Canadian conservationists are raising $1.7 million to buy an island and fend off developers

By Alaa Elassar, CNN

Updated 2:15 AM ET, Sat November 14, 2020

West Ballenas Island in British Columbia, Canada.

(CNN)A foundation in British Columbia, Canada, is raising money to purchase West Ballenas Island, an undeveloped enclave rich with stunning views, rare plants, threatened species and diverse marine life.

The BC Parks Foundation has just days to raise the remainder of the $1.7 million needed to buy the 100-acre island in the Salish Sea and protect it from developers. So far, the foundation has $122,415 left to raise by November 17, the deadline to purchase West Ballenas.
“It was named as one of the top 10 biodiverse sites in the Salish Sea off the coast of British Columbia, one of our most threatened ecosystems,” BC Parks Foundation CEO Andy Day told CNN. “It’s zoned for development, so if we don’t buy it, it would be divided into a number of parcels and houses will be built on it.”

The foundation plans to turn the island into a public park where conservationists can control the impact people have on the region by making certain areas off-limits and installing anti-pollution facilities, according to Day.

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