Three Sisters trail, Fernie · Photo: James Heilman, CC BY-SA 3.0

EDITORIAL · THE BC NDP · 30 BY 30 · WHO BENEFITS

David Eby says 30 by 30 will “keep public access.” So who is it really protecting the land for?

The BC NDP’s environment plan, which Brittny Anderson is sharing with Kootenay voters, says protecting 30 per cent of B.C. by 2030 will “keep public access”. The agreement behind the target never mentions public access and says it is not legally binding. The party’s “20 per cent already protected” and “6 million hectares of old growth” lean on forestry zones, older parks and voluntary logging pauses. Follow the land and it leads to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, which lobbied Premier David Eby and his ministers and has received $24.3 million from the Province’s land ministry since 2022, to Teck, which counts the hectares it helped pay for toward its own mining goal, and to Glencore’s Elk Valley Resources, which put $20 million into land NCC now owns. On NCC’s Darkwoods property, the public needs a permit to walk in.

Backcountry Coalition · 19 October 2026 Email

On 10 October the BC NDP released the environment plan of David Eby, the Premier and party leader, to “protect our land and water”. Its centrepiece, to be done with Prime Minister Mark Carney, is the promise to protect 30 per cent of British Columbia by 2030, the target known as 30 by 30, and the party says it will “preserve public access.”² Brittny Anderson, the Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities and the NDP candidate in Kootenay Central, has been sharing the plan with the party’s own graphics. “Vote for me, vote BC NDP,” her post ends.¹

We took the party’s own graphics and set them against the documents. The agreement behind 30 by 30 never mentions public access and says it is not legally binding. The party’s progress figures count forestry zones and temporary logging pauses as protection. And the money and land behind the target lead to a charity that lobbied Eby’s cabinet, to mining companies that count the hectares toward their own goals, and to properties where the public needs a permit to walk in.

01 Brittny Anderson and the BC NDP are selling 30 by 30 with graphics that promise it will “keep public access”

The record

Anderson’s post says the plan “highlights the goal of conserving 30 percent of B.C.’s land and water by 2030” and carries the party’s carousel, “David Eby’s plan for your environment: Protect our land and water”.¹
The party’s 30 by 30 graphic says: “Partner with PM Carney to protect nature and keep public access.” Its last line reads “Building on the 20% of B.C. already protected”.³
Eby’s own quote card says the plan will protect 30 per cent “for wildlife habitat and public access”, and that a northwest corridor will protect “12,000 Stanley Parks, while still allowing responsible resource development.”³

Brittny Anderson's Facebook post. Text: Earlier this week, the BC NDP shared new steps to protect the natural spaces that shape our lives in British Columbia. The plan focuses on expanding protections for old growth and sensitive ecosystems, strengthening watershed security, and setting clearer standards for emerging industries. Boxed: It also highlights the goal of conserving 30 percent of B.C.'s land and water by 2030. It ends: Vote for me, vote BC NDP. Below, four party graphics: David Eby's plan for your environment, Protect our land and water; Making progress, 98%, 20%, 6M, 50%; Cut pollution; Save old growth. — Anderson’s post with the party’s first four campaign graphics. Her line on 30 by 30 is boxed.¹ Source: facebook.com

BC NDP graphic: Protect 30% of B.C. by 2030. Boxed: Partner with PM Carney to protect nature and keep public access. Then: A northwest conservation corridor the size of 12,000 Stanley Parks. Boxed: Building on the 20% of B.C. already protected. — The party’s own 30 by 30 graphic. “Keep public access” and “the 20% of B.C. already protected” are boxed.³ Source: bcndp.ca

A David Eby post on a BC NDP card: Our plan works with Prime Minister Carney to protect 30% of B.C.'s land by 2030, for wildlife habitat and public access, which is boxed. A new conservation corridor in the northwest would protect an area the size of 12,000 Stanley Parks, while still allowing responsible resource development, which is boxed. — The party’s quote card for Eby, cut to the post itself. The supporters in its photograph are left out.³ Source: bcndp.ca

That is the promise in the party’s own words. The rest of this piece checks it, one claim at a time, against the agreement, the government’s own tables, the Public Accounts and the lobbyists registry.

