“Know nature and keep it worth knowing”
Big Mama and the Return of the Humpback Whale
AGM 2016 - Comox Valley
Turtles and Bullfrogs and Koi
The Magazine of BC Nature
www.bcnature.ca • Fall 2015 • Vol. 53 No. 3 • ISSN 0228-8824
BCnature
Volume 53 No. 3
In This Issue:
Objectives of BC Nature
(Federation of BC Naturalists)
Regular columns
Editorial........................................................................................3
Letters to the Editor.................................................................... 4
President's Report - Climbing onto the Rock..............................5
Natural Mistakes..........................................................................6
Conservation report....................................................................6
The Last Word........................................................................... 31
Spotlight on BC Nature Club..................................................32
Feature
AGM 2016 Comox Valley ..........................................................8
Rene Savenye Scholarship...........................................................9
Release of the Nechako White Sturgeon......................................10
BC Naturalists' Foundation Support.........................................11
Ranah Chavoshi Summer Student............................................ 12
Seataesca Andrews Summer Student...............................................12
Big Mama and the Return of the Humpback Whale..................13
Mitlenatch Camp....................................................................... 14
Green Scene- “Discover Nature” Booklet.......................................15
Raincoast Institute......................................................................16
Welcome to New IBA Coordinator............................................16
Water Striders - Marvels of Hydrodynamics.............................. 17
Grasslands 101................................. ......................................... 18
Opinion: The Hypocricy of Helicpoter Skiing.......................... 19
Neonicotinoids and Birds......................................................... 20
Bee Diversity.............................................................................. 21
Cumberland's Trails are Open to Comox Valley Preeschoolers....22
Turtle and Bullfrogs and Koi.....................................................24
Loss of Habitat - Bank Swallows................................................26
Beach Hero Marine Interpretive Program.................................27
NatureKids BC.......................................................................... 27
2015 Award Winners..................................................................28
A Visit to the Galapagos............................................................29
Notices
Dates to Remember.....................................................................3
Accessing BCnature Online.........................................................4
Club Listing by Area..................................................................23
By B. Davison
Columbia Spotted Frog
In association with the Elders Council for Parks in
British Columbia, BC Nature's home office is located at
the Heritage Centre in Mount Seymour Provincial Park.
Please visit Elders Council at
http://www.elderscouncilforparks.org/
Color Version of BCnature is available online www.bcnature.ca
• To provide naturalists and natural history clubs
of BC with a unified voice on conservation and
environmental issues.
• To foster an awareness, appreciation and
understanding of our natural environment, that
it may be wisely used and maintained for future
generations.
• To encourage the formation and cooperation of
natural history clubs throughout BC.
• To provide a means of communication between
naturalists in BC.
BCnature magazine is published quarterly by
BC Nature - Circulation 5,400
Editorial Team: Penelope Edwards [email protected]
Betty Davison
[email protected]
John Sprague
[email protected]
Rick Gee
[email protected]
Website: www.bcnature.ca
BC Nature Office - [email protected]
Editorial: Rob Butler - [email protected]
We welcome your articles, photos and letters.
Please email your articles-photos-thoughts to the office.
BC Nature reserves the right to edit submissions for length,
style and clarity. For advertising rates, and cut-off dates,
please email the office. Cut off date for Winter Edition November 1, 2015
Cover Photo: Common Darter Dragonfly "Red"
Photograph : Betty Davison
BC Nature Executive
President
Vice President
Past President
Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Conservation Chair
Communications Chair
Kootenay Coordinator
Lower Mainland Coordinator
Northern BC Coordinator
Vancouver Island Coordinator
Thompson/Okan.Shuswap Coordinator
Parks & Protected Areas
Education Chair
Director at Large
Kees Visser
Alan Burger
John Neville
John Troth
Claudia Copley
Rosemary Fox
Penney Edwards
Joan Snyder
Jude Grass
Fred McMechan
John Neville
Janet Pattinson
Vacant
Marg Cuthbert
Bev Ramey
Email addresses may be found on www.bcnature.ca under "Contact
Us" or telephone the office for further information
BCnature is printed on 100 percent recycled stock
BC Nature 1620 Mount Seymour Rd., North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9, Tel: 604-985-3057
2
BCnature Fall 2015
Editorial
Nature is Good for Us
By Rob Butler
Join us for Something
Extraordinary!
recent years, there has
Iturenbeendeficit
much talk about nadisorder and obe-
sity in children. It is said that
our modern urban lifestyle
has led to nature deprivation.
New studies have shown that
the loss of nature is actually
a new loss. For readers of
BCnature, this is nothing new but now Paul Sandifer, Ariana
Sutton-Grier and Bethney Ward have provided the ammunition. Their review published in the journal, Ecosystem Services,
summarizes scores of studies that highlight the benefits that
nature provides to our health and well-being. Sandifer and
his colleagues listed the benefits which included; improved
psychological well-being, improved ability to deal with depression and anger, improved self esteem, mood and creativity
and reduced confusion; improved academic performance and
productivity, reduced sick leave and stress, lower blood pressure, reduced mortality from circulatory, respiratory disease
and infections, strokes and an increase in anti-cancer proteins
and healthier children. Some studies are better than others
and how benefits are acquired is not always known but the
bottom line is that nature is a great healer. Naturalists can take
solace that your interest in nature and your cries for conservation are also benefiting your health. It would be interesting to
measure the health of active naturalists, especially those who
participate in field trips and extended time in wilderness away
from urban distractions.
Campaigns to “green” urban areas also take on new value
in a study that indicates people respond more favourably to
habitats with many species than those with fewer species.
Richard Fuller, Katherine Irvine, Patrick Devine-Wright and
Kevin Gaston wrote in Biological Letters that the psychological
benefits increased with the actual or perceived biodiversity of
their urban environments.
These exciting new studies indicate that nature improves
our quality of life in ways we are only just beginning to understand. For BC naturalists, it means that contributing to organizations that secure, study, conserve and educate about
nature is one of the best things you can do for yourselves and
those around us. 1
Rob Butler is a scientist, author and naturalist. He is co-founder
(with Daphne Solecki) of the Young Naturalists Club of BC (now
NatureKids), President of the Pacific WildLife Foundation and a
voluntary Board member of The Nature Trust of British Columbia.
Dates to Remember - 2015 & 2016
Harrison Hot Springs Eagle Camp - Nov. 26 - 29/15
Resolutions Submission - Feb. 26, 2016
Club Support Grants - Feb. 28, 2016
Mittlenatch Camp - May 8 - 11, 2016
AGM 2016 - Comox Valley - May 12 - 15, 2016
Rene Savenye Scholarship - May 2016
Fraser Canyon Rafting Camp - June 2016
FGM 2016 - Prince George - September 2016
Panama: Canal Zone & the Darien
January 9 - 17, 2016 with Héctor Gómez de Silva
Some of the finest birding locations in the
Neotropics including the famous Pipeline road.
Cuba
February 8 - 18, 2016 with Colin Jones
Beautiful Caribbean island with endemics
and range restricted species.
Thailand
February 7 - 20, 2016 with Adam Walleyn
Thailand is a fascinating and bird-rich Asian
country with diverse habitats and a marvellous
and extensive park and sancutary system.
Costa Rica
February 18 - March 5, 2016 with Ernesto Carman
Enjoy diverse tropical birding in a small pleasant
country! We visit all habitats sampling an
astonishing number of species.
Florida
February 26 - March 5, 2016 with Kyle Horner
Fine winter birding covering a diversity of
habitats in the subtropical United States.
Eagle-Eye Tours
BC Licence #34413
Travel with Vision
Call now for your free catalogue!
1-800-373-5678
www.eagle-eye.com
Fall 2015 BCnature
3
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor;
I am writing to point out an error in the latest
issue of BCnature Magazine (Summer 2015,
Vol 53, No.2.) on page 15
In the table of prizewinners of the Science
Fair awards for 2015, Chloe Williston is listed
as being from Northern Vancouver Island when
in fact she lives in Smithers and I was her mentor for her project. She should be listed as being
from the Pacific Northwest together with Kiri
Daust.1
R. Pojar
Dear Editor;
Very slow in reducing my pile of unimportant
things to read I am only now writing with regard
to two items in the Fall 2014 BC Nature. But
before I make a comment about either one. I
want to admit that the object of BC Nature
which is most meaningful to me includes the
worlds “that it (our natural environment)
may be wisely used and maintained for future
generations.
