Some of the last old-growth stands of Douglas fir and Garry oak on the Peninsula have been added to the John Dean Provincial Park, expanding it to more than 450 acres. The B.C. Parks Foundation acquired the 15-acre parcel of land from a private owner for $1.63 million. John Dean, a naturalist and former mayor of Rossland, donated 80 acres to the province in 1921, making it the first provincial park in Canada donated by an individual.
Since then, other landowners have followed Dean’s example and donated their land. The Tsawout First Nations elder Mavis Underwood highlighted the deep cultural and ecological significance of Mount Newton, known as ȽÁU,WELNEW, meaning “place of refuge,” in the W̱SÁNEĆ language
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