Islands Trust Conservancy Annual Report 2019-2020

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Conservation land trust for islands in the Salish Sea
2019/ 
20
Annual
Report

cover Douglas-fir; above Phacelia and bee. credit: carla funk

Message from 
the Islands Trust 
Conservancy Board 
Chair
Working together to protect land 
and waters of the Salish Sea
Over the years Islands Trust Conservancy (ITC) has focused on building 
resilience for a solid future of conservation in the Islands Trust Area. 
Little did we know that at the end of this fiscal year we would find 
ourselves navigating unexpected turbulence with the onset of a global 
pandemic. 
Had we predicted extreme change at a global level we would have 
guessed that it would stem from climate instability. So much so, this 
year we completed a synthesis of local climate change projections 
for the Trust Area. We used a suite of relevant indicators that help us 
understand how conditions will change in our region’s land, waters, and 
surrounding ocean. Of importance to management of protected areas in 
the Islands Trust Area, we conducted an introductory review of impacts 
of those changes on local ecosystems and species. 
Understanding the impacts of climate projections will only be 
strengthened by listening to and respecting multiple kinds of knowledge. 
Islands Trust Conservancy is working to review current processes and 
policies to ensure that the work we do is reflective of the Truth and 
Reconciliation (TRC) Calls to Action, the United Nations Declaration 
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and the Province of 
BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). This 
important work brings together the long-standing work of the ITC 
mandate of conservation, protection, and preservation of the lands and 
waters with the foundational principles of recognition, reconciliation, 
and history. 
Expanding our ways of knowing, we have welcomed two new Board 
members to our leadership team —    Don Clarke is a member of the Black 
River First Nation, with more than 25 years of experience working in 
islands trust conservancy annual report 2019/203

community development and education in over 50 First Nations  
communities, and Dr. Susan Hannon is a former Ecology Professor with 
research expertise in forest ecology and conservation. We are working 
hard to bring together science-based knowledge with traditional ecolog-
ical knowledge, knowing that this will strengthen our understanding of 
how to best preserve and protect these special places. 
2019 brought an addition to special places protected: Lasqueti Island 
welcomed the Salish View Nature Reserve. In addition to supporting 
several rare and endangered species, Salish View is stunningly beautiful 
with a 160-metre high ridgetop on the coast and 270 degree views of the 
Salish Sea. This exceptional place will be preserved and protected for 
future generations. 
To keep pace with the number of properties under our care, this 
year we welcomed the addition of a Covenant Management & Outreach 
Specialist to th

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