The first piece of importance to me is Rosemary
Fox’s Conservation Report. I am perusing it ,
and at the beginning of each month ask myself:
1) How are we doing on each of these issues?
(Answer: choose any negative word you used)
and
2) What can I do this this month to meet or at
best address BC Nature’s objective in at least
two of these issues? (It gives me hope)
The second item I cannot let go by is Mike
Nash’s letter to the Editor. He writes of his
involvement with protecting BC’s environment
since the 1990’s and working with government
and business to reduce the impact of urban
development. I fear Mr. Nash is seeing today’s
world though 1990s glasses. I would like him
to to refer to three issues in Rosemary Fox’s
report, Agricultural Land Reserve, BC Parks
and Forestry. It would seem the government of
British Columbia is hearing and responding to
voices other than those members of BC Nature.
B. J. Brunet
Dear Editor;
Dirt Birds? Really?
Dirt Birds – it upsets me when this term
is tossed out in conversation or creeps into
print. It is a pejorative that is sometimes used
with reference to any bird not worthy of our
attention because it is a “weed” species or that
it’s too common. Why on earth would a robin
or a song sparrow be described as a “dirt bird”?
They’re wonderful.
Dirt Bird sends out the wrong message. Let us
celebrate the beauty and diversity of life. There
is no law against its use, but you’ll never hear
it from me. May the robins always sing joining
the avian chorus to bring delight to us all. 1
A. Grass
Dear Editor;
I sympathize with Anne Murray’s distress over
the wolf cull now being implemented to help
save mountain caribou in the South Peace
Region (Wolf Cull Misguided, Summer 2015).
But I can’t agree with some of the inferences
in her argument. For example, she seems to
suggest that we should now view mountain
caribou herds as being marginal and destined
for extirpation. She writes that mountain
caribou are not genetically distinct from other
caribou herds, and that for caribou, “living in
such remote areas has always been challenging
and tenuous”. She also seems to suggest that
extirpation of the South Peace mountain
caribou is inevitable because biologists and
naturalists have been “unable to influence the
societal forces” that drive caribou habitat loss.
As I see it, the real problem is that government and industry have upset the balance of
nature in the South Peace by creating more and
more clearings and access routes into wilderness
areas (see Roads to Ruin by Peter Wood, same
issue). The result is that the wolves have become
an “invasive species” in the sense that they are
now able to enter into habitats that are not
natural to them, by following industrial roads,
pipeline right-of-ways, or packed-down snowmobile tracks. Unfortunately, with mountain
caribou now facing extinction, it has become
necessary to try to temporarily re-set the balance of nature, by reducing predator pressure
in caribou habitat in order to buy time for caribou recovery. Wolves are not endangered in the
South Peace. And we don’t balk at removing an
invasive plant from our gardens or our forested
parks, so why shouldn’t we remove wolves from
endangered mountain caribou habitat?
The good news for everyone on both sides
of the wolf cull debate is that there are other
actions we can take in the meantime to “influence the societal forces” that are driving habitat
loss. For example, we can write to the federal
and provincial governments and urge them
to do more to implement mountain caribou
recovery programs, including recovery strategies under the federal Species at Risk Act. We
can also urge the provincial government to do
a better job of managing the cumulative effects
of industrial development (n.b. all members of
BC Nature should read the report on cumulative effects issued by the BC Auditor General
in May 2015). Believe it or not, organized
letter writing campaigns work, especially when
there are federal and provincial elections on the
horizon.
In addition, although government and industry will never openly admit this, experience has
shown that financial pressure is one of the most
effective ways to persuade them to change their
policies and operations. And that means tough
international boycotts (think “dolphin-free
tuna” and “old growth-free” paper). Right now,
the greatest industrial threats to South Peace
mountain caribou are high elevation open-pit
coal mining, unsustainable logging practices,
and huge ridgetop windfarms. Some of the
industrial proponents with interests in mountain caribou habitat include mining companies
(Teck Coal, Anglo-American, and Glencore),
logging companies (Canadian Forest Products
and BC Timber Sales), and windfarm developers (EDF, Brookfield, and Boralex). They need
social licence to operate; will we give it to them
through silence or neglect?
I remain optimistic that mountain caribou
can recover, if not to historic then to sustainable population levels, in the South Peace.
But it won’t happen if we only focus on the
wolf cull. We need to pressure our own governments, and domestic and overseas consumers
and investors, to take real, meaningful steps
to ensure that the balance of nature is restored
through careful management, and through the
setting aside of large protected areas. 1
J. Hickling
Check the website for updates
www.bcnature.ca
Harnessing Nature Knowledge
"BC Nature Guide" Check it out, many new areas are now
uploaded http://bcnatureguide.ca/
BC Nature Magazine
ishing to view your BCnature copy in electronic .pdf format? Laptops, desktop computers, tablets and yes, even
W
cell phones, can now view the .pdf version of the magazine. To view the latest magazine, you should make note of
the address label on the back of this magazine, it will have your name and a number on the top left of the label. The
exact spelling (including spacing, punctuation) of your name - usually Surname and then first name needs to be typed
into the members only area of www.bcnature.ca and your password is the number on the top left of the label (your BC
Nature Identification).
After you have notified the office of your wish to view the electronic copy, [email protected], we will send you an
email informing you when the latest magazine is uploaded to the website.
BC Nature Annual Report (AGM Report) is also now available behind the members only access. See what the other
federated BC Nature clubs are doing in other areas of the province.1
4
BCnature Fall 2015
President's Report
Climbing onto the Rock
By Kees Visser
t is mid-July as I write this, and lookInews,
ing at the meteorology maps and the
I see that our beautiful province
is searing from high temperatures and
forest fires. Both are unfortunately
widespread and in full swing. Here on
Salt Spring Island, we only received six
mm rain in the last eight weeks which
could spell disaster for many here. I
truly hope that by the time you read
this that our province has received enough precipitation to ease our
drought.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place in early May, 2015
on Salt Spring Island. The AGM was a great success with more than
200 participants. The talks were very informative and stimulating, and
the field trips were well-attended and successful. On behalf of BC
Nature, many thanks to all of the organizing committee, especially,
Nieke Visser, Sheryl Taylor-Munroe and Barry Spence. All of the
event management created an excellent event which will be difficult
to rival. Having said that, we do not treat it as a competition, but rather
our objective is to look for opportunities to have as many naturalists
together as possible and to enjoy many of British Columbia’s ecologically diverse areas. Unfortunately, there will be no Fall General Meeting (FGM) this year.
The 2016 AGM to be organized by the Comox Valley Naturalist Society, will be held from May 12 -15, 2016, and the FGM will be hosted
by the Prince George Naturalists Club from September 22 - 25, 2016.
I am confident that both conferences will be successful, and I would
like to thank both clubs for their willingness to organize these events.
Looking even further ahead, the North Okanagan Naturalists will be
coordinating the 2017 FGM; and for the 2018 AGM, we will head to
the coast with Nature Vancouver. We are still looking for organizers for
the 2017 AGM and FGM, if your club is interested in hosting either
event, please contact either the office or myself for more information.
BC Naturalists' Foundation is doing very well this year and their
investments continue to grow. This year, club support grants from the
Foundation were given to 10 clubs, totalling $11,000. The Foundation
President, Bev Ramey, recorded this in the AGM 2015 report which is
available on our website.
This issue of BCnature contains an insert for our annual appeal (see
the centrefold.) We thought that this format was the most economical
and environmental-friendly approach – please cut out the donation
slip and mail your donation or phone the office to make your donation. Please support this annual appeal from BC Nature and the BC
Naturalists Foundation. We thank you in advance for your continued
support.
In the past year, I worked with a small committee (Jim Morrison,
Gwyn Thomas and Janet Pattinson) on a new five-year strategic plan.
