closeup of the hands of many people leaning over a map to mark it up

As a land trust dedicated to responsible environmental stewardship, conservation is at the very heart of what we do. Protecting island ecosystems has been an important part of GaLTT’s mandate from the very beginning, and our Strategic Plan 2020-2025 emphasizes the need for an even stronger and more strategic conservation role.

Using a variety of approaches, we:

  • Identify priority ecosystems for protection,
  • Advocate for land conservation,
  • Raise and donate funds for land acquisition,
  • Hold conservation covenants on ecologically significant properties,
  • Encourage and support Gabriolans to take personal actions to preserve, protect, and restore natural habitats on their own lands,
  • Restore natural habitat by removing invasive plant species and replacing with native vegetation.

GaLTT partners with government agencies and other land trusts and community organizations to accomplish this important work.

Only 13% of the Gabriola Trust Area has been protected

The amount of the protected terrestrial area (774 ha) on Gabriola and surrounding islands (Mudge, DeCourcy, Link, and Flat Top islands) is far below the 20% average for the Islands Trust area as a whole. Of the four most populated Islands Trust Areas, Gabriola ranks last in the relative and absolute amounts of protected land.

Community parks make up the majority (70.5%) of the protected land in the Gabriola Trust Area. The remainder is protected as nature reserves and/or conservation covenants (15.1%), regional parks (8.0%), and provincial parks (6.4%).

We’ve made good progress in recent years – only 4% of Gabriola was protected when GaLTT was formed in 2004 – but there is still much work to do!

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Gabriola’s unique conservation challenges

In addition to the rapidly increasing costs of land acquisition common to many Gulf Islands, Gabriola is faced with some unique conservation challenges:

  • We have the largest proportion of small properties (<0.5 ha) in the entire Trust Area and the lowest percentage of large parcels >20 ha.
  • Approximately 10% of Gabriola’s land area (~600 ha of provincially and federally managed lands) has been set aside for treaty settlement with the Snuneymuxw First Nation. These lands include some of the largest undisturbed parcels on the island and represent a large portion of the island’s unfragmented mature forest, wetlands, and high biodiversity ecosystems.
  • About 17% of Gabriola’s land area is held within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). By definition, the “best use” of ALR lands is for agriculture, so protection for conservation purposes is difficult.

Why is conservation of Gabriola’s ecosystems so important?

Gabriola Island is part of the Coastal Douglas-fir Biogeoclimatic Zone (CDF), a unique set of associated ecosystems found only at low elevations on south-east Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and small pockets along the south coast of mainland British Columbia.

The CDF zone is one of the smallest ecological zones in BC, covering only 0.3% of the province. The CDF includes a wide variety of species and sensitive ecosystems, including Garry Oak ecosystems, wetlands, and coastal bluffs.

The CDF is the most threatened of all of BC’s ecological zones. Here are the facts:

  • The CDF is home to the highest number of species and ecosystems at risk in the province. 98% of the ecological communities in the CDF are considered “at risk”.
  • CDF has been highly altered by human disturbance through urbanization, industrial development, recreation, farming and the introduction of invasive species.
  • Less than 1% of the CDF remains in old-growth forests.
  • 80% of land in the CDF is held by private landholders, so the likelihood of further disturbance and fragmentation of the remaining natural areas is very high.
  • The CDF is the least protected ecological zone in BC.
  • More than 151 introduced invasive species exist in the CDF.
Gabriola’s CDF ecosystems are especially threatened

Simply put, Gabriola’s undisturbed ecosystems are quickly disappearing and becoming increasingly fragmented.

Being only a short ferry ride away from Nanaimo, the pressure of rural development on Gabriola has been higher on Gabriola than on many other Gulf Islands. In fact, Gabriola has the 2nd highest population density of all the islands in the Islands Trust Area.

According to the Regional Conservation Plan (2018-2027) of the Islands Trust Conservancy (ITC), 27% of Gabriola’s land area had been modified for human use at the time of writing.

In 2021, the islands Trust identified 490 still-undeveloped privately-owned lots on Gabriola, and future “build out” will unavoidably result in even greater loss of natural habitat. Future development will also put added pressure on groundwater resources, which will affect CDF ecosystems.

The ITC has cited research showing ecosystem health declines at disturbance levels above 30%, so the threat of further development pressure on the health and sustainability of the Gabriola community is very real.

Our successes

In recent years, GaLTT has been an important advocate and partner in several conservation projects.

Land Acquisition
Since 2017 we have advocated, and contributed significant funds ($167K), for the purchase of three separate properties by the Regional District of Nanaimo for conservation purposes. These efforts added 35 ha (87 ac) to the 707 Community Park and created Dodd Narrows Community Park on Mudge Island.
GaLTT president Hugh Skinner and RDN Director Vanessa Craig high-five each other in front of a gate on a trail into Wilkinson Woods.
In 2020 GaLTT advocated for the purchase and protection of Saturnina Island, one of the Flat Top Islands at the south-east end of Gabriola. The 4-ha (10-ac) island was subsequently purchased by the BC Parks Foundation. A popular day kayaking spot, the undeveloped island will be managed as a nature reserve by the Islands Trust Conservancy.
Group of people with gardening loppers, kayaks and canoes standing on pebble beach.

GaLTT volunteers on a trip to Saturnina to clear invasives at BC Parks Foundation’s request

Conservation Covenants

GaLTT and Islands Trust Conservancy reps attended the annual covenant monitoring trip to Link Island.

Conservation covenants are legal agreements between a landholder and a land trust that permanently protects natural habitat. GaLTT is a co-covenant holder of four covenants in the Gabriola Trust Area and is the local manager for another covenant held by American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts. We are responsible for monitoring each property yearly to ensure the terms of the covenant are being upheld.

Nature Stewards

In 2021, GaLTT launched a new Nature Stewards program to informally engage with private landholders to encourage voluntary restoration and retention of native habitat. The rapidly growing program is raising community awareness about the importance of protecting threatened CDF ecosystems and is helping landholders make more ecologically sensitive decisions on their land.

Two photos of signs. One is the Nature Stewards logo, with text below that says "We're Conserving Native Habitat" on a blue background. The other says "Home of a Wildlife Friendly Garden" on a purple background.
Native Plant Depot

GaLTT’s Native Plant Depot at the Gabriola Commons provides a way for Gabriolans to donate native plants and share them with others who are wanting to restore habitat. With landholder permission, our Rescue Team digs up native species and take them to GaLTT’s Native Plant Depot to be shared with others.

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Invasive Plant Removal and Restoration

GaLTT’s Invasive Species Committee calls on a large and dedicated team of volunteers to remove invasive plants from island conservation areas and trails. We also offer advice and support to help islanders manage invasive plants on private land and along roadsides in their neighbourhood.