This week’s announcement protecting 45,000 hectares of Kootenay Forest Lands marks one of the largest private land conservation projects in Canadian history — and one of the most consequential land-use decisions ever made for Fernie and the Elk Valley.
The lands sit within the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation and stretch across the Rocky Mountain trench surrounding Fernie, Elkford, and Canal Flats. They influence 42 watersheds, protect 930 kilometres of streams, and form a continuous wildlife corridor linking more than 7,000 square kilometres of protected land from the Canadian Rockies into Montana.
This did not happen by accident, nor was it driven by a single interest.
The project was led by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and endorsed by the Ktunaxa Nation Council and the four Ktunaxa First Nations, whose leadership shaped the long-term stewardship direction. Core funding came from the Government of Canada, through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, and the Province of British Columbia.
A critical enabling contribution was Elk Valley Resources’ $20-million investment, alongside additional support from the BC Parks Foundation, Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, Columbia Basin Trust, and a broad mix of foundations and private donors. Industry, governments, Indigenous leadership, and conservation groups all sat at the same table — an arrangement still rare at this scale in Canada.
What changes now is not access, but intent.
Under NCC ownership, the lands will transition away from industrial forestry toward conservation-focused management: restoring forest health, increasing long-term carbon storage, strengthening resilience to wildfire and flooding, and protecting habitat for species including grizzly bear, wolverine, lynx, bull trout, bighorn sheep, badger, and whitebark pine. Public recreation access will continue, with management decisions made collaboratively with Indigenous Nations and local communities.
For Fernie, the implications are tangible. These lands protect the headwaters that feed the Elk River, reduce downstream risk, preserve wildlife movement across the valley, and safeguard the natural setting that underpins tourism, recreation, and quality of life.
In a region long defined by hard land-use trade-offs, the Kootenay Forest Lands represent something different: a negotiated, durable outcome where conservation, climate action, Indigenous leadership, and community interest aligned.
That alignment may be the project’s most important legacy.