The plan was approved at the Salt Spring AGM 2015 and is now available on our website. All of the BC Nature Club Directors are able to
obtain a hard copy for their clubs. This strategic plan addresses many
of BC Nature’s major concerns. One of the most major concerns
brought up by many of the clubs is the aging demographic of our
membership, and a lack of younger members. In addition, we face the
problem of getting volunteers to do all the essentials for BC Nature:
“Know Nature and keep it worth knowing.” At present we have an
opening for one Executive position, the Parks and Protective Areas
Coordinator. Don Guild, the previous Coordinator, is quite willing to
assist in easing in his replacement. Moreover, we are always looking for
volunteers to help out with the Conservation and Education Committees. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to help.
The Communication Committee continues to work tirelessly on the BCnature magazine, the website and the e-news.
The Environmental Law Centre (ELC) of the University
of Victoria is continuing its efforts with our intervenor
status for the Northern Gateway Pipeline and the Trans
Mountain Extension. Our designated, "special", representatives for the Northern Gateway pipeline (Rosemary Fox)
and the Trans Mountain extension (Elaine Gold) have the
difficult task of tracking our intervenor status for both projects. (Special Representatives is just a term in our bylaws,
which indicates that they are appointed by the Executive to
be representative for specific projects. Generally they have
technical experience associated with these projects. Special thanks to Roger Elmsley for stepping up to be the BC
Nature Special representative for Roberts Bank Terminal
2 project.
We have been granted leave by the Federal Court of
Appeal to proceed with challenging Cabinet’s approval of
the Northern Gateway project, which will happen in early
October 2015. In mid-September, hearings are scheduled
on the Trans Mountain Project; but no cross-examination
will be allowed, a first for the National Energy Board. We
are also very concerned about the Roberts Bank expansion.
I would like to say thank you to the ELC and our representatives who are working hard to ensure that BC Nature can
participate in these proceedings.
This June and July, your Executive was busy with Salmon
Protection in the Fraser River. Thank you to Janne Perrin and the Langley Field Naturalists for representing us.
In June, I also attended the Outdoor Recreation Council
AGM in Chilliwack. In July, Penney Edwards and I will
be representing BC Nature on the new Columbia River
Treaty.
In September, I will have visited a number of our clubs
in the Northern Region and also areas in the Northern
Region where we have do not currently have clubs. My stops
included Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Nass Valley,
Stewart, Smithers, Prince George, Quesnel, Lillooet and
Williams Lake. My talk included information on geological
topics and, of course, my talk will included speaking about
BC Nature. In October, I will be in the Princeton and Oliver/Osoyoos areas. I would like to encourage any people in
these areas to support these clubs. In November, I hope to
visit Comox and Campbell River.
Lastly, I would also like to say thank you to all the Committees, Project Coordinators, BC Nature Representatives,
our Office Manager and not to forget, my fellow Executive
members. We have been able to stay on course and grow to
5,700 members; all this, notwithstanding a non-conservation-friendly provincial and federal government.
I hope you had a great summer, and please, let it rain a
little as well! 1
Report Your Sightings
To Help Conservation Efforts
If you see a whale, dolphin, porpoise or sea turtle, we
want to know! Since 2000, the B.C. Cetacean Sightings
Network has engaged coastal residents and mariners
in collecting and reporting sightings of cetaceans and
sea turtles. With a coastline as long and intricate as
British Columbia's, monitoring cetaceans year round is
difficult for researchers without help from the public.
This is where the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network
makes a difference. Visit the BC Cetacean website
http://wildwhales.org/ for more information.
Fall 2015 BCnature 5
Natural Mistakes
My Least Favourite Bird
By Clive Keen
“
What is your least favourite bird?” I was asked at the end
of a presentation. Now if I'd had my wits about me, I'd
have said “The Sea Gull” which would have earned a knowing chuckle from the birders in the audience, but my wits
had gone on holiday. So it was time to flounder around. I
couldn't pick on the poor old female Mallard; I'd already
handed out a put-down in the Most Boring category, and she
does, after all, give us those glorious shiny-headed drakes.
I also couldn't pick on the two birds that so many love to
vilify – the Starling and House Sparrow – because I'm far
more inclined to spring to their defence. Sure, they are both
invasive species, but so am I, along with most of the people
in the audience. And Starlings deserve serious respect for
their three sets of attractive plumage and their spectacular
murmurations. Equally, it's hard not to admire the pluck
of House Sparrows, which scratch out a perky living in
places deemed by
other birds to be
beneath their dignity.
So I ended up
getting zero out
of ten for my
response to that
question. Sorry
about that. By
way of further
apology, here's
the reply I'd
have given if
I'd the quickwittedness of an
entire season of
By Clive Keen
“Whose Line is it
Anyway.”
My least favourite bird, I'll now say, is not a single species
but an amalgam of five, each of which has elicited a serious
Yuck from me in the past. First, it has the vocal talent of
a Yellow-headed Blackbird combined with the tenacity of
the Never-Shut-Up Bird, also known as the Red-eyed Vireo.
Imagine daleks being strangled one after the other in the
nearest treetop from dawn to dusk and you get the general
idea.
My least favourite bird would then have the head of a
Turkey Vulture plus the wattle of a male Wild Turkey. It
makes some sort of perverse sense that the Turkey Vulture
should have such hideous physiognomy. If you make your
living by sticking your head deep into the entrails of a rotting carcass, it's best not to have any head-feathers to gum
up. I've never, though, understood why male Turkeys have
to dangle something looking like a diseased man-part from
their neck. It must have something to do with sexual selectivity, with females having spectacularly, grotesquely, bad
taste.
An even more appalling characteristic, though, is one I
discovered in my sprightly youth, when I was exiting a beach
not by the usual path, but by climbing the cliff-face. Around
25 feet up I came level with a nest inhabited by a Northern
Fulmar. Warning. Do not try this yourself. I'm what is considered an expert. But even a supposed expert has difficulty
dealing with the projectile vomiting of half-digested fish
bits while dangling 25 feet above the rocks.
So, my least favourite avian species is the Vulture headed,
“naughty bit” wattle, dalek strangling, barfing bird. What's
yours? 1
6
BCnature Fall 2015
Conservation Report
By Rosemary Fox and Conservation Committee
elcome to New Conservation Committee members - Roger Elmsley and Greg Ferguson
Roger has been appointed BC Nature’s Special Representative, Roberts
Bank Extension. He is already chair of a local group, “Against Port Expansion”, and has been advocating against the Roberts Bank Expansion for a
number of years, so is very familiar with the issue.
Greg has been working in the field of environmental conservation,
research, and education for the past 15 years. His wide range of interests
include species at risk conservation, wildlife and habitat assessment, habitat restoration, invasive species inventory and management, ethnobotany,
project coordination and community engagement.
Port Metro Vancouver Roberts Bank Terminal 2 proposal – Anne
Murray - Port Metro Vancouver has submitted its environmental impact
statement to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for the
proposed Terminal 2 at Roberts Bank port. The federal review process is
now underway and may take up to two years. Naturalists need to follow this
process carefully, as the port expansion is destined for one of Canada’s richest
wildlife habitats, the Fraser River delta. It would also have a negative impact
on marine life around the Southern Gulf Islands National Park Reserve and
southern Vancouver Island.
The proposed container terminal will have three berths, doubling the capacity of the existing port, and necessitating a major widening of the causeway
and construction of an artificial island, or pod, to accommodate the loading
and unloading facilities. The net effect will be a doubling of the size of the
existing Roberts Bank port.
Expected impacts of the terminal and its operations include changes to the
nearshore marine environment that will result in the loss of migratory shorebird habitat. The Roberts Bank mud flats at the mouth of the Fraser River
contain biofilm, an important food source for Western Sandpipers, which
migrate up to 11,000 km between wintering and breeding grounds. Roberts
Bank is also habitat for other shorebirds such as Dunlin, Least Sandpiper,
Yellowlegs, Dowitchers, and Black-bellied Plovers, as well as wintering and
migrating geese and ducks, particularly Lesser Snow Goose, all of which are
dependent on the intertidal areas. A large nesting colony of Great Blue Herons is situated adjacent to Roberts Bank and the herons feed on the tidal flats.