02 The 30 by 30 agreement B.C.’s NDP government signed never mentions public access, and it says it is not legally binding

B.C.’s 30 by 30 commitment rests on the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation, signed on 3 November 2023 by Canada, the Province and the First Nations Leadership Council. Nathan Cullen, then the NDP Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, signed for B.C. Canada put up to $500 million on the table, to be matched.⁵

The record

The words “public access”, “recreation”, “hunt” and “trail” appear nowhere in its 20 pages. Every use of “access” is about data.⁵
Clause 13.2: “This Agreement is not legally binding and therefore does not create legal rights or obligations.”⁵
The NDP’s costed plan of 14 October has no line for 30 by 30 at all. Its only conservation money is the $50 million old-growth fund.⁶

From the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation. 6.4.1: Canada and B.C.'s target of protecting at least 30% of B.C.'s land base by 2030, highlighted. 11.1: Canada will contribute up to $500 million, highlighted. 13.2: This Agreement is not legally binding and therefore does not create legal rights or obligations, highlighted. Below: searched across all 20 pages, public access 0, recreation 0, hunt 0, trail 0. — Clauses 6.4.1, 11.1 and 13.2, re-set from the agreement with the text between them left out. The last line is our search of all 20 pages.⁵ Source: canada.ca

So “keep public access” is a line in a campaign graphic. It is not in the agreement, not in any law that sets up the areas being counted, and not in the costed plan. We showed on 12 October that the plan names no road, budget or rule to back it.⁷ In our view, a promise that appears only on a graphic is not a policy. It is a slogan.

03 The NDP’s “20% of B.C.’s land already protected” leans on forestry zones whose reporting the Province has paused, and most of the parks predate the NDP

The record

In the federal database that counts toward 30 by 30, B.C. is at 20.0 per cent. Protected areas make up 15.9 points of it. The other 4.1 points are “other effective area-based conservation measures”, or OECMs.⁸
Those OECMs are almost all five province-wide records entered in 2019. The biggest are forestry-law Old Growth Management Areas and Wildlife Habitat Areas, which were already on the books.⁸
The federal manual says OECMs “may not have the conservation of biodiversity as the primary goal.” The Province told The Narwhal in 2024 that it had “paused reporting” of them.⁹¹⁰
Protected areas whose recorded establishment year is 2017 or later, the NDP’s years in office, cover about half of one per cent of B.C.⁸
In 2015, by the Province’s own environmental reporting, protected lands already covered 15.4 per cent of B.C.¹¹

BC NDP graphic headed Making progress: 98% of B.C.'s electricity is clean and renewable; 20% of B.C.'s land already protected, boxed; 6M hectares of old growth deferred or protected, boxed; 50% decrease in methane pollution. — The party’s progress graphic. The two land claims, “20% of B.C.’s land already protected” and “6M hectares of old growth deferred or protected”, are boxed.³ Source: bcndp.ca

The party’s own page puts it in the past tense: “Protected 20% of B.C.’s land base.”⁴ The total is a real federal figure. What it hides is how it was reached. A fifth of it is existing designations, mostly under forestry law, that were added to the count in 2019 and whose reporting the Province has since paused, and the parks themselves are overwhelmingly older than this government. In our view, “20% already protected” is a number the NDP inherited and relabelled, not one it earned.

04 The NDP’s “6 million hectares of old growth” is mostly old protection and voluntary logging pauses, and the Province’s own table shows about 382,000 hectares newly protected

The record

The Province’s Old Growth Summary for February 2025 counts 4,041,881 hectares of protected old growth. Of that, 3,659,641 hectares were already protected in November 2021, before the deferral policy began.¹²
Another 2,030,552 hectares are deferrals. Together that is the “6 million”. Only about 382,000 hectares are newly protected.¹²
The Province’s own page says: “Deferrals are not permanent protections and are subject to future management decisions.” Nearly 2.0 million hectares of them are voluntary, and legal orders protecting old growth cover 8,212 hectares.¹³
The party says old-growth logging is down 75 per cent since 2015. All logging fell about 71 per cent over the same years, and old growth’s share of the cut moved only from 28 to 19 per cent.¹⁴⁴

The Province of British Columbia's Old Growth Summary as of February 2025, with columns for the November 2021 baseline and February 2025. Row 2, total protected old growth: 3,659,641 and 4,041,881 hectares, boxed. Row 4, total unprotected old growth deferred: 154,000 and 2,030,552 hectares, boxed. Row 4b, deferred or newly protected since November 2021: 154,000 and 2,412,792. — The Province’s own table, cropped. Row 2, protected old growth, and row 4, deferrals, are boxed. Row 2 had 3.66 million hectares before the policy began.¹² Source: gov.bc.ca

BC NDP graphic: Save old growth. Boxed: A new $50 million fund to permanently protect the rarest old growth. Then: Help local mills process more second-growth timber. Old-growth logging is already down 75% from 2015. — The party’s old-growth graphic. The $50 million fund is boxed.³ Source: bcndp.ca

The new $50 million fund is in the costed plan, as $25 million in each of two years. The plan does not say who will run it.⁶ The last old-growth fund, a federal–provincial one, did its land deals through “organizations like the BC Parks Foundation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada”.¹⁵ That is where the money trail starts.

