NDP minister Nathan Cullen signed B.C.’s $1-billion 30 by 30 deal. We looked at who stands to benefit. It isn’t the public.

Sources

1. ↩ Convention on Biological Diversity, Decision 15/4, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 19 December 2022, page 9, Target 3: at least 30 per cent of land and inland waters conserved “through … systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories”. cbd.int (PDF)
2. ↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Canada’s conserved areas, page dated 30 July 2026, data current to 31 December 2025: Canada at 14.0%, the admission that “the pace of progress was not fast enough to reach the 2025 target”, and British Columbia at 20.0% (188,862 of 944,735 km²; 15.9% protected, 4.1% other conserved). The 9.5-million-hectare gap is our arithmetic on these figures. canada.ca
3. ↩ Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation between Canada, British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council, signed 3 November 2023, 20 pages; signature block (page 19 and 20): Steven Guilbeault and Jonathan Wilkinson for Canada, Nathan Cullen for British Columbia, and for the First Nations Leadership Council Regional Chief Terry Teegee (BC Assembly of First Nations), Cheryl Casimer, Robert Phillips and Hugh Braker (First Nations Summit), and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Chief Don Tom and Chief Marilyn Slett (Union of BC Indian Chiefs); goal 4.1 (b) and objective 6.4.1 (“at least 30% of B.C.’s land base by 2030”, counted in CPCAD), clause 6.3 (free, prior and informed consent, and Cabinet and Treasury Board approval “to address existing tenures”), clause 11.1 (“Canada will contribute up to $500 million”, matched), clause 13.2 (“not legally binding”). A text search of the agreement finds “recreation”, “hunt”, “trail” and “public access” zero times; its six uses of “access” concern data. canada.ca (PDF)
4. ↩ Province of British Columbia, Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation page: “a combined commitment of over $1 billion”, with B.C. “matching Canada’s funding through existing programs and funding commitments”; and the First Annual Report, page 4: the two governments “have each committed to contributing $500 million”. gov.bc.ca · first report (PDF)
5. ↩ Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation, Second Annual Report, March 2026, covering 2024/25: page 7 of the report (PDF page 9), “Parks and OECMs count toward the 30% X 2030 target”, land trusts “also report into CPCAD”, and the CPCAD area “rose by 0.2%, fully attributed to the contributions provided by local levels of government and land trusts”; PDF page 11, the progress table (19.9% from CPCAD 2024, on a base of 94,498,991 hectares); PDF page 14, Kootenay Forest Lands. gov.bc.ca (PDF)
6. ↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) User Manual 2025: PDF page 24, “IPCAs that are not PA or OECM should not be reported to CPCAD”; PDF pages 26 and 28, ownership and governance type 8, “Non-profit organizations”. And the CPCAD 2025 data release, queried for British Columbia: 364 records from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, all “Privately Protected Area” held in fee simple, totalling 125,411 hectares before overlaps are removed, 339 of them first counted in data year 2024 and 25 in 2025; and the Incomappleux Conservancy, 58,654 hectares, counted as a protected area from 2023. data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca (PDF)
7. ↩ 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 for the time being”; and the CPCAD 2025 records, in which B.C.’s 4.1% of other conserved areas is almost entirely five province-wide records from 2019, including legal Old Growth Management Areas. thenarwhal.ca
8. ↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Heritage Conservation Program: “For every dollar of federal funding, the Natural Heritage Conservation Program matches a minimum of $1.50 from non-federal sources, including in-kind matching, such as land donations”; delivered through agreements with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Wildlife Habitat Canada. And the 2019 backgrounder, which set the original match at “a minimum of two dollars”. program page · 2019 backgrounder
9. ↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, Évaluation du Programme de conservation du patrimoine naturel et du Défi de l’objectif 1, 2025, section 2.2.4: the 2-to-1 ratio was lowered to 1.5 to 1 “en raison de la COVID-19, des défis économiques et à la demande du bénéficiaire”; phase one reached 2.3 to 1; recipients raised $635 million in matching funds against $261 million paid out by ECCC. canada.ca
10. ↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, “Canada invests in conserving 45,000 hectares of forest in the Kootenays,” 16 December 2025: $20 million through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, complementing $7 million from the Old Growth Nature Fund; quote from Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature. canada.ca
