Did you know that 30% of BC’s endangered species live in grassland habitats year-round, and many more, including elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep, are dependent on them for an important portion of their lifecycle? In large part, this is because grasslands themselves are endangered, making up only 1% of the province’s land base. And, since most are in river valleys, they face intense pressure from human development.
In addition to the vital role they play in maintaining biodiversity, grasslands are better than forests at countering the effects of climate change, absorbing and storing billions of tonnes of carbon. For all of these reasons, the news that the BC Parks Foundation has pledged millions of dollars to purchase 517 acres of grassland above Juniper Ridge in Kamloops, BC, is amazing.
The deal is not yet complete though: $2 million more is needed by March 14. A generous donor has stepped up to match what is raised by the community by up to $1 million, and a crowd-funding campaign⎯operating all over the province⎯is on to raise the rest. As I write this, we are over ¼ of the way to that last million!
Want more details? Check out the Juniper Ridge project. BC Parks representatives, who have run campaigns like this before, say they have never failed to meet the goal by the deadline. Let’s not let them down!
Photo credit: BC Parks Foundation. The area to be preserved is on top of the ridge above the Juniper Ridge subdivision. The Juniper Ridge subdivision area is on the hillside at the south-east end of the city, south of the Thompson River. Please respect that the land is currently private and may not be entered without permission of the owners.
I am just curious. Kamloops needs housing. This is 517 acres which could allow for affordable housing for 10,000 people. The rest of Kamloops is completely choked off by the agricultural land reserve preventing the building of new homes. There is less than 3% of land in Kamloops city that is not already developed. It is the last available land for a planned sustainable housing project. All of Batchelor hills is already protected. All this does is deny the poor a chance to own their own home.
Kamloops needs housing, yes. And Kamloops needs to protect natural areas. There are better options than using undeveloped land for housing. Much of the existing land within the City limits is underutilized, and could be redeveloped at higher density. Higher density also can allow for a range of sizes of dwellings, including smaller units. Urban areas also have the benefit of utilizing existing infrastructure (roads, electricity, sewers) and are serviced by existing transit routes, which will keep costs lower. This will likely do more to benefit those with economic challenges than the new, very large single-family homes which we’ve seen built in Juniper West, Rose Hill, etc. when new lands have been developed.
Cities also have practical incentives to grow up rather than out. The long=term cost of infrastructure maintenance is the main reason why the City of Kelowna implemented an urban growth boundary a few years ago – the cost of maintaining additional infrastructure as it ages makes it unaffordable to keep sprawling outwards.
This blog by Kamloopsian Mitchell Forgie provides interesting insights and cost analysis. https://marketurbanismkamloops.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-floor-to-housing-prices.html
AND https://marketurbanismkamloops.blogspot.com/2021/07/part-2-why-housing-affordability.html
(many others there worth checking out!)