05 The Nature Conservancy of Canada lobbied Premier Eby and his cabinet on new protected areas, and his land ministry has paid it more than $24 million since 2022

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a national land-trust charity. It is not The Nature Conservancy, the American group, nor its Canadian affiliate, Nature United. NCC buys private land, holds it in fee simple and reports it into the federal database that counts toward 30 by 30. In B.C. it holds 364 such records, about 125,000 hectares.⁸¹⁵

The record

NCC is a registered lobbyist in B.C. Between April 2021 and October 2023 it filed 22 reports on one subject: “Support Creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas”.¹⁷
Report 3258-23055, dated 8 December 2022, names Premier David Eby, eight of his ministers and two parliamentary secretaries. The lobbyist was Nancy Newhouse, NCC’s B.C. regional vice-president. The registry records no arranged meeting.¹⁶
The same report sought government support for restoration work on NCC’s own lands. The intended outcome it lists is the “awarding … of any contract, grant or financial benefit”.¹⁶
On 30 July 2025 NCC lobbied Brittny Anderson herself, on “the creation of new protected areas”.¹⁷
NCC is not alone. The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative filed 34 reports on the 30 per cent target, three naming Eby, and the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-BC) filed 38.¹⁸
Across all subjects, NDP MLAs logged 11,529 lobbying contacts between November 2024 and September 2026. Recreation and access groups accounted for 51 of them.¹⁹

Lobbying activity report 3258-23055 for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Activity date 2022-12-08, highlighted. Arranged a meeting: no. In-house lobbyist Nancy Newhouse. Office holders lobbied: Pam Alexis, Katrine Conroy, Nathan Cullen, Adrian Dix, David Eby, Premier, highlighted, George Heyman, Josie Osborne, Bruce Ralston, Murray Rankin, Doug Routley and Aman Singh. Topic: support ecosystem restoration projects on NCC lands; intended outcome: awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit, highlighted. Topic: support creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and OECMs, highlighted. — The report, re-set from the registry page. The Premier, the date, the grant outcome and the protected-areas topic are highlighted.¹⁶ Source: lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca

Then the money. The Public Accounts show five transfers to NCC from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship since 2022, $24,273,461 in all.²⁰

Paid	Amount	What it paid for
2022/23	$200,000	Not published.²⁰
April 2023	$15,000,000	Not published. NCC says the ministry funded its Bunchgrass Hills purchase but gives no amount.²⁰²³
April 2024	$573,461	75 hectares at Kwiakah, Phillips Arm, from the Old Growth Nature Fund.²¹
April 2025	$7,000,000	Matches the Province’s reported share of the Kootenay Forest Lands, which NCC now owns.²²
April 2026	$1,500,000	Not published.²⁰

From the Province of British Columbia Public Accounts 2023/24, Government Transfers, continued. Boxed: The Nature Conservancy of Canada, 15,000,000; Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, 15,000,000. — The $15 million line, cropped from printed page 642, under the page heading. The schedule gives no purpose.²⁰ Source: gov.bc.ca

NCC is a large organization. It holds $1.2 billion in conservation lands, and in its 2024 return 40.8 per cent of its revenue came from federal and provincial governments.²⁴ The Province has also committed $150 million to a Conservation Financing Mechanism run with the BC Parks Foundation, another private charity.²⁵ All of it is legal, and much of it is disclosed. But $16.7 million of the ministry’s transfers to NCC carry no published purpose. In our view, a government that campaigns on 30 by 30 owes voters a plain list of what each dollar bought, who owns the land now, and what the public may do on it.

06 Teck and Glencore’s Elk Valley Resources helped pay for land counted toward 30 by 30, and Teck counts the hectares toward its own mining goal

The record

In 2022 Teck Resources, the mining company, set a “nature positive” goal: conserve or rehabilitate “at least three hectares for every one hectare affected by its mining activities.”²⁶
The same day it gave NCC $2 million for Next Creek, “the last remaining unprotected land within the Darkwoods Conservation Area”, and promised NCC $12 million more for future B.C. projects.²⁶
In 2023 Teck put $2 million into the Incomappleux, saying it “funded 37,500 hectares, or half, of the total lands protected” there, as part of its nature-positive goal.²⁷
The Province says NCC “is facilitating and funding” the Incomappleux Conservancy, with Teck among its backers, after the forestry company Interfor released 75,000 hectares of tenure. What Interfor was paid has not been published.²⁸
Elk Valley Resources, a Glencore company that mines coal in the Elk Valley, gave $20 million toward the 45,000-hectare Kootenay Forest Lands, “protecting land in the region where we operate”. Ottawa announced $20 million more, and NCC holds the land.²⁹³⁰