11. ↩ Province of British Columbia, Public Accounts, Consolidated Revenue Fund Detailed Schedules of Payments, Government Transfers: 2023/24, printed page 642, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Water, Land & Resource Stewardship, $15,000,000; 2024/25, $573,461 and $7,000,000; 2025/26, $7,000,000 and $1,500,000. Payments made in April appear in two years’ schedules and are counted once. gov.bc.ca
12. ↩ Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia, open-data export dated 20 September 2026: the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s declared government funding ($24,141,261 from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, including $15,000,000 on 6 April 2023, $573,461 on 2 May 2024, $7,000,000 in April 2025 and $1,500,000 on 10 April 2026); its 67 lobbying reports, 22 of them on “Support Creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas” between 23 April 2021 and 16 October 2023, including LAR-23055 of 8 December 2022 with Premier David Eby and ten ministers; and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (34 reports on 30% by 2030) and CPAWS-BC (38 reports on “30% of lands by 2030”). lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca
13. ↩ Black Press Media (The Progress), “Historic 45,000-hectare land conservation buy confirmed for southeastern B.C.,” 17 December 2025, which reports the provincial government’s $7 million and quotes “NCC BC regional vice president Nancy Newhouse”. theprogress.com
14. ↩ The Nature Conservancy of Canada, audited financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2025, Ernst & Young LLP, 8 October 2025 (unqualified opinion): page 4, conservation lands and agreements $1,205,901,526; page 5, total revenue $191,366,164, other donations and grants $150,821,189, lands and agreements purchased $50,165,886, support expenses $41,475,541; note 6, a $10,000,000 revolving facility for bridge financing of land. natureconservancy.ca (PDF)
15. ↩ Canada Revenue Agency, T3010 registered charity information return, Nature Conservancy of Canada (BN 119246544RR0001), fiscal period ending 31 May 2024, from CRA open data: federal government revenue $38,827,084, provincial $43,678,249, total revenue $202,789,080 (40.8% from governments); 454 permanent full-time positions, one of the ten highest-paid in the $350,000-and-over band. cra-arc.gc.ca
16. ↩ Teck Resources, “Teck Sets Nature Positive Goal,” 5 June 2022, with CEO Don Lindsay’s quote and Bruce Ralston, then B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation: “I commend Teck on committing to conserve or rehabilitate at least three hectares for every one hectare affected by its mining activities” (at least three hectares conserved or rehabilitated for every hectare affected; $2 million for Next Creek and $12 million in new funding to the Nature Conservancy of Canada); and Teck and NCC, Incomappleux release, 25 January 2023: Teck’s $2 million “funded 37,500 hectares, or half, of the total lands protected in the Incomappleux Valley”. teck.com
17. ↩ Elk Valley Resources (Glencore), “EVR contributes $20 million to conserve land in the Elk Valley”: CEO Mike Carrucan, “protecting land in the region where we operate for generations to come.” EVR does not tie the contribution to an offset or regulatory requirement. glencore.ca
18. ↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Kootenay Forest Lands project page and release “Landmark conservation partnership: 45,000 hectares protected in southeastern BC”, 16 December 2025 (“Public recreation access will continue”; quotes from Catherine Grenier, NCC President and CEO, Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature), Randene Neill, B.C. Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and Mike Carrucan of EVR; funders include the Government of Canada, Elk Valley Resources, the Province of B.C. and Elana Rosenfeld); and 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 were found. project page · release · wildsight.ca
19. ↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Incomappleux project page: NCC worked “to facilitate and fundraise for the conservation of the Incomappleux Valley”, with funders including the Government of Canada through the Canada Nature Fund, the Rosenfeld Family Fund, Teck Resources, Wilburforce Foundation and Wyss Foundation; and NCC’s chief executive in Policy Options, March 2023: “NCC played a key role by raising $4 million.” natureconservancy.ca · policyoptions.irpp.org