Construction of the existing causeway, which has been enlarged over the last
two decades, has already resulted in changes to the stability of the delta slope
and to the distribution of native and introduced eelgrass species on the sand
flats. The southward flow of fresh water from the mouth of the Fraser River
is completely impeded by the presence of the causeway and juvenile salmon
exiting the Fraser are forced into the deep water of the Georgia Strait rather
than staying within the shallows. Overhead wires running the length of the
causeway have been documented as the cause of bird mortalities. None of
these existing adverse effects have ever been addressed by the port.
The port’s review states that the Terminal 2 project “is not expected to result
in measurable incremental adverse cumulative effects to coastal birds.”
In addition to the effect on bird habitat, increased shipping from the proposed port would increase the risks of impacts and oil spills on the already
fragile population of endangered southern resident Orca that travel through
the same waters.
Water Sustainability Act – Peter Ballin - In April 2014, Bill 18, the
Water Sustainability Act, passed third reading in the BC legislature and
received Royal Consent in May. The act sets forth policies that require
regulations that can be enforced to allocate water use and protect our
water resources. BC Nature was involved with the lengthy and careful
process of the Modernization of the Water Act over the previous few
years, partially in our role as participants in the Wetland Stewardship
Partnership. In July, we attended a meeting organized by West Coast
Environmental Law and endorsed their suggestions for draft regulations
to ensure environmentally-sound stream flows and ground water usage.
The consensus seems to be that the law is a good one.
The following list summarizes the contents of the WSA:
Interpretation and Application:
• Definitions and water use purposes, Licensing, Diversion and Use
of Water
• Protecting Water Resources, including objectives and protection of
W
streams, wells, and ground water, plans
for water sustainability, and temporary
protection measures when required
In July 2015 the government proposed policies for licensing ground water use, ground
water protection, dam safety, and strengthening compliance.
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - The
TPP has been negotiated almost entirely
in secret, and what information there is
on it is disturbing. Here is some of what is
known about it.
• It will allow fossil fuel companies to sue
governments who pass laws that infringe
on their profits;
• Delay access to low-cost generic
medicines by lengthening patent terms;
• Make it nearly impossible to ban risky
financial schemes like those that crashed
the global economy;
• Encourages a race to the bottom for
workers in every TPP country;
• Include countries that are notorious
human rights abusers, like Malaysia and
Brunei, and;
• Punish Internet users who link to
copyrighted content.
Site C Dam - Despite facing massive
opposition, the government is determined
to go ahead with the Site C dam, reportedly
to provide power for the development
of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). In its
submission on Site C to the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency in
November 2013, BC Nature raised the
following concerns over development of
Site C:
If the Site C dam is built, it will impact
57,000 hectares of land, including 17,000
acres of boreal forest and 16,000 acres of
farmland. The ten km of the upper Peace
River valley that would be lost under the lake
behind the proposed dam is a deep steepsided valley carved through deep layers of
glacial silts. The banks of the impoundment
can be expected to slough continually, as the
banks of the WAC Bennett dam upstream
have been doing for the past 47 years since
the construction of that dam. About 6,500
acres of the land to be flooded is classified
as Class 1 and 2 agricultural land, which it
would be short-sighted in the extreme for British Columbia, a mountainous province with
little agricultural land, to sacrifice to industrial development.
Wetlands along the Peace provide valuable
habitat for both nesting and migratory waterfowl. One such wetland, Watson Slough,
provides prime breeding habitat for at least
five listed bird species (American Bittern,
Yellow Rail, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Nelson’s
Sparrow, and Le Conte’s Sparrow). Watson
Slough is right beside Highway 29 about 50
km northeast of Hudson’s Hope. Its location
adjacent to the highway provides the public
with a unique opportunity to learn about
these fragile wetland ecosystems and the possibility of seeing and/or hearing some of B.C.’s
rarest breeding bird species.
By B. Davison
Red-throated Loon
There are extensive areas of critical ungulate wintering habitat along the south-facing
banks of the Peace River and its major tributaries. Mule and White-tailed Deer are quite
common. The Peace River valley also provides habitat for several red- and blue-listed
mammal species such as Grizzly Bear, Fisher
and Northern Myotis Bats.
Rising mercury levels from the inundation of vegetation behind the dam will also
threaten aquatic organisms, including migratory Arctic Grayling in the Moberly River;
migratory Bull Trout in the Halfway River;
and Mountain Whitefish in the Peace River.
These concerns remain valid today.
BC Wolf Cull, 2015 – In the spring of
2015 the BC government went ahead
with a wolf cull despite the opposition
of BC Nature and other conservation
organizations.
BC Nature’s submission on the wolf cull
called for alternative measures to reduce wolf
predation on caribou, such as maternal penning during caribou calving season, alpha
male and female wolf sterilization and primary prey reduction.
BC Parks Research Permit Policy
Approved - The legislative amendments
approved on March 24, 2014 under Bill 4,
the Park Amendment Act, 2014 provide
clarity on BC Parks’ ability to issue park use
permits for research activities. The policy
provides a framework for how research
applications will be evaluated, standard
conditions for research permits, and
considerations that decision-makers will
use to determine whether or not to issue a
permit. The policy ensures that protected
area values are considered and protected
while allowing research to continue within
provincial parks and protected areas. BC
Parks would like to thank everyone who
took the time to provide comments on
the draft policy, which was posted for
review and comment period from March
- May 2014. These comments were used
to inform changes to the draft Research
Permit Policy. A document describing the
feedback received during this review and
comment period is available on the BC
Parks webpage with the final policy
Progress on South Okanagan National
Park Update - By Eva Durance
August 2015, the BC Ministry of Environment announced that the province
is putting forward a framework, in the
form of an intentional paper, to protect and
enhance the natural, historical, and economic values of critical lands in the South
Okanagan.
The protection proposed includes a
national park reserve component; one section in the White Lake area and encompassing the existing Provincial Protected Area
and other federally owned/managed lands;
and the other south of Highway 3 from west
of Osoyoos to the Chopaka Grasslands in
the Similkameen Valley. A provincial Conservancy is proposed for the third component encompassing the Mt. Kobau area west
of Oliver.
The government is allowing people 60 days
(to mid October) to comment on the proposal and directions for so doing are also on
the site of the Paper. For more specific information on the issues involved, email me at
[email protected]. In September CPAWS put
together a paper in consultation with our
National Park Network (NPN) committee
addressing the central points.
The NPN and other National Park Reserve
supporters are delighted by this move
towards greater protection of these critical lands. As usual, the devil can be in the
details, but this would appear to be a very
important step towards the province and
Parks Canada negotiating the most effective means by which these lands can be kept
intact and with appropriate management for
their ecological values and benefits to the
human communities.
Kinder Morgan Update - By Elaine Golds
The National Energy Board (NEB) Hearings for the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans
Mountain Expansion were supposed to start
in Calgary in late August and beginning
of September in Burnaby. In a surprising
move, these Hearings were postponed in
August. The reason is a potential conflict
of interest regarding Mr. Stephen Kelly who
had previously prepared more than 400
pages of evidence on behalf of Trans Mountain and who was appointed to the NEB on
July 31 by the Harper government.
Given that his appointment was
announced a few weeks ago, it’s strange the
NEB acted only three weeks later. The Hearings will be re-scheduled at some point after
September 11 and will be announced on
the NWB website. Kelly’s evidence will be
stricken from the hearing records.
When the hearings start in Burnaby, the
public will be forbidden to attend. We
expect the NEB will televise the hearings
through their website. Once these hearings
start, intervenors will be allowed a mere
60 minutes to present their case; Kinder
Morgan will have 90 minutes. Only two
people representing each intervenor will
be allowed in the room. In the case of BC
Nature/Nature Canada, these two people
will be Chris Tollefson and Anthony Ho,
our lawyers from the Environmental Law
Centre at the University of Victoria. 1
Fall 2015 BCnature
7
AGM 2016 Comox Valley May 12 - 15, 2016
“Celebrating Nature for 50 Years and 100 years of Canadian Conservation”
By Father Charles Brandt.
ost things happen by serendipity, and sometimes, true to chaos theory a little Lepidopteran flutter creates a perfect storm.