Teck Resources news release, January 25, 2023: Teck Investment Helps Protect 75,000 Hectares of BC's Incomappleux Valley. Highlighted: as part of its goal to be a nature positive company by 2030. Highlighted: Teck's investment funded 37,500 hectares, or half, of the total lands protected in the Incomappleux Valley. Highlighted: at least three hectares for every one hectare affected by its mining activities. — Teck’s own release, re-set. The hectares it claims and the mining goal they serve are highlighted.²⁷ Source: teck.com

Glencore Canada page dated 16 December 2025. Highlighted headline: EVR contributes $20 million to conserve 45,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley. Quote from the chief executive of EVR, with protecting land in the region where we operate highlighted. — Glencore’s page, re-set. The headline and the reason its chief executive gave are highlighted.²⁹ Source: glencore.ca

None of this is hidden, and none of it is against the law. Teck says so itself: the Incomappleux hectares go toward its goal of conserving three hectares for every hectare its mines disturb. In our view, that is the part of 30 by 30 the NDP never puts on a graphic. Conservation land counted toward the government’s target is also land that mining companies count toward their own, and the charity in the middle holds the title.

07 Eby’s “12,000 Stanley Parks” corridor was launched by Ottawa as a critical-minerals project, and no boundary for it has been published

The record

The Prime Minister’s Office announced the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor in September 2025. It said the corridor “presents opportunities for critical minerals development, clean power transmission, Indigenous project leadership, and a potential new conservation area the size of Greece.”³²
The federal Major Projects Office lists it under electricity and mining. Its page cites the Golden Triangle as “one of the world’s richest reserves of minerals and metals” and gives no area, boundary or funding.³³
A Privy Council Office spokesperson told The Narwhal the strategy will “focus on development of mining, energy and trade infrastructure”.³⁴
Western Copper and Gold, a mining company, welcomed the referral as “unlocking critical minerals through nation-building infrastructure”.³⁵
The provincial land-use plans for the region were put out as drafts for comment in July 2026. They are proposals, not designations.³⁶

From the Prime Minister's release of September 11, 2025, announcing the first projects for the Major Projects Office: This mine is part of the proposed Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor. This corridor is being moved to the MPO for consideration, as it presents opportunities for critical minerals development, clean power transmission, highlighted, Indigenous project leadership, and a potential new conservation area the size of Greece. — The Prime Minister’s release, re-set. The corridor’s first two purposes are highlighted.³² Source: pm.gc.ca

The NDP’s supporter posts call it “12,000 Stanley Parks’ worth of wild B.C., protected for good.”³ No government source we found gives that figure, a map or a boundary. What the federal record does show is who the corridor is for first: mines, transmission lines and export infrastructure. The release’s own phrase is “while enabling responsible natural resource development.”² In our view, it is the clearest case in the plan of conservation being sold to voters as a park while it works for industry as a permit.

08 On land already counted toward 30 by 30, the public needs a permit, finds no road, or loses its hunt

The record

Darkwoods. NCC’s 63,000-hectare property in the West Kootenay, where Teck paid $2 million toward the Next Creek watershed, is open for day use from July to September only. “Permits are required for entry.” Off-road vehicles and snowmobiles are banned, and anyone without a permit “will be trespassing”.³⁷²⁶
Under NCC’s 2011–16 plan, three local snowmobile clubs had winter access to Darkwoods by agreement. The current rules ban snowmobiles outright.³⁸³⁷
Incomappleux. The 58,654-hectare conservancy “has no road access, trails, or facilities”, and “Hunting is not permitted”. A ministry spokesperson said heli-skiing could continue, subject to a park use permit.³⁹⁴⁰
NCC land generally. “Our lands are privately-owned.” NCC may refuse access where it “is against the wishes of the donor”.⁴¹
Kootenay Forest Lands. NCC says “Public recreation access will continue”. Wildsight, a Kootenay conservation group, says “current closures remain in place”, and no hunting or motorized rules have been published.³⁰³¹

From the Nature Conservancy of Canada's Darkwoods page, under Public access. Highlighted: from July through September. Permits are required for entry. Highlighted: Camping, off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, fires, trapping and cutting firewood on the property are prohibited. Highlighted: any visitor without a permit will be trespassing. — NCC’s own access rules for Darkwoods, re-set from its page.³⁷ Source: natureconservancy.ca

