James Island has an elevation of 145 metres (476 feet) above sea level at its highest point,[1] and has a total land-mass of 315 hectares (780 acres).

[5] In the early 1900s, the island was used as a private hunting ground for Victoria sportsmen including then British Columbia Premier Richard McBride, who served between 1903 and 1915.

Since then there was repeated legal action taken against ICI (formerly CIL) as the new owner was unable to turn over the property to residential use as per his intention due to its industrial history, a status which had been well-documented as of the sale.

[6] Recent luxury resort development on the island includes a golf course, yacht moorage, seaplane ramp, and an airstrip.

McCaw has reportedly established an environmental regime on James Island where insecticides are not allowed, power lines are underground and electric cars and golf carts are used for transportation.

In the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification of the British Columbia Forest Service the island is entirely Coastal Douglas Fir Lowland.