Nanaimo residents are being asked to speak out in support of protecting a parkland gem.

The province is taking submissions on a draft plan to provide increased protection for Douglas fir forests in B.C. and Linley Valley is one of the parcels included for consideration.

Nanaimo NDP MLA Leonard Krog said letters and e-mails of support would push the government to “do the right thing for Linley Valley.”

“This is an old story, but this is a good, new opportunity to help protect a beautiful park in the centre of an urban area,” said Krog. “Much of the park is currently Crown land, which potentially leaves it open for logging, development and other economic activity that could dispose of the natural splendour we enjoy now.”

Linley Valley is an expansive 323 hectares bordered by Rock City Road on the south, Burma Road on the north, Hammond Bay Road on the east and Rutherford Road on the west. It consists of coastal Douglas fir forests, meadows, lakes, creeks, wetlands and mixed woodlands, and is the last large intact tract of forest within the city’s boundaries.

The Ministry of Forests and Range is proposing to protect five candidate areas through the Integrated Land Management Bureau.

In 2003, the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust and the city paid $2.063 million to secure a 59-hectare portion and protect it from development. NALT is working on a campaign to secure another 100-hectare portion known as District Lot 56, which is Crown land.

“We know development is creeping in – it has already started – so we feel protecting as much as possible is what we need to do and we’ve been working at it for some time,” said Gail Adrienne, executive director of NALT. “At this point protecting half of the park, about [160 hectares], would be a success.”

The north end of the valley near Rutherford Road is already developed.

“There is always more and more pressure to develop on the land,” said Adrienne.

Annette Tanner, of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, said her organization is lobbying the province to protect as much Douglas fir forest on the east coast of Vancouver Island as possible. She said the remaining Douglas fir forests have more value left standing.

“These forests are some of the most important ecosystems in Canada and can only be found here,” said Tanner. “There are only around 110 hectares of old growth Douglas forest left so protecting them is vital. This land-use draft is a good first step.”

Tanner said keeping old growth forests intact improves drinking water supply, reduces erosion and adds to public recreation opportunities. She added while this first step is a good one, it is important to include all Douglas fir fragments in the protection process.

Adrienne said a large portion of the park was once on the province’s recreational land reserve list, but was removed nearly a decade ago after the Liberals put several tracts of Crown land up for sale.

“We’ve been watchdogging ever since,” she said.

Letters to support including Linley Valley on a draft land-use order can be sent before Feb. 15 to Bill Zinovich, Integrated Land Management Bureau, West Coast Service Centre, Suite 142, 2080 Labieux Rd., Nanaimo, B.C., V9T 6J9.