From the BC Parks page for the Incomappleux Conservancy. Highlighted: This conservancy has no road access, trails, or facilities. Under special notes, highlighted: Hunting is not permitted in this conservancy. — BC Parks’ own page for the conservancy, re-set.³⁹ Source: bcparks.ca

Set those rules beside the party’s graphic. “Keep public access” is what voters are shown. A permit, a closed season, a road that does not exist and a hunting ban are what the record shows on land already in the count. Brittny Anderson is asking Kootenay voters to back this plan while fourteen forest roads in her own riding have been closed, posted or retired since 2020.⁴² The costed plan puts no money into the roads, rec sites or parks that would make public access real.⁴³

09 Seven questions David Eby and Brittny Anderson should answer before British Columbians vote

Questions for David Eby, Premier and leader of the BC NDP

Where is “keep public access” written down? Name the clause, law or regulation that guarantees it on land counted toward 30 by 30.
What did the $15 million paid to the Nature Conservancy of Canada in April 2023 buy, and what did the $1.5 million of April 2026 buy?
Will the new $50 million old-growth fund be run by the government, or paid through a charity such as NCC or the BC Parks Foundation?
Will you stop counting land toward 30 by 30 where the public needs a permit to enter or where the roads are being removed?
Where are the boundaries of the “12,000 Stanley Parks”, and which mines and transmission lines will the corridor carry?

Questions for Brittny Anderson, Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities and BC NDP candidate in Kootenay Central

NCC lobbied you on new protected areas in July 2025. What did it ask for, and what did you do?
Will you ask NCC to restore winter access to Darkwoods for the snowmobile clubs that had it under its earlier plan?

The NDP’s graphic promises 30 by 30 will keep public access. The record shows who keeps the land, the money and the credit.

Share this story

Eight images to share, one point on each.

Suggested caption

David Eby says 30 by 30 will “keep public access.” At Darkwoods, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s land in the West Kootenay, you need a permit to walk in and snowmobiles are banned.

The 2023 agreement behind the target never mentions public access, and it says it is not legally binding.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada lobbied Premier Eby and his ministers on new protected areas, and his land ministry has paid it $24.3 million since 2022. Of that, $16.7 million carries no published purpose.

Teck counts the hectares it helped pay for toward its own mining goal, and Glencore’s Elk Valley Resources put $20 million into land the charity now owns.

Brittny Anderson, the Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities, is sharing the plan with Kootenay voters. In our view, a promise that appears only on a graphic is not a policy. It is a slogan.

If you hunt, sled or hike in the Kootenays, ask your candidate to put “public access” in writing before you vote on 24 October.

