The Darkwoods Carbon Conservation Project is a 55,000 hectare (550 km2) area situated between the towns of Nelson, Salmo and Creston in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. It is the home of majestic icy mountain peaks, alpine tundra, rare old-growth forests, biologically rich valley bottoms and pristine lakes. Over 70% of the total area is covered in forests consisting of more than 10 tree species. Darkwoods encompasses more than 50 lakes and numerous streams, is home to nine nationally threatened species, 29 provincially at risk species, and one of the last herds of Mountain Caribou in the world. This project was developed under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) as an Improved Forest Management project for Temperate and Boreal forests. Under a new management plan implemented by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) historical logging rates have decreased resulting in additional carbon stocks being conserved in standing forest over the next 100 years. Darkwoods will produce more than 12 million carbon offsets during its 100 year project period. The Darkwoods project was officially recognized in November of 2011 when the NCC was awarded the 2011 Non-Profit Sector Land Award by the Real Estate Foundation of BC.
