List of protected areas of British Columbia explained

Protected Lands & Waters in British Columbia
Distribution and location of protected areas in British Columbia (2006)
Statistics (2015)^[1]
Type	Area
Land	Water
style=text-align:left;"	National Protected Areas	style=text-align:center;"	0.7%	style=text-align:center;"	2.2%
style=text-align:left;"	BC Parks	style=text-align:center;"	14.4%	style=text-align:center;"	0.9%
style=text-align:left;"	BC Conservation Lands	style=text-align:center;"	0.26%	style=text-align:center;"	0.07%
style=text-align:left;"	NGO Conservation Lands	style=text-align:center;"	0.1%	style=text-align:center;"	–

The following list of protected areas of British Columbia includes all federally and provincially protected areas within the Canadian province of British Columbia. As of 2015, approximately 15.46% of the province's land area and 3.17% of the province's waters are protected.^[1]

International recognition

Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites are entirely or partially located in British Columbia:

• Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (shared with Alberta)
• Kluane / Wrangell–St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (shared with Yukon and Alaska, United States)
• SG̱ang Gwaay

Two UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserves are in British Columbia:

• Clayoquot Sound
• Mount Arrowsmith

Federally protected areas

Parks Canada

Seven National Parks of Canada are located in British Columbia, more than any other province or territory:

• Glacier National Park
• Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
• Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve
• Kootenay National Park
• Mount Revelstoke National Park
• Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
• South Okanagan—Similkameen National Park Reserve (proposed)
• Yoho National Park

One National Marine Conservation Area of Canada is located in British Columbia:

• Gwaii Haanas Reserve
• Southern Strait of Georgia Reserve (proposed)

There are numerous National Historic Sites of Canada in British Columbia, with 13 being operated by Parks Canada:

• Chilkoot Trail
• Fisgard Lighthouse
• Fort Langley
• Fort Rodd Hill
• Fort St. James
• Gitwangak Battle Hill
• Gulf of Georgia Cannery
• Kicking Horse Pass
• Kootanae House
• Nan Sdins
• Rogers Pass
• Stanley Park
• Twin Falls Tea House

Canadian Wildlife Service

Six National Wildlife Areas of Canada are located in British Columbia:

• Alaksen
• Columbia
• Qualicum
• Scott Islands Marine
• Vaseux-Bighorn
• Widgeon Valley

Seven Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of Canada are located in British Columbia:

• Christie Islet
• Esquimalt Lagoon
• George C. Reifel
• Nechako River
• Shoal Harbour
• Vaseux Lake
• Victoria Harbour

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Three Marine Protected Areas of Canada are located in British Columbia:

• Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents
• Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs
• SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount

Three Marine Refuges of Canada are located in British Columbia:

• Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala (Lull/Hoeya)^[2]
• Offshore Pacific Seamounts and Vents
• Strait of Georgia and Howe Sound Glass Sponge Reef

Provincially protected areas

BC Parks

See main article: List of British Columbia Provincial Parks.

Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

The British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) manages a system of 31 Wildlife Management Areas throughout the province:

See also

• List of municipal and regional parks in British Columbia

External links

• BC Parks - A complete list of BC Parks managed land.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Protected Lands & Waters - Environmental Reporting BC. 2020-10-14. www.env.gov.bc.ca.
2. Web site: Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala (Lull/Hoeya) marine refuge . Government of Canada . 14 July 2023.