🔗 backcountry.cx/editorials/ndp-30-by-30-who-benefits/

#BCpoli #BCElection #30by30 #PublicAccess

Sources

↩ Brittny Anderson, BC NDP candidate in Kootenay Central, Facebook post, shown as “1d” on 17 October 2026: “It also highlights the goal of conserving 30 percent of B.C.’s land and water by 2030”, and “Vote for me, vote BC NDP.” It carries the party’s carousel, beginning “David Eby’s plan for your environment: Protect our land and water”. Screenshot on file; no commenters are shown.
↩ BC NDP, “Eby’s plan protects B.C.’s natural spaces, funds climate action”, news release, Courtenay, 10 October 2026: “Partnering with Prime Minister Carney to protect 30% of B.C.’s land by 2030 to conserve the environment, protect wildlife habitat, and preserve public access”; the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor “is poised to add protections to an area equivalent to 12,000 Stanley Parks, while enabling responsible natural resource development”; and “$50 million to convert old-growth deferrals of the most irreplaceable and rarest forests into permanent protections”. Read 17 October 2026. bcndp.ca
↩ BC NDP, campaign graphics for “David Eby’s plan for your environment” (files environment-v2-01 to 09), the David Eby quote card and the “12,000 Stanley Parks” card, from the share toolkits embedded on the party’s environment and nature pages, downloaded 17 October 2026. One suggested post reads: “12,000 Stanley Parks’ worth of wild B.C., protected for good.” bcndp.ca/environment · bcndp.ca/nature
↩ BC NDP, “David Eby’s plan to protect your environment”, read 17 October 2026: “30% of BC’s land protected by 2030 – with 20% protected already”; “6 million hectares of old growth deferred or protected from logging”; “Protected 20% of B.C.’s land base in parks, protected areas, and other conservation measures”; “Reduced old-growth harvesting by 75% compared to 2015 levels”; and “Establish a new $50 million fund to convert deferrals into permanent protections”. bcndp.ca
↩ Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation between Canada, British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council, signed 3 November 2023, 20 pages: objective 6.4.1 (“at least 30% of B.C.’s land base by 2030”, counted in the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database), clause 11.1 (“Canada will contribute up to $500 million”, to be matched) and clause 13.2 (“This Agreement is not legally binding and therefore does not create legal rights or obligations”). Nathan Cullen signed for British Columbia. A search of the text finds “public access”, “recreation”, “hunt” and “trail” zero times; all six uses of “access” concern data. canada.ca (PDF)
↩ BC NDP, “BC Strong Fiscal & Costing Plan”, 14 October 2026, “Your Environment”: “Old Growth Protection Fund”, $25 million in 2027-28 and $25 million in 2028-29. The plan has no line for 30 by 30, parks, conservancies or the northwest corridor, and names no one to run the fund. bcndp.ca (PDF)
↩ Backcountry Coalition, editorial on the BC NDP’s environment plan, 12 October 2026: three of its seven promises had been announced before, and “preserve public access” names no road, budget or rule. backcountry.cx
↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2025, statistics and records for British Columbia: 944,735 km² of land; protected areas 150,266 km² (15.9%); other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) 38,596 km² (4.1%); total 188,862 km² (20.0%). The OECMs are almost all five province-wide records entered in 2019, the largest being legal Old Growth Management Areas (1,440,900 ha) and Wildlife Habitat Areas (1,183,729 ha). Protected-area records with an establishment year of 2017 or later total about 426,000 hectares, about 0.45% of B.C. (our arithmetic; the database files a later expansion under a park’s original year, so the true figure may be somewhat higher). The Nature Conservancy of Canada holds 364 B.C. records, all “Privately Protected Area” in fee simple, totalling 125,411 hectares before overlaps. canada.ca · CPCAD user manual (PDF)
↩ CPCAD 2025 User Manual, PDF page 8: “OECMs may not have the conservation of biodiversity as the primary goal.” data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca (PDF)
↩ The Narwhal, “B.C. old growth and conservation targets”, 29 January 2024, quoting a provincial spokesperson: the Province “has paused reporting of other effective conservation measures”; and reporting CPAWS-BC’s finding that less than a third of the area in legal Old Growth Management Areas is old forest. thenarwhal.ca
↩ Environmental Reporting BC, Protected Lands & Waters in B.C., read 15 October 2026: “Protected lands and waters cover 15.4% of B.C.’s land base”, on 2015 data. env.gov.bc.ca
↩ Province of British Columbia, Old Growth Summary – as of February 2025: total protected old growth 3,659,641 hectares at the November 2021 baseline and 4,041,881 in February 2025; unprotected old growth deferred, 2,030,552 hectares. Protected plus deferred is 6,072,433 hectares; newly protected since November 2021 is 382,240 (our subtraction). Its definition of “protected” includes non-legal Old Growth Management Areas and “NGO Fee Simple Conservation Lands”. gov.bc.ca (PDF)
↩ Province of British Columbia, Old growth deferral areas, read 17 October 2026: “Deferrals are not permanent protections and are subject to future management decisions”; “Voluntary deferrals are currently in place over nearly 2.0 million hectares”; “Legal orders to specifically protect old growth now cover 8,212 hectares”. gov.bc.ca
↩ Province of British Columbia, annual old-growth harvest data, 2025: old growth harvested 68,999 hectares in 2015 and 13,602 in 2024 (marked “Caution: based on incomplete information”); total harvest 244,508 hectares in 2015 and 71,645 in 2024. Old growth’s share of the cut was 28% and 19% (our arithmetic). gov.bc.ca (PDF)
