Resources
What’s going on in the gulf islands and beyond.
Photo by Alex Harris /
Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
As a science-based organization focused on habitat and wildlife conservation on BC’s vast coastline and a land trust that owns two protected properties in the Trust area, Raincoast scientists have been engaging in work related to conservation action on the Gulf Islands for many years.
Governance model
Land-use decisions on the Gulf Islands of British Columbia are guided by the special governance federation, the Islands Trust. Each of the fourteen major islands (and their associated smaller islands) are represented by a Local Trustee Committee (LTC) made up of three elected Trustees, two of whom typically live on an island in question, and the third of whom is elected on a nearby island and serves as Committee chair.
Each LTC has it within their authority to enact certain bylaws related to local land-use. Because the Islands Trust Act specifies that the object of the Islands Trust is to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the trust area and of British Columbia generally, ostensibly all bylaws and policies enacted by LTCs and the wider Islands Trust are in service to this object.
Policy change in the Islands Trust
These letters and briefings are a sample of the communications directed to the Islands Trust in support of approaching land-use decisions through a conservation science lens. These communications may be useful to community members interested in supporting conservation initiatives within the Trust area. Because the Islands Trust was created for the benefit of all British Columbia residents, those making land-use decisions within the Trust area are accountable to people across the province, not just those who own property on the islands.