Freezing the future

By Melissa Lampman - Kamloops This Week Published: November 22, 2008

An unprecedented partnership between the Frolek family and the NCC protects 8,000 acres of land In an unprecedented partnership, nearly 8,000 acres of threatened local grasslands have been protected. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) purchased land from the Frolek Ranch Cattle Co. Ltd. — one of B.C.’s oldest ranching families — for $12.3 million, which includes 2,342 acres of private land in the Lac du Bois area and an additional 5,486 acres south of Kamloops near Trapp Lake now under conservation covenants. The multi-million dollar budget covers the land purchase and its management, as well as a stewardship-endowment fund. Now one of the province’s largest cattle ranches, four generations of Froleks have lived on the land for more than 100 years, the first couple immigrating from what is now the Czech Republic in 1906. The ranch — which also has a block of land near Stump Lake — has some of the most intact grasslands in B.C. and boasts a range of ecosystems, including pine forests, wetlands and ponds, that are home to species like the bald and gold eagles, bighorn sheep, western rattlesnake and endangered badger.

Darren Dempsey, great-grandson of the first Froleks, said his family partnered with the NCC to ensure the environmental values of the land would be protected and not destroyed by developers — a threat many ranchers face across the province. “I’m very proud to be a fourth generation, to look back at the sacrifices the first generation had to make,” Dempsey said. “They laid the foundation, the second generation really built up the ranch and I’m really proud of the third generation, the way they took that ranch and made it into what it is today.” But, uncertain about the future of the cattle industry and longevity of the grasslands, Dempsey and his family were at a crossroads and found the answer in the partnership with the NCC. “Walking away was never really an option,” he said. “Through the partnership, we retain the core part of the ranch and, most importantly, we’ve been able to protect a very vast contiguous of grasslands for our family’s future and the future of everybody of this province.” The Lac du Bois properties, already within protected grasslands area, will be leased back to the Frolek family, ensuring continued grazing and safeguarding the land’s natural features. The covenant-protected properties will remain unspoiled and shielded from being broken up and developed.

The NCC, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting ecologically significant land, was also supported by the federal government, which contributed more than $6 million through its Natural Areas program, and the Tula Foundation, which donated more than $1.5 million to the stewardship-endowment fund for the long-term care of the land. “The NCC is very excited to begin our conservation work in the Thompson-Nicola region,” said Barb Pryce, NCC Okanagan project manager. “These lands are ecosystems at risk — there’s no doubt about that. “But they hold a subtle beauty that is often not seen or understood. These grasslands are among the most biodiverse in the province and we don’t think that just by looking at them and not being able to understand the ecology behind them.” Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Conservative MP Cathy McLeod said the government is committed to conserving and protecting the environment, including grasslands lands like the Frolek Ranch. “Today, we have the phenomenal achievement, which is a result of over a century of careful management by the Frolek family, whose actions are inspiration for Canadians who care about the land legacy that they are leaving their children,” McLeod.“So, Canadians like the Frolek family should be celebrated.”