↩ Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation, Second Annual Report, March 2026: “Parks and OECMs count toward the 30% X 2030 target” and land trusts “also report into CPCAD”; the Old Growth Nature Fund (“The Government of Canada provided $50 million … The Government of British Columbia contributed $80 million of cash and in-kind”) worked with “organizations like the BC Parks Foundation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada”; and the Kootenay Forest Lands, “Public recreation access will continue”. gov.bc.ca (PDF)
↩ Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for B.C., Lobbying Activity Report 3258-23055, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, activity date 8 December 2022, posted 13 January 2023, “Arranged a meeting: No”; in-house lobbyist Nancy Newhouse; office holders named: Premier David Eby, eight ministers (Pam Alexis, Katrine Conroy, Nathan Cullen, Adrian Dix, George Heyman, Josie Osborne, Bruce Ralston and Murray Rankin) and two parliamentary secretaries (Doug Routley and Aman Singh). Topics include “Investigate opportunities to support ecosystem restoration projects on NCC lands”, with the intended outcome “Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit”, and “Support Creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).” lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca
↩ Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for B.C., The Nature Conservancy of Canada, registration 8902-3258 and its lobbying activity reports, open-data export of 20 September 2026: designated filer Catherine Grenier, President and CEO; Nancy Newhouse, NCC’s B.C. regional vice-president, named on 62 of 67 reports; 22 reports between 23 April 2021 and 16 October 2023 on “Support Creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas”; and report 3258-44795, 30 July 2025, naming Brittny Anderson, Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities, on “the creation of new protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)”, “Arranged a meeting: No”. registration · 3258-44795
↩ Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for B.C., open-data export of 20 September 2026: the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative filed 34 reports to “advocate for the creation of Indigenous-led Protected Areas as part of Canada’s strategy to protect 25% of lands by 2025 and 30% by 2030”, three of them naming Premier David Eby (22385, 22390 and 33886); the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, B.C. chapter (CPAWS-BC), filed 38 on “BC’s commitment to protect 30% of lands by 2030”, from 18 October 2023 to 17 June 2026. lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca
↩ Backcountry Coalition, editorial on the lobbyists registry, 14 October 2026: from 18 November 2024 to 22 September 2026, 11,529 lobbying contacts with BC NDP MLAs, and 51 from recreation and access groups. backcountry.cx
↩ Province of British Columbia, Public Accounts, Consolidated Revenue Fund Detailed Schedules of Payments, “Government Transfers”, entries for “The Nature Conservancy of Canada”, each from “Water, Land & Res Stewardship”: $200,000 (2022/23); $15,000,000 (April 2023; 2023/24, printed page 642); $573,461 (April 2024); $7,000,000 (April 2025); $1,500,000 (April 2026). Each April payment appears in two years’ schedules and is counted once here: $24,273,461 in all. The schedules give no purpose. 2022/23 · 2023/24 · 2024/25 · 2025/26
↩ Province of British Columbia, news release 2024WLRS0033, Old Growth Nature Fund lands: “Kwiakah, Phillips Arm (Central Coast); 75 hectares; Nature Conservancy of Canada; $573,461 (total cost: $1,274,359)”. news.gov.bc.ca
↩ Black Press Media (The Progress), “Historic 45,000-hectare land conservation buy confirmed for southeastern B.C.”, 17 December 2025: “the provincial government $7 million” toward the Kootenay Forest Lands. The amount matches the April 2025 transfer; neither the Public Accounts nor the lobbyists registry name the project. theprogress.com
↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Bunchgrass Hills project page, as archived 20 April 2026: “The Province of British Columbia provided funding through the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.” No amount is given, and no document ties it to the $15 million. web.archive.org
↩ The Nature Conservancy of Canada, audited financial statements, year ended 31 May 2025 (Ernst & Young LLP): conservation lands and agreements $1,205,901,526; total revenue $191,366,164; lands and agreements purchased $50,165,886. And its CRA T3010 return (BN 119246544RR0001), year ended 31 May 2024: federal government revenue $38,827,084 and provincial revenue from all provinces $43,678,249, together 40.8% of total revenue of $202,789,080. natureconservancy.ca (PDF) · cra-arc.gc.ca
↩ Province of British Columbia, news release 2023FOR0061: a $300-million Conservation Financing Mechanism, “$150 million from the Province, matched by a commitment to raise an additional $150 million from the BC Parks Foundation.” news.gov.bc.ca
↩ Teck Resources, “Teck Sets Nature Positive Goal”, 5 June 2022: a goal of “conserving or rehabilitating at least three hectares for every one hectare affected by its mining activities”; a “$2 million donation to the Nature Conservancy of Canada” for the Next Creek watershed, “the last remaining unprotected land within the Darkwoods Conservation Area”; and “$12 million in new funding to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to support future high priority conservation projects in B.C.” teck.com
↩ Teck Resources, news release 23-6-TR, 25 January 2023: “contributed $2 million towards the conservation and protection of 75,000 hectares” in the Incomappleux Valley “as part of its goal to be a nature positive company by 2030”; “Teck’s investment funded 37,500 hectares, or half, of the total lands protected in the Incomappleux Valley”. teck.com (PDF)
