The Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies (CFKR) has entered into an agency agreement with the Elk Valley Regional Land Trust (EVRLT) to support the trust’s goals to preserve local forests for future generations by purchasing privately held forested lands in the Elk Valley.

Through the agreement, the CKFR will accept charitable donations for the project which formally began fundraising efforts in March 2021.

The trust has a goal to raise between $10 and $20 million to acquire around 20,000 acres of forest land in the Elk Valley. When the trust had its launch earlier this year, its founders stressed the importance of preserving the natural beauty of the region not just for future generations, but for those that live here now.

CFKR executive director, Lynette Wray said the trust’s goals were in line with their own goals to help improve local communities.

“CFKR supports a broad range of initiatives to enhance our communities, and we look forward to working with EVRLT on this important project in the Elk Valley, to support the sustainable use of this land for a wide variety of user groups”, she said.

Aysha Haines of the EVRLT said that the agreement with the CFKR would give the trust a stronger position to work from.

“We are thrilled to be working with CFKR on this project. CFKR is an extremely valuable asset to organizations such as ours and to other community groups in our local communities.”

The EVRLT is pursuing the purchase of targeted forested lands through a combination of approaches that includes funding through established organisations, development and sale of industrial-scale carbon offsets, sustainable timber harvesting, impact investment, concessionary lending and public donations. when lands are secured, the future of the forests will be locked in through conservation covenants.

READ MORE: Regional Land Trust launch fundraising efforts

Fernie Free Press