VWS is dedicated to increasing the number of protected wilderness areas to better maintain biodiversity. VWS is also involved in helping stop the many environmental threats, including improper logging, pollution from mines, climate change, and oil spills into rivers and oceans.

The Valhalla Wilderness Society (VWS) is a registered charity (BN119260883RR0001) founded in 1975 in the small village of New Denver, British Columbia, Canada. The village sits on Slocan Lake with a grand view of Valhalla Provincial Park, achieved by VWS in 1983. VWS went on to successfully spearhead campaigns for the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, Goat Range (White Grizzly) Provincial Park, and the Spirit Bear Conservancies. These areas protect over 560,000 hectares. VWS also played a supportive role in the protection of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, Clayoquot Sound, and the Dasiqox-Taseko Tribal Park. Our Endangered Wilderness Map of 1988 initiated the movement to double BC’s park system. Recent VWS-supported conservation studies, such as for the Interior and Coastal Temperate Rainforests, tell us we have to protect a lot more—at least 50% of ecosystems in inter-connected protected parks. VWS played a major role in bringing the Great Bear Rainforest up to 38% in protected areas.

Some of our current major projects and campaigns:

PARKS & PROTECTED AREAS PROPOSALS

• Quesnel Lake Wilderness (inland rainforest)
• Selkirk Mountain Caribou Park (inland rainforest)
• Summit Lake Western Toad Park (inland rainforest)
• Gribbell Island Spirit Bear Park (coastal rainforest)

BEARS

• Spirit bears - Gribbell Island – oil tankers – Enbridge pipeline
• Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary – proposed natural gas pipeline
• Great Bear Rainforest
• Trophy hunting of grizzly bears

ENDANGERED SPECIES

• Western toads
• Mountain Caribou

OTHER

• Genetic/Genome study of BC Tachelach’ed (Chilcotin) wild horses
• BC government-sponsored wolf kill
• Tachelach’ed (Chilcotin) wolf diet study & Rancher’s Toolkit