Woman donates $3.7M island off Vancouver Island to conservation group

The late Betty Swift (middle) is pictured with her daughter, Hally, and son-in-law Ted. (Islands Trust Conservancy)

A 21.45-hectare island just off the coast of Vancouver Island has been donated to the Islands Trust Conservancy, marking the largest single gift the group has ever received.

Conservationist Betty Swift donated Link Island to the conservation group when she died.

The island is located in between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island is valued at about $3.73 million by BC Assessment, according to the Islands Trust Conservancy.

Link Island is shown. (Carmen Smith/Islands Trust Conservancy)

It sits in between Mudge Island and DeCourcy Island and even connects to both islands during low tide.

Link Island has over three kilometres of coastline and is home to unique ecosystems, like sandstone formations and tidal flats, according to the Islands Trust Conservancy.

It's also a habitat for threatened trees and animals, such as the Western screech owl, barn swallow and great blue heron.

A Western screech owl is shown on Link Island. (Ren Ferguson)

The island is closed to the public and will exist as a nature sanctuary, though the island will still be accessible to Swift's children and grandchildren, as per her request.

"This gift is about the future," said Swift's daughter, Barbara Swift, in a release Tuesday. "It is a gift for us all."

The Islands Trust Conservancy is still working on a management plan for the island, and the group intends to speak with local First Nations on details.

Swift hoped the island could one day be used for research into climate change in the Salish Sea, according to the Islands Trust Conservancy.

In the meantime, the group has established a conservation covenant with the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust and the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust for the island.

"Having an entire island set aside for conservation is an incredibly rare thing," said Paul Chapman with the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust in the release.

"I’m excited to see what we do with this unique opportunity, and to work together to find innovative ways to steward the island in the face of climate change."

The Islands Trust Conservancy manages land on more than 450 islands across the Salish Sea in British Columbia.