In March 2015 John Neville visited the Comox Valley and asked the reticent president of the Comox Valley Naturalists (CVN) to
M
host – on relatively short notice - BC Nature’s AGM in May 2016. As it was, there might have been one pretext – CVN was created in
1966 and would be celebrating its 50 anniversary. Then, upon reflection, it was also noted that in 1916, Canada signed the Migratory
Birds Convention Act (ratified 1917), which is the cornerstone of Canada’s conservation history. CVN’s roots lie in the achievements
of Comox conservationists such as Hamilton Mack Laing (1883-1982), whose life was tied to the goals and implementation of the
Migratory Birds Convention.
Well-known ornithologist, and World Wide Fund (WWF) founding member, Steven Price, the current President of Bird Studies
Canada, will be one of the distinguished keynote speakers at our AGM on May 14. He will be giving a one-hour presentation on “International Bird Migration Legislation Today.”
The Comox Valley is the northernmost distribution of BC’s endangered Garry Oak Ecosystem. While that makes it home to a
northernmost pocket of Mediterranean climate, it is also home to the rich alpine ecosystems of BC’s first and largest provincial park,
Strathcona Park . The region therefore offers visitors a rich diversity of flora and fauna and landscapes, from ocean to alpine ecosystems.
So, within time constraints of organizing an AGM in a matter of 12 months, CVN’s and BC Nature's AGM team has been preparing
what should be a very memorable triple celebration. The event will be held from Thursday May 12 to Sunday May 15, 2016, at the
centrally-located Filberg Seniors Centre. The format will be similar to the very successful Salt Spring 2015 AGM Conference.
The Comox Valley is Vancouver Island’s richest agricultural region. It is home to award-winning wineries. CVN’s AGM team has
brought together the talents of the internationally renowned local caterers to ensure that this conference will be an organic gastronomic
and vinicultural experience showcasing the best of the Comox Valley for all our visitors. The conference will include freshly made
organic artisan baked goods, preserves and fruit for breakfast and will be adapted to a variety of dietary requirements.
While speakers are not all finalized, presentations and lectures will include international research currently being conducted on
west coast mimosa genetics, and on northern Garry Oak ecosystems, estuary restoration, rare and endangered species in the Comox Valley, and
expected regional impacts of climate change, amongst other topics.
Flora & Fauna
Field outings will include: short trips to: Holmes Point Foreshore Ecology, the Bahama-like lagoons and sand-dune ecosystems of Tree Island,
Field Tours
Comox’s Garry Oak ecosystems, the Comox Ecological Reserve, the Vancouver Island University Aquaculture Research Station, the Harold Macy
Join these
Forestry Woodlot, Cumberland Community Forest, and Morrison Creek
Fabulous
(home to an endangered species of lamprey). Comox is also home to the
largest estuary outside of the lower mainland, with a rich 6,000 year or
Birding Tours
more archeological history. It is Class one environment and heritage.
Guided estuary outings will be available.
2016
Finally, Sunday day trips should include, a guided trip to Quadra Island,
a day on Tree Island, a trip to Mount Helliwell, and tours around Mittlenatch Island.
CVN’s AGM team is hoping to finalize arrangements by the end of September. We look forward to making your stay in the Comox Valley a most
Colombia March 1-16, 2016
memorable experience and help you understand, why, for the past 6,000
years visitors have called this valley K’omoks (The Land of Plenty)! Come
$ 3995 US (From Bogota)
celebrate Nature and our environmental heritage with us. 1
Hungary & Slovakia May 30 - June 7, 2016
Registration forms and AGM schedule will be available online and in
the Winter and Spring Magazine.
$ 2345 US (From Budapest)
Follow us in Social Media
Get updates as they happen
Share Interesting news tidbits and sites
Facebook - BC Nature
Twitter - @BCNature
8
BCnature Fall 2015
China-Poyang Lakes December 1-16, 2016
$ 3435 US (From Shanghai)
Flora & Fauna Field Tours
1093 Scollard Dr., Peterborough, ON K9H 0A9
www.florafaunafieldtours.com
[email protected]
Tel: 705-874-8531
BC Nature 2015 Rene Savenye Scholarship awarded to Ian Cruickshank
By Margaret Cuthbert
he BC Nature Education, Scholarship Selection
Committee chose Ian for his strong connection
to nature, extensive volunteer experience and his involvement in and commitment to the ideals of BC
Nature. Five students applied this year. We appreciate all the student applicants and have encouraged
them to reapply next year.
Ian Cruickshank lives in Victoria, is a member of
Victoria Natural History Society and is currently
attending University of Victoria (UVIC). His focus
at UVIC is in Biology, Ecology and Conservation.
Ian has been selected as a UBC visiting student
for a semester at Haida Gwaii in Natural Resource
Conservation for Fall 2015, studying field classes in
biology and conservation and then will resume his
studies at UVIC.
In his own words, "Throughout my life I have had
a strong interest in natural history, with a passion
for studying the biology of plants and animals in the
field. I’m sure that this interest was influenced by
my early experiences growing up in BC, spending
extensive time in nature, pursuing my hobbies/passionate interests, which include botany, birding, hiking and all natural history. I’ve been a botany enthusiast for most of my life, and while I was still in high
school I spent many years recording my plant sightings on Vancouver Island and making plant surveys
in local parks, identifying 150 species in one park.
My passion for botany has continued as I’ve begun
to pursue work in this field on Vancouver Island and
elsewhere in BC. My extensive local volunteer work
has been very rewarding and has helped me to clarify
my career goals. For example, I recently coordinated
a series of volunteer bird surveys at a local at risk
marsh, engaging with the local government to promote the habitat value of the site and inform future
management decisions. I have volunteered extensively with the Rocky Point Bird Observatory and
the Victoria Natural History Society, and participate
T
Rene Savenye Scholarship for 2016
In September 2016, BC Nature
will award a $1,500 scholarship
To qualify, a candidate must be:
• a direct member of BC Nature or the
spouse, son or daughter of a member
• registered at an accredited institution
of higher learning in BC in an undergraduate degree program in a discipline
that contributesto an awareness,
appreciation and understanding of our
natural environment.
Information and Applications for
Scholarships may be obtained by
visiting BC Nature website
(www.bcnature.ca), refer to the
education tab - download and fill in the
form and submit with all require documents to: [email protected]
Completed applications should reach the
BC Nature office by Friday June 3, 2016.
The successful candidate will be notified
prior to the new school year.
BC Nature wishes to acknowledge the many generous
donations made in memory of the late Rene Savenye, which
made this scholarship possible. Future scholarships depend
on future donations.
in several Bird Studies
Canada programs. For
the last six years I have
led weekly bird walks
for beginning birders at
Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary in Victoria. As a
result of my longtime
connection to the natural world, I have chosen
a career path in the field
of conservation biology and ecology. This
focus will fit well with
my continuing interest
in understanding the
biodiversity around me,
Ann Nightingale (L) Ian Cruickshank (M)
and more importantly,
Claudia Copley (R)
it fits with my strong
conservation ethic. Considering the accelerating pace of biodiversity loss at
this time in history, I feel a personal obligation to work towards the maintenance
of healthy ecosystems and foster human connections to the rest of the natural
world. I’m always glad to see the delight on people’s faces when I share my excitement for things in nature – excitement about nature is contagious and I feel that
striking that passion in others is crucially important work. Over the past several
summers, I have worked for the B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas, the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Rocky Point Bird Observatory, and Bird Studies Canada. I am
excited to be working with Parks Canada in Waterton Lakes National Park this
summer. By pursuing a biology degree, I hope to gain long-term conservationoriented work in B.C., working to engage people with the natural world, and
pursuing research with direct conservation implications.”
Ann Nightingale, Past-president, Rocky Point Bird Observatory says, “I’ve
known Ian for about 10 years. His mother first approached me to get him
involved in the Christmas Bird Count. Since then, I’ve seen him grow from a
very keen teenager to an incredibly skilled and respected man. Ian is, by far,
one of the most capable birders I have come across. While still in his teens, he
outpaced the more experienced birders on the south island. If that weren’t
enough, Ian also has considerable expertise in botany, butterfly and dragonfly
identification. He has a very broad interest in all aspects of natural history and
ecology. He has found rare species of plants and insects during bio-blitzes and is
incredibly generous in sharing his expertise and time with others.