20. ↩ Province of British Columbia, 2023PREM0005, 25 January 2023: the Incomappleux Conservancy, after “Interfor has released 75,000 hectares of its forest tenure”. Quotes from Premier David Eby (“Protecting our wild spaces for generations to come is one of the most important things we are doing to create a healthier future”), Nancy Newhouse, B.C. regional vice-president of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Teck CEO Jonathan Price (the project “supports Teck’s work to become a nature-positive company”) and Stuart Card of Interfor. Interfor’s compensation is not published; the Valhalla Wilderness Society gives its “understanding” of $3.75 million. news.gov.bc.ca · vws.org
21. ↩ Revelstoke Mountaineer, “Conservancy status announcement for Incomappleux Valley,” 1 February 2023, quoting a Ministry of Environment spokesperson: heli-skiing “would be able to continue, subject to approval of a park use permit.” No published record names the permit holder. revelstokemountaineer.com
22. ↩ 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, 58,654 hectares. bcparks.ca
23. ↩ Park, Conservancy and Recreation Area Regulation, B.C. Reg. 180/90, sections 28 and 29 (firearms may be possessed and discharged for hunting only in the parks, conservancies and recreation areas listed in Schedule B) and Schedule B, which does not list the Incomappleux Conservancy. bclaws.gov.bc.ca
24. ↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Darkwoods project page: day use July through September, “Permits are required for entry”, off-road vehicles and snowmobiles prohibited, and a visitor without a permit “will be trespassing”; and the Darkwoods property management plan summary, 2011–2016, pages 7 and 13, under which three local snowmobile clubs had winter access by agreement with the Association of BC Snowmobile Clubs. natureconservancy.ca
25. ↩ Nature Conservancy of Canada, Land Use page: “Our lands are privately-owned and managed for conservation”, and the reasons a property may be closed to visitors, including that “Access is against the wishes of the donor who solely enabled the securement of the property or donated the land”; and the Hunting on Conservation Lands page, which sets hunting rules property by property. land use · hunting
26. ↩ Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia, An Audit of Carbon Neutral Government, Report 14, March 2013, PDF page 30: “The Pacific Carbon Trust paid $4.5 million for 450,000 Darkwoods offsets ($10 per offset)”. oag.bc.ca
27. ↩ Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.), section 118.1 (1), “total gifts” (ecological gifts are added outside the 75%-of-income limit) and “total ecological gifts” (only governments and charities approved by the Minister of the Environment may receive them); section 38 (a.2) (the taxable capital gain on a certified ecological gift is zero); and Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program pages: covenant terms “determined by the donor”, and the list of approved recipients, which includes the Nature Conservancy of Canada – British Columbia. s. 118.1 · s. 38 · Ecological Gifts Program
28. ↩ Land Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 245, section 1 (“Crown land” is land “vested in the government”); Park Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 344, section 5 (1) (Cabinet may establish a park or conservancy on Crown land by order) and section 20 (3) (the minister “may” give the public an opportunity to comment before a permit decision); and BC Parks, Management plan process, whose 30-day public review applies to draft management plans. No statute or policy requiring public consultation before a park or conservancy is designated was found. Land Act · Park Act · bcparks.ca
29. ↩ Province of British Columbia, 2012ENV0014, 31 March 2012: the Skaha Bluffs property, bought in 2008 for $5.25 million, transferred to BC Parks by NCC and The Land Conservancy; and 2015FLNR0013: “The Nature Conservancy of Canada now holds title to Grace Islet”, after the Province contributed $5.45 million. Skaha Bluffs · Grace Islet
30. ↩ Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence, June 2024: $335 million, including $200 million from Canada, $60 million from British Columbia and $75 million from philanthropic organizations; and the Prime Minister’s release of 7 December 2022 on up to $800 million for up to four such initiatives. canada.ca
31. ↩ Province of British Columbia, 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
32. ↩ Environment and Climate Change Canada, “Government of Canada announces $340 million to support Indigenous-led conservation,” 12 August 2021: “up to $173 million will fund new and existing Indigenous Guardians initiatives.” canada.ca
33. ↩ Ktunaxa Nation Council, via the Wyss Campaign for Nature, “Ktunaxa Nation Council celebrates decades-long battle to safeguard Qat’muk,” 21 January 2020: $16.1 million from the Canada Nature Fund, leveraging $5 million in private funding. (The Wyss project page gives $13 million and $3.5 million.) wysscampaign.org
