The Nature Trust of BC and the City of Parksville have partnered  to conserve 13 acres of habitat along the Englishman River. (City of Parksville)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

nature preserved

Nature Trust of BC to take over Englishman River property, community pathway to be created

Sep 29, 2023 | 4:34 PM

PARKSVILLE — Prime ecologically sensitive land adjacent to the Englishman River will be preserved.

A partnership between the City of Parksville and The Nature Trust of BC outlined a plan to conserve 130 Shelly Rd. in perpetuity, which includes 13 acres of floodplain, riparian, and forest habitat adjacent to the Englishman River east of Hwy. 19A.

“The partners also announced an agreement to cooperate on the completion of a community pathway designed to protect ecologically and culturally significant areas while providing links to the existing trails that access the natural beauty of one of Vancouver Island’s most ecologically important estuaries with a spectacular coastline and an active salmon river,” noted a City of Parksville news release.

Nature Trust BC will be responsible for conserving and managing the land, while the City of Parksville will assume all costs for the design, development and maintenance of the pathway.

The path will connect from Nerbus Lane, located near the Community Park, extending south to Shelly Rd.

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This section of Englishman River located off Shelly Rd. east of Hwy. 19A will be transfered to the Nature Trust of BC (City of Parksville)

The City of Parksville agreed to donate $1.8 million of the property’s appraised value of $2.6 million to preserve the land seen as significant in preserving a river with declining fish stocks, the City stated.

As part of the agreement, the City will receive $800,000 from the Nature Trust of BC, while the pact is scheduled to be finalized next spring.

Breeding birds and many other species like black bear, cougar, deer, river otter, and Roosevelt Elk rely on the nearby Englishman River Estuary, noted the release.

Nature Trust of BC owns about a dozen properties along the strategic river.

A little over two years ago nearly seven acres of land was purchased by the Nature Trust of BC at the mouth of the Englishman River thanks to a $6 million donation from the Wilson 5 foundation.

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