Ian writes very well, beyond his years, and is a deep and considerate thinker. He
doesn’t accept things as they are just “because we’ve always done it that way”and
is always seeking better, less invasive and disruptive ways to study nature.
Ian is a meticulous record keeper and encourages others to contribute to community databases such as eBird. He is a good communicator and is well liked
and respected by everyone who has come to know him. He has been very much
in demand for summer jobs and volunteer positions because of his diverse skill
set. Even at his young age, he has built an excellent reputation across much of
Canada. We are having trouble keeping him in Victoria!
Ian is incredibly dedicated to his academic program, even choosing to develop
unique directed studies options rather than taking the easier road of established
courses. He will not only complete his current degree; I will be very surprised if
he doesn’t go on to graduate school and excel there, as well. We are expecting
great things from Ian. I would give him the highest possible recommendation.”
Quoting Brian Starzomski, the Ian McTaggart-Cowan Professor of Biodiversity Conservation & Environmental Restoration at the University of Victoria,
“Quite simply, Ian is one of the best young naturalists of his generation in BC.
He is a dedicated and interested student who routinely goes beyond the bounds
of a class to make sure he truly grasps material. He also goes out of his way to
make complete and deep natural history observations across taxa, and not only
that, but jumps at opportunities to do so in places across North America. I truly
expect Ian to make important contributions to North American natural history
over his career: he is outstanding, and I recommend him without reservations
for your scholarship”.
We are very pleased to award Ian Cruickshank the 2015, BC Nature Rene
Savenye Scholarship. 1
Fall 2015 BCnature
9
Kids Release Juvenile Endangered Nechako White Sturgeon into
the Nechako River
By June Wood
etermination, apprehension and
D
awe, were some of the expressions
written across the faces of the more
than 600 very excited elementary school
students from School District 91 that
converged on Riverside Park in Vanderhoof in May. The children had come to
help release, into the Nechako River, the
second half of the first batch of Nechako
White Sturgeon that have been incubated and reared in the new Nechako
By Brian Frenkel
White Sturgeon Conservation Centre By Wayne Salewski
Photo Left - Young Sturgeon prior to release Photo
(hatchery). All together, approximately
Right - Future naturalists gingerly getting ready to
1400 juvenile sturgeon were released
release her sturgeon
and the survival rate is expected to be high, given the size of the year-old fish.
Releasing the young sturgeon was going to be no easy task for these children, since
the river was running at flood level. An ingenious thought led to a water slide of sorts being devised to keep the kids safe and to
help the fish reach the river safely. Each child plopped a squirming, slippery fish onto the chute and watched as it splashed into
the river and swam away — home at last. The young sturgeon were tagged with micro-chips so that they can be tracked and each
was christened with a name, like “Nemo” or “Nechako” by the kids. This release was one small step in helping the Nechako White
Sturgeon avoid extinction, but did the kids gain anything from this unique experience? Their faces tell the story.
After the release of the fish, students had the opportunity to move through several educational stations that allowed a hands-on
opportunity to see the types of food that sturgeon feed on. They also saw demonstrations of land stewardship decisions in the region
that negatively affect the survival of all aquatic species.
Cory Williamson, manager of the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre, said the project couldn’t have come together
without the support of the community and getting children to take part in the release was a deliberate decision. Cory was emphatic
that the whole recovery process is inter-generational and that introducing another generation of “this iconic species” to the river is
important. It takes sturgeon 30 to 40 years to fully mature so that they can reproduce. With so few mature fish left in the Nechako,
very few naturally-spawned eggs hatching and few larvae surviving, a hatchery became an essential component of bringing these fish
back from the very brink of extinction. The ultimate goal of the Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative is a self-sustaining population of Nechako White Sturgeon. 1
The White Sturgeon has a slender, long body, head, and mouth. This fish has no scales; instead, it has large bony scutes that serve as
a form of armor. Its 11–14 dorsal scutes are all anterior to the dorsal fin, and 38–48 lateral scutes and 9–12 ventral scutes are on each
side. The dorsal color of a white sturgeon is gray, pale olive, or gray-brown. The fins are a dusky, opaque gray. The underside is a clean
white. It has four barbels, used for sensing food, near its large, toothless mouth. White Sturgeon can live to be over 100 years old.
The rate of growth is dependent on water temperature. Female Nechako White Sturgeon do not reach reproductive age until they
are between 30 and 40 years old, while males mature at about 25 years. Females spawn every three to five years and males skip a year.
Nechako White Sturgeon are smaller than the white sturgeon found in the Fraser River. The largest female found in the Nechako
was about 10 feet long and weighed about 340 pounds – some sturgeon have been recorded at 1,800 pounds. Sturgeons are classified
as a bony fish, but actually are more cartilaginous than bony, their internal bone structure being more like a shark's. Sturgeon have
changed very little since they first appeared over 175 million years ago, thus have the appearance of a very ancient fish. 1
Shop Online for Canada’s Largest Selection of
Binoculars - Spotting Scopes - Birding Gear
All at Discount Prices!
Visit us at www.PeleeWings.ca
636 Point Pelee Drive
Leamington ON N8H 3V4
[email protected]
Toll Free 1-877-326-5193
Expert Advice on :
Swarovski * Kowa * Vortex
Leica * Nikon * Pentax * Eagle
Canon * Celestron * Bushnell * Manfrotto
Zeiss - New Victory HT, Conquest HD & Terra ED all in stock!
Best Prices in Canada Guaranteed! Call or Email for Consultation and Quote
10
BCnature Fall 2015
BC Naturalists'
Foundation Support
By Bev Ramey
he BC Naturalists’ Foundation encourages you to donate
T
through the annual appeal described in the centrefold of
this magazine. Your contribution helps the Foundation grow
its capital. With increasing capital the Foundation is then
able to support annually more club projects with investment
earnings. A big thanks to the many BC Nature members who
continue to support the Foundation.
If you have not yet done so, please consider making a
bequest to the Foundation in your will or naming the Foundation as a beneficiary in your RRSP or Life Insurance.
The Foundation’s Annual Report is now available on the
Foundation’s web page, within the BC Nature website. This
Report includes updates on the ten club projects which the
Foundation assisted with grants last March, plus a summary
of the Foundation’s year-end financial statements. The full
financial statements are also available on the web page. If
you would like a hard copy of either the Annual Report or
the full financial statements, please contact the BC Nature
office to have a copy mailed to you, or you can contact any of
the Foundation Directors.
At the Foundation’s AGM on May 8, 2016, the following Board and officers were elected: Bev Ramey (President),
Bob Handfield (Vice-President), Heather Neville (Secretary),
David Tsang (Treasurer), and Directors-at-large Tom Bearss,
Gerald McKeating, John Neville, Kees Visser, and Pat Westheuser. Appreciation was extended to outgoing Foundation
Directors Janet Pattinson, Dick Stace-Smith and Frances
Vyse. 1
Canadian Marketing
100 Yonge Street, 16th Floor
Toronto, ON M5C 2W1
File Name: WM_6482_BrianCooteAd_V1_1214
Trim: 7.25” x 4.7”
Bleed: 0.125" Safety: n/a Mech Res: 300dpi
Colours: CMYK
Please support the Foundation!
Publication:
Material Deadline:
Insertion Dates:
Invest With Your Values
Introducing the EcoPortfolios approach: a strategy for conservative, established investors.
You already make choices in other areas of your life that reflect your values surrounding the
environment and sustainability.
Now, with our EcoPortfolios approach, you can do the same with your investments.
