A fundraising campaign targeting an unprotected area of the Puntledge Forest has been launched by the Comox Valley Land Trust.
The trust described the entire site as “a beloved recreational area and a rare local example of a mature, biodiverse forest,” and said it supports an endangered summer run of Chinook salmon.
The “park-like” forest on B.C. Hydro land is culturally important to the K’ómoks First Nation, as well, the trust said, and wasn’t protected at the time logging plans were announced in 2020.
There are also several popular swimming holes around the forest — which is set along the Puntledge River near Comox Lake — including one that has been dubbed “Palm Beach.”
While 61 hectares of the forest have already been acquired by the trust with grants from Environment and Climate Change Canada received in 2023 and 2024, the campaign has been started to raise the money required to buy the remaining 37 hectares located in the Bevan Trails area.
The first parcel of the 61 hectares already protected was 29 hectares in the property’s northeast section bought in 2023, followed by 32 hectares bought this past April that includes forest groves on both sides of the Puntledge in the southern part of the property.
The trust is applying for additional grants that could total $1.9 million, leaving a fundraising goal of $500,000 that it hopes to bring in by March 2025.
“We are thrilled to kick off this community fundraising campaign to acquire the Puntledge Forest,” said trust executive director Tim Ennis. “These maturing stands of trees are tomorrow’s old growth, and the biodiversity they contain is incredibly valuable.”
The K’ómoks First Nation issued a statement backing the trust’s efforts, which it said will contribute to the protection of fish habitat.
“Protecting these pockets of high-value ecosystems will only help mitigate climate change and work towards reducing rising river temperatures” the nation said.
Donations can be made at cvlandtrust.ca/portfolio-items/land-securement-fund-puntledge.
