My family had a summer home in Crawford Bay, near Nelson B.C. for 30yrs … yet I had had never heard of Darkwoods before Jane handed me a copy of Canadian Geographic magazine, an article written by author Bruce Kirkby:
… larger than Waterton Lakes National Park, 15 separate watersheds, more than 50 alpine lakes, peaks soaring above 2,400 metres, ancient old growth, prime caribou and grizzly habitat …
The biggest private conservation land deal in Canadian history reveals a story of German royalty, rugged wilderness, pioneering forestry and a shroud of privacy
It’s a fascinating read.
For decades I’ve hiked and boated nearby, never once wondering what’s on that part of the map. There is an awful lot of wilderness in the Kootenays. Even a tract that large can be overlooked by locals.
The owner has sold the property to the National Conservancy of Canada who are striving to protect the most valuable wilderness sections, while still allowing limited logging and hunting.
Roosevelt hunted here in 1888, coincidentally.
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