34. ↩ Wyss Campaign for Nature, “a $1.5 billion campaign to help protect 30% of the planet by 2030”; and Nature Conservancy of Canada magazine, Winter 2021, guest letter signed by Elana Rosenfeld as “National Board Chair”. wysscampaign.org
35. ↩ BC NDP, “Build B.C. Strong” platform commitments: “protect 30% of B.C.’s land by 2030, conserve the environment, protect wildlife habitat, and preserve public access.” bcndp.ca
36. ↩ Elections BC, 2026 Provincial Election: Final Voting Day scheduled for 24 October 2026. elections.bc.ca
37. ↩ Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia, Nature Conservancy of Canada registration 8902-3258-52 and lobbying activity reports, open-data export dated 20 September 2026. Designated filer: Catherine Grenier, President & CEO. In-house lobbyists: Dawn Carr, Scott Jones, Lisa McLaughlin, Nancy Newhouse, Hillary Page and Janelle Wyman. Nancy Newhouse is named on 62 of the 67 reports. Officials named: Lori Halls, Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, in 11 reports (LAR-20800, 28231, 33330, 35626, 40475, 41592, 43963, 46152, 49262, 49851 and 53139, from 15 August 2022 to 16 June 2026); Jennifer Psyllakis, in 8 (LAR-20800, 40475, 46152, 49261 and 49262, and LAR-27019, 40473 and 53138, which spell her name “Psylakkis”); Nathan Cullen, in 6 (LAR-23055, 24421, 27019, 28231, 31221 and 32453), including LAR-24421 of 8 February 2023 as minister; Randene Neill, in 4 (LAR-41592, 27 March 2025; LAR-43963, 26 June 2025; LAR-44792, 22 July 2025; LAR-46152, 2 September 2025); Ravi Parmar, in 3 (LAR-40474, 42196 and 43963); Tamara Davidson, in 2 (LAR-41592 and 43963); David Muter, Assistant Deputy Minister, Land Use Policy, Planning and Ecosystems, in 2 (LAR-20800 and 40473); and Premier David Eby, in 1 (LAR-23055, 8 December 2022, with Newhouse as lobbyist). lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca
38. ↩ Province of British Columbia, Cabinet ministers (updated 8 September 2026: Randene Neill, Water, Land and Resource Stewardship; Tamara Davidson, Environment and Parks; Ravi Parmar, Forests) and Deputy ministers (6 July 2026: Lori Halls, Water, Land and Resource Stewardship). ministers · deputy ministers
39. ↩ Forbes, Hansjoerg Wyss profile, real-time net worth $4.8 billion as of 15 October 2026; citizenship Switzerland; a fortune that “stems from his 2012 sale of medical device manufacturer Synthes”. Wilburforce Foundation, About: “a private philanthropic organization”, founded in 1991. And NCC’s Kootenay Forest Lands release: Elk Valley Resources “operates four steelmaking coal mines in the Elk Valley”. forbes.com · wilburforce.org
40. ↩ Mosaic Forest Management: “Mosaic to open three gates in Sooke area under recreation access pilot”, 29 September 2026 (“Mosaic manages over 550,000 hectares of private forest land on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast on behalf of Canadian pension funds”); Access page (weekend access “from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm”, updated every Thursday; gates “may close on short notice”); Moving forward on recreation and access, July 2026 (owned by “two of Canada’s largest public sector pension funds”; “limiting access is not the same as managing risk”); and What We Heard, September 2025 (“37% of respondents rated their experience with Mosaic gates as poor”). Sooke pilot · access · review (PDF) · survey (PDF)
41. ↩ PSP Investments, “British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Public Sector Pension Investment Board enter into an arrangement agreement to acquire TimberWest Forest Corp.,” 11 April 2011 (about $910 million, $1.03 billion with debt); and the 2018 release on affiliating TimberWest and Island Timberlands under one manager. 2011 · 2018
42. ↩ Canadian Forest Industries / Wood Business, “Mosaic to defer logging on 40K hectares for next 25 years,” March 2022 (the BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative, with the deferred carbon sold as credits); and The Globe and Mail, 21 June 2024, on a February 2024 Renoster review that said the project boundary “has been drawn so as to selectively include regions that are not additional”, which Mosaic “forcefully disputes”. woodbusiness.ca · theglobeandmail.com
43. ↩ Province of British Columbia, 2025IRR0020, 22 May 2025: “B.C. purchased the private forestry land parcel from Mosiac [sic] Forest Management”, 312 hectares valued at about $8.6 million, transferred to Lyackson First Nation and Cowichan Tribes. news.gov.bc.ca
44. ↩ Charity Intelligence Canada, Nature Conservancy of Canada profile: “a 4-star charity” with “above average disclosure”. charityintelligence.ca

Every source was read on 15 October 2026. Nothing on this page alleges illegality. Each path described is provided for in law: the Income Tax Act, the Park Act and the Land Title Act. The opinions are ours, and the facts they rest on are cited.