The BC Parks Foundation (BCPF) is looking to purchase a 46.5-hectare property in Pemberton Meadows to support recovery efforts for one of British Columbia’s most endangered grizzly bear populations.
The foundation has identified DL 813 Pemberton Meadows Road as a key parcel that could provide safe habitat and critical foraging ground for the Stein–Nahatlatch grizzly bear population unit—a genetically isolated group with fewer than 20 individuals remaining.
“Many grizzly populations at the southern edge of their range in B.C. are under threat, but the population in southwestern B.C. is at risk of dying out,” said Coast to Cascades (C2C)’s Michelle McLellan on the BCPF’s website. “We need to protect the places that connect populations so they survive, and that means people stepping up to make a difference.”
BCPF is campaigning to raise $2.6 million by July 15 to purchase the property. So far, they’ve raised just over half the money needed.
If the purchase goes through, the BC Parks Foundation told Pique they plan to develop a work in partnership with local community groups to address wildlife needs, access and safety. Their stewardship plan includes restoring native plant species and berry-producing shrubs essential to grizzly bear diets.
The vacant, riverside, organic farmland property in question lies at the intersection of two threatened grizzly bear population units, the Squamish-Lillooet and South Chilcotin, and supports efforts to protect the critically endangered Stein-Nahatlatch population.
According to the C2C, the Stein–Nahatlatch grizzly population, whose territory is “bounded by the Fraser River, Lillooet and Harrison Lakes and capped by the Duffy Lake portion of Highway 99 and Anderson and Seton Lakes,” is critically endangered with limited genetic diversity and only about six breeding females remaining.
Habitat fragmentation, motorized recreation and backcountry road access have accelerated the decline of the population. C2C warns without targeted conservation efforts, the Stein–Nahatlatch grizzlies could vanish within a few generations.
If successful, the Foundation’s acquisition would contribute to a growing “parks bank” initiative, securing land to support biodiversity and climate resilience across British Columbia.
You can learn more about the campaign and donate to the effort on the BC Parks Foundation’s website, here.
Editor's note, 1:25 p.m., July 3: This story has been updated since publication. A previous version omitted "Foundation" from the article headline.