•
•
•
•
•
®
Professionally Managed
Green Bonds
Energy Efficiency
Water Conservation
Sustainable Agriculture
Find out more at www.EcoPortfolios.ca
Brian Coote, CIM, CFP, SIPC
Portfolio Manager
[email protected]
(604) 535-4709
Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used by ScotiaMcLeod. ScotiaMcLeod is a division of Scotia Capital Inc. (“SCI”). SCI is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory
Organization of Canada and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
Fall 2015 BC
nature 11
My Summer at BC Nature
By Ranah Chavoschi
was fortunate enough to be the summer Administrative and Outreach Assistant with BC Nature, NatureKids and Elder’s Council
for Parks in British Columbia as part of my education cooperative
through Simon Fraser University. Most importantly, this opportunity taught me a lot about the structure and differing models of how
non-profits function.
In addition, through my experience with BC Nature, I learned
many administrative, bookkeeping, and communication skills that
I can now apply to my future endeavors. I also had the pleasure of
doing some outreach events such as Pirate Day with the Friends of
Semiahmoo Bay as well as Raptor Day where I represented NatureKids. I thoroughly enjoyed both these days because I got to interact
with adults and children and was able to communicate the importance of nature and conserving it. Overall, I would say that I my experiences this summer encompassed many different aspects of
my passion of Biology and outreach. One of my favorite aspects of working at the three non-profits was the diversity of the projects I
was given and able to participate in. One of the projects I spearheaded was the BC Nature’s Fundrazr campaign. This campaign was
to raise funds for the legal court case against the establishment of the Northern Gateway Pipeline. Lastly, I loved our office space
because it was located at the bottom of Mount Seymour. When energy was waning, looking out the window by my desk and seeing
nature re-inspired me to love nature and work hard to conserve it. 1
I
Summer Work Experience in Lillooet
By Seataesca Andrews
y name is Seataesca. I live in the Lillooet area and am a member of
the Sek’wel’was community. I am currently attending Nicola Valley
Institute of Technology, which is located in Merritt, in a two-year course
in the Environmental Technician program. For my degree, I will finish
this program in two years in Kamloops at Thompson Rivers University.
This summer, for fourteen weeks, I was employed by Splitrock Environmental Sek’wel’was under the Canada Summer Jobs program. Some
of my duties included fieldwork. This fieldwork included a variety of
surveying, GPS work, data entry, monitoring of spawning fish at the two
spawning channels in Lillooet, reptile use of our restoration areas, and
erosion monitoring. The erosion monitoring was on the Seton River
where water levels have increased
due to BC Hydro operations. This
monitoring will check the effects of this water level increase. I enjoyed the fieldwork as you were
always outside to visit the different locations.
I also worked at the native plant nursery where I was involved in fertilizing, watering, removing invasive weed species, transplanting, seed collection and more. At the nursery and while
harvesting seed I learned a lot about the difference between native plants and invasive plants.
As an artist it was great to have the opportunity to use my artistic skills in making a fish lifecycle bean bag toss game (see photo top left) that had the life cycle of the salmon drawn and the
children had to toss the ball into the right life cycle stage – a great way to learn! I also designed
the artwork for the Salmon in the Canyon poster.
Part of my program involved working with children and adults and leading them on environmental outreach walks, where different activities took place. Some of the activities included
a compass orientation game, that
took children to different locations
where they learned about the plants
and animals of the region. We also
looked at aquatic invertebrates and
different plants and talked about their ethnobotanical values. I also made
some cottonwood salve from the buds of the tree and local bees wax (see
picture left) which we give away as gifts or to sell from our centre. It is
made from the cottonwood buds that we harvest ourselves, locally produced bees wax, and organic olive oil – it smells wonderful!
Another part I liked about my job were the people I worked with, each
one of my co-workers became a new friend, making each day memorable
and this is something I will never forget.
Overall, this job helped me learn more about the native and non-native
plants that could be found within the local area and how to manage both
types. This knowledge will help me out when I return to school this fall. 1
Seataesca teaching compass orientation
M
12
BCnature Fall 2015
Big Mama and the return of the Humpback Whales
By Anne Murray
he old whaler’s cry “There she blows”
rang in my mind as we watched huge
spouts of water and spray distantly rising
from the waters of the Strait of Georgia.
Giant tail flukes showed briefly as two
Humpback Whales dove in unison. This was
an incredible sight: these whales are some
of the very first to return to the strait after
a hundred-year absence, and now they no
longer need to fear the whaler’s harpoon.
One of the great delights of living on the
West Coast is the opportunity to spot whales
and dolphins. Who does not get excited
about seeing Orca, Grey Whales, or the slim,
dark Minke? Throughout our local waters,
there is a good chance for alert observers to
see wild cetaceans, despite many pressures
on the marine environment. Now, the longawaited return of Humpback Whales to the
Salish Sea is an encouraging indication that
recovery of ecosystems is possible.
The Salish Sea, a collective name for Puget
Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Juan
de Fuca Strait, is a very rich ecological area,
visited in season by many different marine
mammals. Most famous perhaps are the
Orca (actually a species of large dolphin)
of which there are distinct populations: the
southern and northern “resident” communities and “transients”, or Bigg’s Killer Whale.
In addition to Orca, Grey Whales, Minke,
California and Steller Sea Lions, Pacific
White-sided Dolphins, Harbour Seals, and
Dall’s and Harbour Porpoises are all regularly observed here. Adding to this incredible marine wealth, Humpback Whales are
once again swimming throughout the Salish Sea, a hundred years after their original
population was wiped out.
At 12 metres long and weighing 40,000
kgs, humpbacks are an awe-inspiring sight,
and dwarf other animals in our local
waters. Extirpated from the B.C. coast by
intensive whaling in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, humpbacks only
started returning to the Salish Sea in the
1990s. Mark Malleson was with the Prince
of Whales whale-watching company at that
time and started photographing and cataloguing the whales, particularly their huge
tail flukes, which have clear identifying patterns. What was once a side interest has
become a full-time passion and work project for Malleson, who is now on contract
with Fisheries and Oceans Canada keeping
track of whale populations. One humpback
in particular has caught his eye: Big Mama
(#BCY0324). “Two Thousand and three
is the year the humpbacks really started to
show,” he said, “and in the years since 2003,
Big Mama has brought five calves back with
her.” This pioneering whale is regularly
sighted in Haro Strait off the southern Gulf
Islands and in Juan de Fuca Strait, and has
recently been venturing further north into
the Strait of Georgia. Malleson’s tally of
T
individual whales using the inland
waters has reached 130, with some
groups of 15 to 23 animals congregating off Sooke. The numbers seen
grow each year: 39 individuals visited
in 2013, 50 were photographed last
year, and although no big groups have
as yet been seen this year, four have
already been recorded from the Strait
of Georgia. Generally the whales are
arriving earlier and staying later in
the year, finding the local waters a
good feeding area with plenty of krill,
herring, and pilchard.
John Ford, director of Fisheries and
Ocean Canada’s Cetacean Research
Program, and author of Marine
Mammals of British Columbia, considers humpback populations to now
be doing “really well”. He said that
humpbacks were among the first
whales to be commercially harvested,
as they swam close to shore and were
widely distributed along the coast. In
the 1870, sailing schooners were used
to hunt them in Howe Sound and off
the east coast of Vancouver Island
and the oil was rendered at shorebased stations such as Blubber Bay,
Texada Island. The introduction of
steam-powered boats and explosivefired harpoons at a Nanaimo whaling
station in 1907 was the final death
knell for the Howe Sound and Georgia Strait whales, which were wiped
out within a couple of years. For
many years, until all whaling ended
in 1965, humpbacks were very scarce
in the North Pacific, with some occasionally seen in Hawaii in the 1970s,
increasing gradually through the
1980s and 1990s.
Not a single Humpback Whale was
seen in the Salish Sea for nearly a
hundred years. About 20 years ago,
occasional reports began to filter in
from boaters, shore-based observers,
and the whale-watching community.
