Regional Conservation Planning
The Islands Trust Area holds the highest density of at-risk species and ecosystems in British Columbia. Conservation opportunities in the islands are endless. But our resources available for conservation, such as funding and time are limited. The Islands Trust Fund recognizes the importance of carefully planning conservation efforts in this region to ensure limited resources are used in a way that provides the greatest conservation benefit for our island communities. We call this regional conservation planning.
Regional conservation planning includes the following:
- An inventory of the natural ecosystems we have today, including those which are at greatest risk (Baseline)
- An analysis that indicates what natural areas, if protected forever, provide the greatest security to at-risk species and ecosystems (Goals)
- Activities that are needed to protect those natural areas (Implementation Plan)
Islands Trust Fund Regional Conservation Plan
The Islands Trust Fund’s Regional Conservation Plan sets out long-term goals and associated five-year objectives for conservation in the Islands Trust Area. The Plan guides the Trust Fund Board’s decisions surrounding the properties it protects and the staff’s annual work programs. The Plan is the document by which the Islands Trust Fund measures its progress.
By consulting local conservation agencies and communities when creating the Regional Conservation Plan, the Islands Trust Fund strives to create a document that can be used by the region’s conservation community. By identifying common priorities and pooling our efforts, we hope our work together achieves greater success for the islands than the sum of our individual actions.
2010-2015 Regional Conservation Plan
The Islands Trust Fund is currently creating the 2010-2015 Regional Conservation Plan. In 2010, the Islands Trust Fund will invite feedback from local island conservancies, conservation agencies and communities to determine the conservation priorities of the islands.
Latest News
The Islands Trust Fund invites feedback on draft Sensitive Ecosystem Mapping for the Islands Trust Area. The final Sensitive Ecosystem Maps will provide the baseline data for the 2010-2015 Regional Conservation Plan. You are invited to an Open House near you to view the draft maps.
Project Funders
This project was generously funded by:
Thanks also to the Nature Conservancy of Canada whose upcoming Salish Sea Natural Area Conservation Plan will be incorporated into the 2010-2015 Regional Conservation Plan.
The 2005-2010 Regional Conservation Plan focuses on the following goals:
- Protect each natural ecosystem class within each Local Trust Area/Island Municipality;
- Protect the last remaining blocks of large natural ecosystems;
- Protect nationally and provincially identified ecosystems and habitats of species considered endangered, threatened or of special concern, Garry oak ecosystem sites being of particular importance;
- Protect viable ecosystems in each local trust area/island municipality;
- Expand existing protected areas on the major islands;
- Incorporate the concept of a protected area network in the official community plans of local trust areas/island municipalities;
- Improve the Islands Trust Ecosystem Mapping by updating the maps and groundtruthing the resulting polygons; and
- Ensure the safety and ecological integrity of Trust Fund Board protected areas.
Following the completion of the 2005-2010 Regional Conservation Plan in March 2010, the Islands Trust Fund will conduct an evaluation of the Plan’s success.
Contact Information
For more information about this project, please contact:
Ecosystem Protection Specialist
(250) 405-5176
|
