately owned property along Okanagan Lake, which is zoned for residential use and at risk of being sold to a developer, is a key part of the plan to create a corridor.

McCaffrey says that by crowdfunding to protect the park, the foundation is giving people the opportunity to take action in the face of dual crises—climate change and biodiversity loss.

“An important, critical piece that we can all do is protect land and sea forever,” she said, adding that the initiative has been met with overwhelming support.

McCaffrey estimates more than 200 individuals have donated to the campaign, as have local businesses, different wildlife and fishing organizations, as well as land trusts. One family in Kelowna put $50,000 towards the cause, and the Wilson 5 Foundation has been matching donations as part of its commitment to give BC Parks $100 million. The pledge, which was made last September, represents the largest conservation gift in Canadian history.

“We’ve had pensioners calling in and saying ‘I can donate $5, but that’s all I’ve got,'” McCaffrey said. “It’s truly a legacy for all the people contributing.”