Wildlife Conservation Programs

“The greatness of a nation…and its moral progress, and be measured by the way…its animals are treated.” —Mahatma Gandhi—

Protecting wildlife and sustaining biodiversity

Founded by Gordon and Yvonne Blankstein in 1986, The Mountain View Conservation Centre has operated  special
conservation programs for the breeding and re-introduction of rare and endangered wildlife species back to their native habitats.  Mountain View is a non-profit wildlife conservation facility, dedicated to saving rare and endangered Canadian wildlife species from extinction.  As part of that mission, we operate scientific research and educational programs including a Guided Educational Tour Program at the Center for colleges, schools, community groups and families who are interested in wildlife conservation in British Columbia, Canada, North & South America, and around the world. We now also offer Internships & Outreach Learning Programs.

From 1986 onwards, Mountain View focused on rare and endangered species from all over the world that were in critical need of a conservation & breeding facility that could provide large, safe, natural habitats and experienced wildlife breeding management.  Over the years, Gordon Blankstein brought in small ‘founding’ groups of over 80 different and critically endangered species to Mountain View, so that our special breeding & return programs could help them build up sustainable populations in their natural habitats here in B.C., Canada, and around the World.

Many of those species had already, or were becoming, extinct in the wild.
For example: Mohr Gazelle, Addax, Scimitar Horned Gazelle, Painted Hunting Dogs, Bongo, Lemurs, Indian Rhinoceros, and Andean Condor, just to name a few.

The Wildlife Conservatory
Over the years, the area of our Conservatory has expanded to over 300 acres, incorporating an adjacent area of leased crown land, and we had became a veritable modern Ark, helping save many species from extinction. The small founding herds of two’s and three’s thrived and multiplied to became fifteen, twenty, then thirty, forty, and more!  The resulting healthy herds of these extremely rare wild animals, allowed Mountain View Conservation to send them back out in small groups to other conservation facilities to continue the breeding program work and, with several species, actually sending them back to their home habitats in Africa,  Asia, and other destinations around the world.

The offspring survival rate of our Conservation Programs continues to be high, and over the years success has rewarded the patient philanthropic work of the Blankstein’s.

Most of our conservation programs operate in co-operation and partnership with other organizations and world -renowned facilities in North-America like the San Diego and
Los Angeles Zoos, Calgary and Toronto Zoos, Government Parks and Reserves in Senegal, Mali in Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Europe and the U.K.,

In Canada, we partner with Environment Canada and the B.C. Provincial Governments’ Ministry of Natural Resources, the Environment, and Lands & Forests.

A change in direction, to protect endangered species here in B.C.
In early 2010, the Directors of the Mountain View Society decided to move out most of our exotic species programs to other conservation facilities outside of B.C.,  so that we could focus on B.C. Wildlife Conservation & Return Programs and Canadian Migratory Bird
Conservation & Breeding Programs.

We expanded our Canadian red-listed species conservation and recovery programs, and have started to build new Canadian Migratory Bird Programs like Sandhill Cranes.
Please visit our other pages to learn about our current programs.
They include:

- The Northern Spotted Owl Program
- The Vancouver Island Marmot Program
- The Oregon Spotted Frog Program

We are also still working with the following South-American Species:
- Mountain Tapirs – with The Mountain Tapir Specialist Recovery Program
- Vicunas – The Vicugna Conservation Program in Peru
and we  continue to work with several other species including Amur Leopard Cats, Serval, Sitatunga, Tree Shrews, Red-vented Cockatoos, Turacos, and many other avian species.

Mountain View Conservation works to save B.C. wildlife.
It is a sad fact that 7 species of mammals and 4 species of birds have already disappeared from the Canadian landscape. Another 41 species of mammals and 46 species of birds are listed as Endangered, Threatened, or Vulnerable.  More than 1,200 species here in B.C. could be threatened in the near future if we do not take care of them now, and start preparing conservation & create public awareness programs that will ensure their long-term survival. We are helping work on a long-term overall Conservation Plan for B.C.

For example:
A unique wildlife ‘Flora and Fauna’ Inventory of our Conservatory:
Over one thousand unique species of Flora and Fauna call our Wildlife Conservatory their home.  The Langley Field Naturalists are compending an inventory, and have found many unique red & blue-listed species on our land including Coho Salmon & Cutthroat Trout, Red-legged frogs, Salamanders, Pacific water shrew and nests of Mountain Beavers.  Once completed, Mountain View intends to publish this Inventory to help the Federal, Provincial, Regional and Municipal Governments plan a comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy for our region of British Columbia.  

You can help with this work with a Donation.
Please visit our other Conservation Program pages to learn about how Mountain View Conservation, in partnership with the Federal and Provincial Governments, is helping make a difference by actually breeding and returning our wildlife back to their natural habitats.