Tales from Land Conservancies on Cortes, Quadra &15 Other Islands

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In 2021 Sheila Harrington embarked upon a three-year journey to explore the creation of local nature conservancies on 17 islands. Cortes and Quadra Islands were among them. She conducted more than 50 interviews, and wove together a chronicle of land conservancies and the people behind them since the 1990s. The resulting book, ‘Voices for the Islands, 30 Years Of Nature Conservation On The Salish Sea’ is just being released by Heritage House.

There is a chapter dedicated to each of the 17 islands.

The subject is very close to Harrington, who was the founding Executive Director of the Land Trust Alliance of BC from 1997 to 2011. She was also a director of the Lasqueti Island Nature Conservancy for more than 12 years.

Cortes Currents: Why should we care about land conservancies?

Harrington: “We should care because it works! These conservancies are protecting land and protecting nature. We’re in the midst of a species extinction that is unheard of all over the planet. The only way to save species is to save habitat, and land conservancies are an excellent way to save land. They’re local, they know what’s important, and they’re on the ground in order to ensure that it gets protected over time. They often work with regional districts. The Strathcona Regional District has worked with Land Trusts on Cortes, Quadra, and the province. On Salt Spring Island we protected 10 percent of the island by various land trusts working with the province and this whole Burgoyne Bay Park was protected through local people working with those other agencies.”

“I took a sailing journey to meet with the dedicated founders of land trusts, which are also known as conservancies, and current activists from 17 of the islands in the Salish Sea, who have protected hundreds of nature reserves, parks, and protected places for people and the wildlife we share these precious islands with. The book chronicles this legacy of passionate Salish Sea Island residents who have dedicated much of their lives to protecting nature in determined, creative ways.”