The Capital Regional District has acquired a 15.9-hectare parcel to add to East Sooke Regional Park.
The land, near Anderson Cove, is one of the last remaining large tracts of undeveloped land adjacent to the park.
The property was purchased for $1.5 million, the CRD said.
The expansion of the park, which is now 1,474 hectares, ensures a larger-scale forest corridor between the shoreline of Anderson Cove and the upland areas of East Sooke Regional Park.
The area is considered an important habitat for large carnivores such as wolves, cougars and black bears, as well as for many smaller organisms, including the warty jumping slug, considered a species of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act.
Established in 1970, East Sooke Regional Park is one of the largest parks in the CRD system.
The regional district manages 33 regional parks and four regional trails, comprising more than 13,300 hectares of land.
