In an effort to bring awareness to TLC’s lesser-known properties, we have decided to write a monthly feature celebrating our conservation moments in B.C. Our first installment is dedicated to Natasha Boyd Wetland Conservation Area.
Natasha Boyd was a naturalist and artist. After pursuing a Bachelors and a Masters degree from the University of California Berkeley, Natasha went on to earn a PhD in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Denver, thus becoming one of only a handful of women to earn a doctorate in the 1950’s. Throughout her life, Natasha also served in World War II, married, adopted two children and wrote and illustrated a story about a two week horse pack trip they all took through the Selway Bitterroot area of Idaho, which was published in 1962 by the National Wilderness Magazine.
Moose at dawn - photo by Cornelius Iwan
Protected in 2004, the Natasha Boyd Conservation Area was established to commemorate the life of Natasha. Located just 15 km southeast of McBride, the property is a prime example of the extensive wilderness and striking beauty found in the Robson Valley. It was for precisely these features that Natasha and her husband, Carl, choose to retire there in 1973. After Natasha’s death in 1999, Carl decided that the best way to honour her life as an avid naturalist, wilderness advocate, and wildlife artist would be to purchase and conserve a piece of land in her memory.
The Natasha Boyd Conservation Area consists of 160 acres of low-lying wetlands and upland forest. The forests of paper birch, trembling aspen, white and black spruce, lodge pole pine, and western red cedar surround clusters of wetlands. The wetlands include bogs, fens, shallow pools, and ponds. The area provides habitat for moose, mule deer, bears, wolves, coyotes, beavers, and snowshoe hares. A wide range of songbirds and waterfowl also reside in the area.
TLC worked in partnership with the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program to make this property a reality, and the project was embraced by the local community. Though the property is not currently open to the public, TLC is working with the Fraser Headwaters Alliance to fulfill the Boyd’s vision of making this site available to the public by carefully planning a system of trails and interpretative signs.
The “Monthly Property Highlight” you have begun is a great idea. I did not know of the Natasha Boyd Conservation Area before reading this article. I’m looking forward to others in the series. Thanks for this one.
Hi Joan
I was involved in this acquisition from very early on. I had the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with Carl Boyd as we worked on the fulfillment of his goal of securing some land to commemorate the life of his wife. He was an extraordinary man who suffered tremendously towards the end of his life while battling diabetes. Despite his challenges, he was always enthusiastic about the prospect of finding and securing what eventually became the Natasha Boyd Wetland Conservation Area. I have to say that the evening that we unveiled the plaque that now stands close to the Conservation Area to him, and to his family that had traveled from Nevada, was a very special experience for everyone involved. It is certainly an experience that I will never forget. I consider it an honour to have both met and worked with Carl on this project