Kootenay Forest Lands
Rare high-elevation grasslands at Kootenay Forest Lands. (Photo: Nick Nault)
The Kootenay Forest Lands is an ambitious conservation project in southeastern British Columbia. The project includes a range of timberland, spread out across the Elk Valley and Rocky Mountain Trench, in the homeland of the Ktunaxa Nation. Encompassing 45,000 hectares of diverse forests, rare grasslands and an invaluable network of freshwater systems, the Kootenay Forest Lands deliver ecological, cultural and community benefits for generations to come.
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Quick facts
- Location: Southeastern British Columbia, in the Elk Valley and the Rocky Mountain Trench
- Habitat type: Forests, rare high-elevation grasslands, freshwater rivers and streams
- Size: 45,000 hectares (spread across several distinct parcels)
- Species: Wide-ranging mammals, including grizzly bear, wolverine, lynx, bighorn sheep, at-risk aquatic species such as bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout
Connecting conservation corridors in the Rockies
The Kootenay Forest Lands contains more than 930 kilometres of streams. (Photo: Nick Nault)
Located along the western edge of the Rocky Mountains, near the intersection of British Columbia, Alberta and Montana, the Kootenay Forest Lands contribute to a 7,000-square-kilometre network of protected areas in one of the most important places to support cross-border conservation in western North America.
The project also sits at the centre of several large-scale conservation initiatives — Crown of the Continent, Yellowstone to Yukon and Heart of the Rockies — making it a key piece of the international conservation puzzle.
This landscape is vital for wildlife movement, supporting grizzly bear, wolverine, lynx, bighorn sheep and many others. These are all species that find food, mates and shelter across a diverse range of habitats. Habitat fragmentation poses a real threat to these animals, and connecting vast swaths of lands ensures they can meet their needs safely.
The Kootenay Forest Lands also cross 42 separate watersheds and contain more than 930 kilometres of stream networks. These waterways harbour abundant aquatic life and provide critical habitat for bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout and many other fish species.
A long-held vision for many is now a reality
Local communities, Indigenous Nations and conservationists worked for more than two decades to secure the future for these lands. Supported with a broad coalition of partners, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) was able to acquire the Kootenay Forest Lands for conservation in 2025.
While the land is now secure, we continue to raise funds to support its stewardship needs. There is much to be done to help the forest heal from past impacts. Under NCC’s care, the land will be managed for ecosystem health and balanced use, allowing the forests to regenerate into healthy and complex ecosystems.
Community connections
The Kootenay Forest Lands hold irreplaceable cultural and ecological significance for the Ktunaxa First Nations, who endorse the project and will collaborate with NCC on the stewardship of these important lands.
The majority of the project lands are in the Elk Valley, on the doorstep of the communities of Fernie, Elkford and Sparwood, and have long been places of community, connection and recreation. NCC’s management will balance recreation with the conservation vision for the land, while also focusing fire and flood mitigation efforts where they matter most to protect local lives, businesses and infrastructure.
Restoring forests to healthy, complex ecosystems
Hiking through the trees at Kootenay Forest Lands. (Photo: Nick Nault)
The Kootenay Forests Lands are primarily forested, largely with a mix of young and regenerating trees and with pockets of untouched, ancient stands. Conserving this land marks a major shift from intensive commercial forestry to long-term habitat stewardship and conservation.
Restoring this land will involve a mixture of planting ecologically suited trees, re-naturalizing roads and ecosystem-based forest harvesting to encourage the regrowth of a healthy forest ecosystem while continuing to support sustainable economic activity in the area. NCC’s management of Kootenay Forest Lands will build on the successful model of forest stewardship on the Darkwoods Conservation Area. Our learnings from managing and restoring Darkwoods will inform how we support the regeneration of the Kootenay Forest Lands.
Partners in conservation
Kootenay Forest Lands is one of the largest private land conservation projects in the country. Projects of this size are only possible through extraordinary partnerships. NCC was joined by the Ktunaxa First Nations, governments, industry, communities and private donors to ensure that one of North America’s most ecologically significant landscape corridors will remain intact for generations to come.
Many funders stepped up to make this project a reality, including:
- Government of Canada through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund and the Canada Nature Fund
- Elk Valley Resources
- Province of British Columbia
- Elana Rosenfeld
- BC Parks Foundation
- The Fearing Family in memory of Harold Fearing
- Estate of John H Lissau
- Procter & Gamble
- The Sitka Foundation
- Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program
- Columbia Basin Trust
- Collings Stevens Family Foundation
- Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
- Many private foundations and individuals