↩ Province of British Columbia, news release 2023PREM0005, 25 January 2023: the Nature Conservancy of Canada “is facilitating and funding the conservancy and protections, with support from the Government of Canada, Teck Resources, Wyss Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation and individual donors”, and Interfor “has released 75,000 hectares of its forest tenure”. The amount paid to Interfor has not been published. news.gov.bc.ca
↩ Glencore Canada, “EVR contributes $20 million to conserve 45,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley”, 16 December 2025, quoting Mike Carrucan, chief executive of Elk Valley Resources, a Glencore company: “protecting land in the region where we operate for generations to come.” glencore.ca
↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Kootenay Forest Lands project page and release, 16 December 2025: 45,000 hectares; funders including the Government of Canada, Elk Valley Resources, the Province of B.C., Elana Rosenfeld and the BC Parks Foundation; “Public recreation access will continue”. Environment and Climate Change Canada, 16 December 2025: $20 million from the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, complementing $7 million from the Old Growth Nature Fund. CPCAD lists the land as NCC fee-simple ownership. natureconservancy.ca · canada.ca
↩ Wildsight, “A new era begins for the Elk Valley’s Kootenay Forest Lands”, 23 October 2025: “For now, current closures remain in place”. No published hunting or motorized-access rules for the land were found. wildsight.ca
↩ Prime Minister of Canada, “Prime Minister Carney announces first projects to be reviewed by the new Major Projects Office”, 11 September 2025: the Red Chris mine “is part of the proposed Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor”, which “presents opportunities for critical minerals development, clean power transmission, Indigenous project leadership, and a potential new conservation area the size of Greece.” pm.gc.ca
↩ Major Projects Office, Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor project page (modified 21 May 2026), read 17 October 2026 through a web reader because the page timed out to a direct request: listed under electricity and mining; the Golden Triangle, “one of the world’s richest reserves of minerals and metals”; the corridor “will enable infrastructure like the North Coast Transmission Line”; referred on 13 November 2025. The page gives no area, boundary or funding. canada.ca
↩ The Narwhal (Matt Simmons), on the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor, 3 December 2025: “critical” refers to critical minerals; a Privy Council Office spokesperson said the strategy will “focus on development of mining, energy and trade infrastructure” and that “details on the approach are not yet confirmed.” thenarwhal.ca
↩ Western Copper and Gold, news release welcoming the referral of the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor to the Major Projects Office, with its chief executive, Sandeep Singh, on “unlocking critical minerals through nation-building infrastructure”. westerncopperandgold.com
↩ Province of British Columbia, news release 2026WLRS0031, 2 July 2026: three draft land-use plans in the northwest put out for comment, including a proposed Dene K’éh Kusān conservancy of about 3 million hectares, and the Dease Liard plan, which “would enable mineral exploration and development opportunities”. They are proposals, not designations. news.gov.bc.ca (PDF)
↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Darkwoods Conservation Area project page, read 15 October 2026: “Conserved in 2008 and expanded in 2019, Darkwoods features 63,000 hectares”; “accessible for low impact recreational day use from July through September. Permits are required for entry. Camping, off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, fires, trapping and cutting firewood on the property are prohibited”; and a visitor without a permit “will be trespassing”. natureconservancy.ca
↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Darkwoods Property Management Plan summary, 2011–2016: “All access is by permit only. A commercial recreation leaseholder has access in winter, as do three local snowmobile clubs under an annual agreement between NCC and the Association of BC Snowmobile Clubs.” Saved copy.
↩ BC Parks, Incomappleux Conservancy: “This conservancy has no road access, trails, or facilities.” “Hunting is not permitted in this conservancy.” Established by Order in Council 37/2023, about 58,654 hectares. And the Park, Conservancy and Recreation Area Regulation, B.C. Reg. 180/90, ss. 28–29 and Schedule B, which does not list the Incomappleux. bcparks.ca · bclaws.gov.bc.ca
↩ Revelstoke Mountaineer, “Conservancy status announcement for Incomappleux Valley”, 1 February 2023, quoting a ministry spokesperson: heli-skiing “would be able to continue, subject to approval of a park use permit.” No published record names a permit holder. revelstokemountaineer.com
↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Land use page: “Our lands are privately-owned and managed for conservation”; access may be refused where it “is against the wishes of the donor who solely enabled the securement of the property or donated the land.” natureconservancy.ca
↩ Backcountry Coalition, editorial on Brittny Anderson and Sitkum Creek, 11 October 2026: fourteen forest service roads in Kootenay Central closed, posted or retired since 2020. backcountry.cx
↩ Backcountry Coalition, editorial on the BC NDP’s costed plan, 15 October 2026: no money for resource roads, Recreation Sites and Trails, BC Parks or Target 8 in any year. backcountry.cx

Sources were read between 15 and 17 October 2026. The party graphics are the BC NDP’s own, downloaded from the share toolkits on its environment and nature pages on 17 October 2026; the orange boxes are ours. Re-set exhibits reproduce the words of the saved source pages.