April 4th, 2024 - Expansion of Conservation Covenant on North Pender Island Protects Habitat for Rare Species

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News Release  
200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria, B.C., V8R 1H8 
Telephone: 250-405-5186  
itcmail@islandstrust.bc.ca     islandstrust.bc.ca/conservancy 
 
April 4
th
, 2024 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Expansion of Conservation Covenant on North Pender Island Protects Habitat for Rare Species 
Lək
̓
 ʷəŋən, METULIYE/Victoria, B.C.    Islands Trust Conservancy’s Nighthawk Hill covenant has been 
doubled in size to protect 1.879 hectares (4.6 acres) of forest, woodland, and rocky outcrops on North 
Pender Island. The covenant includes protection for the provincially red listed Douglas-fir – arbutus 
ecological community and provides important habitat for species at risk including Common Nighthawk, 
which is a species of Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act.  
Andy Nowak and Mary Reher came to Pender Island in the 1980’s and bought a property in 2000. As 
development pressure increased on the island, they felt it was important to place a conservation 
covenant to protect and steward the vulnerable species and ecosystems on their land. The Nighthawk 
Hill conservation covenant is registered through the Islands Trust’s Natural Area Protection Tax 
Exemption Program (NAPTEP) which will lower future property taxes on the area protected by the 
covenant.  
North Pender Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands in the Salish Sea. The Nighthawk Hill covenant is 
located in the territories of the Coash Salish Peoples. In April, family, friends, and Islands Trust 
Conservancy staff will gather on the property to celebrate this accomplishment.  
Arbutus and Douglas-fir are sparsely distributed throughout the covenant which provide habitat for 
diverse species including Common Nighthawk, after which the covenant is named. In 2004, Andy and 
Mary first observed a Common Nighthawk nesting on the ground on the ridge. “Each year in June, the 
Nighthawks arrive. We listen to their calls and booms at dusk and dawn, and watch them along the ridge 
all summer. This is indeed, Nighthawk Hill,” says Andy Nowak.  
“Stepping up to do our part is a choice that is congruent with our values and how we live,” says Mary 
Reher. “Despite years of conservation and lobbying efforts, both on Pender and further afield, it seems 
our private property is the only thing we can really protect in a direct way. Placing a covenant on this 
land feels very enabling; it feels good to know we did something of substance to preserve the earth and 
its creatures, and encourage other private landowners to do the same.”  
“Nighthawk Hill NAPTEP covenant was created with support from a $4,615 grant from the Morrison 
Waxler Biodiversity Protection Legacy Fund,” says Risa Smith, Chair of the Islands Trust Conservancy 

Board. “These funds covered the costs associated with a land survey of the conservation area. We are 
grateful for the generosity of the Morrison family.”  
About Islands Trust Conservancy 
Islands Trust Conservancy is a conservation land trust for over 450 islands of th

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