B.C.’s Valhalla Provincial Park acquires ‘Golden Mile’
Valhalla Provincial Park is now 155 acres larger, thanks in part to a $10,000 donation from the local southeastern B.C. TD FEF Chapter.
In April, the 155-acre Valhalla Mile property – often dubbed the “Golden Mile” because of its one-mile expanse of undeveloped shoreline – was purchased and transferred to B.C. Parks. In addition to the TD FEF donation, a dedicated group of volunteers and donors from across Canada and internationally helped make the purchase possible.
Located alongside Slocan Lake in southeastern B.C., “the property is a vital movement corridor for grizzly and black bears. Wolverines, cougars and mule deer are among the many species that frequent the land and its shoreline habitat,” explains Lorna Visser, Valhalla Mile Campaign Co-ordinator. “From a cultural perspective, ancient First Nations’ pictographs are located just north of the property and the shoreline was likely a Sinixt fishing and gathering site.”
The Land Conservancy of B.C. and The Valhalla Foundation for Ecology and Social Justice teamed up in a campaign to purchase the land, previously owned by a private land owner, all within the boundaries of Valhalla Provincial Park. This property is a key addition to the park, which encompasses almost 50,000 hectares and protects an entire mountain ecosystem from lakeshore to high alpine.
“Our local TD FEF advisory board is made up of nature enthusiasts from across southeastern B.C., and we all agreed that helping preserve Valhalla Park was something that would be of significant benefit to our entire region,” says Laura Decker, TD Bank Branch Manager and Chapter Coordinator for Southeast B.C. “This project is a great example of what can be accomplished when we come together as a community, and we’re honoured to be a part of it.”