Whales were sometimes alone, sometimes in twos or threes. From 2004
to 2006, the Cetacean Research Program, supported with funding from
the Canadian Species at Risk Act,
participated in the Structure of Populations, Level of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks (SPLASH) project
studying North Pacific Humpbacks,
“one of the largest international collaborative studies of any whale population ever conducted”. By systematic
surveys and documentation of tail
fluke patterns with photographs, the
researchers were able to get a population estimate from the proportion
of repeat sightings within the study
period. Ford says the Cetacean
Research Program calculated that, as
of 2006, there were 2,145 humpbacks
By B. Davison
on the B.C. coast, with a population growth
rate of about four percent per year, up from
1,500 in 1965. Photographs of 7,971 unique
individuals were catalogued by SPLASH in the
North Pacific Ocean, and the total population
was then considered to be nearly 20,000. The
positive trend has continued since the SPLASH
count and researchers now estimate the North
Pacific humpback population at 22,000, about
the same as before industrial whaling began.
These beautiful, gentle whales become sexually mature at five to nine years old and can live
to be over 60. They eat mostly krill, but also
small schooling fish such as Herring. They roam
across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and
have some of the longest migrations of all animals. They are maternally-directed and show
strong site-fidelity to certain feeding and wintering areas: once mum has shown the way, young
ones will also go there in future. They do not
live in a family structure but sometimes group
together to hunt concentrations of schooling
fish by blowing bubbles that herd the fish into
bait balls.
Humpbacks generally winter in warmer
waters, such as Hawaii and south to Panama,
and summer in the cooler Northern Pacific
but they are individualistic creatures. As Howard Garrett of Orca Network told me, “they
are very unpredictable and they do whatever
they want.” For thirteen years, Orca Network
has acted as a clearing house for the public’s
records of whale and other marine mammal
sightings from all around Puget Sound and the
southern Salish Sea. Garrett noted that people
get pretty excited about seeing humpbacks and
are keen to send in photos and videos of their
encounters, so the charity has a fine collection
of archives illustrating the recent growth in population. Very occasionally, he receives reports
of a humpback “mugging”, a situation where
a whale closely approaches a boat and lingers
beside it, smoothly rolling over or resting at the
surface, “a thrilling and awe-inspiring experience”. If this happens, the correct procedure is
to shut down the boat’s motor and wait it out.
Other whales, once common in the North
Pacific are not doing so well as humpbacks, but
may, with time, make a recovery.
Con't Page14
Fall 2015 BCnature 13
Big Mama Con't
Pacific right whales were a popular early target of nineteenth century whalers and were
soon extirpated from most of the ocean:
there are now probably fewer than 50 in
the world, Ford said. After 1951, none were
seen for years, yet suddenly two individuals
appeared off the B.C. west coast in 2013.
Blue Whales are still very rare after decades
of being hunted, but with a North American population of 2,500, there is some
chance for optimism.
Fin Whales, the second largest whale after
the blue whale, are also very slowly returning. In September 2012, one was seen in
Johnstone Strait and near Nanaimo. Sometimes, their presence sadly only becomes
known when they are hit by a ship, which
has happened more than once in B.C.
waters in recent years. Sei Whales were
relatively abundant up to the 1960s, when
hundreds were still hunted in the Pacific,
but are now incredibly rare with only two
sightings since the 1970s.
Grey Whales have a better history and
their populations are rebounding to near
historic levels. Having suffered the same
hunting fate as other whales from the second half of the nineteenth century, they
were protected in 1917. Their numbers
slowly recovered over the next hundred
years and these “gentle giants” are now regularly seen from their breeding grounds in
Baja along the west coast of North America
up to their summer feeding grounds in
Alaska. Grey whales regularly come into
the Salish Sea, especially around Boundary
Bay, near the mouth of the Fraser River.
Resident Chinook salmon-eating Orca
were initially hunted, and then, in the
1960s, taken by aquariums and sea shows
for live exhibit. The southern population
is now critically-endangered. Their food
source has declined precipitously and industrial pollution has affected their health. With
a tiny population of about 80 animals, their future remains bleak. In contrast, seal and
porpoise-hunting transient Orca are on the increase. Malleson said that the population
of transients is growing at about five percent a year in the Salish Sea, and that hunting
groups are bigger, calves more common, and rare groups are becoming more regularly seen.
Other animals were also targeted in hunts. Elephant Seals were reduced to fewer than
100 animals on the North American west coast. Steller Sea Lions, wrongly considered to
be major consumers of salmon (they eat mainly Hake, Herring, and other forage fish),
were killed in the tens of thousands prior to 1968. Sea Otters, hunted for their fur, were
extirpated from the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Sea Urchins they once ate
multiplied dramatically, with enormously negative consequences for the kelp beds. The
loss of all these animals at the top of their food chains had profound impacts on marine
ecosystems, causing imbalances that reverberate today.
What will be the impacts on the overall ecosystem of returning whale populations? It
is difficult to tell, but as Ford said “humpbacks are re-establishing their former and natural role in the ecosystem; it should be for the better”. Restoring species to a food chain
can have dramatic impacts. Once Sea Otters were re-introduced to the West Coast, they
consumed the Sea Urchins that had been destroying the kelp beds, the kelp re-grew and
the fish and other species associated with the kelp began to return. Returning wolves to
Yellowstone National Park had a similar keystone effect. The impact of humpbacks and
other whales in the ecosystem could be equally regenerating for the broader spectrum of
organisms.
During the last five decades, conservation-oriented, science-based attitudes slowly prevailed and are leading to the restoration of some of B.C.’s most iconic marine species,
although others still struggle against extinction. Humpbacks and other whales remain very
vulnerable to such issues as food supplies, pollution, noise, disturbance by boats approaching too closely, and the steady increase in shipping (the many port expansions planned for
the Lower Mainland are a serious concern). The rules require that whale-watchers never
chase whales, but stay back 200 yards (in the U.S.) and 100 metres (in Canada). The organization Wild Whales cautions boaters “to approach areas of known or suspected marine
wildlife with extreme caution” and to “reduce speed to less than 7 knots when within
400m/yards of the nearest whale. Avoid abrupt course changes”. Boaters should be aware
of the possibility of one of these marine giants surfacing suddenly: boat drivers have been
injured in impacts. Check the Wild Whales’ “Be Whale Wise” information sheet for many
other good suggestions.
If you see whales, it is helpful to take photographs and record sightings, as long as you
can do it without endangering your own or the whale’s safety and well-being. Clear images
of humpback tail flukes are particularly helpful for identifying individuals and assessing
population numbers. Send your sightings to the Cetacean Sighting Network and/or Orca
Network.
The State of Washington has declared June to be Orca Month, in recognition of the
state’s importance as habitat for these rare and beautiful mammals. It would be fitting if
B.C. could follow Washington’s lead, as neighbours and co-caretakers of the invaluable
Salish Sea.1
Mitlenatch Camp - May 8 - 11, 2016
By Betty Davison
his exciting four-day, three-night camp will be based on
T
Quadra Island at the historic Heriot Bay Inn. Plans are
underway to schedule a three-hour trip out to Mitlenatch Island.
Accessible by boat only, Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial
Park offers excellent opportunities to observe and photograph
wildflowers and birds. Visit in May when the island’s meadows
of spring wildflowers are in bloom, perhaps glimpse the seals
and sea lions. Along with this visit, we are arranging for a trip
to visit the petroglyphs and pictographs of the Tsa Kwa Luten,
a trip out to the Clam Gardens and midden beach and a hike in
Main Lake Provincial Park. This park protects a biologically exceptional area that includes more than 72 bird species and 234
plant species. Physically, the park is exceptional with limestone
sinkholes and waterfalls and is home to a variety of wildlife,
including wolves & cougars.
By B. Davison
This camp runs to one night ahead of the AGM hosted by
Comox Valley Naturalists so pack to stay the following threenights in Comox! More great outings and talks. A full schedule for the Mitlenatch Camp will be posted on November 15 on our website
www.bcnature.ca and in the Winter magazine. Registration will start on Wednesday January 6, 2016 at 9:00 am. This trip requires mobility
(not wheelchair or walker accessible) for Mitlenatch trip and also the hike and possible second boat trip. 1
14
BCnature Fall 2015
Green Scene: Creating the
“Discover Nature” Booklet
By Elaine Golds
o you have a favourite local park? Is there a green
space that you frequently visit for a stroll? We are
very fortunate in the Tri-Cities area to have so many
local parks to provide us with pleasant places to stretch
our legs and unwind from the stresses of life. These
parks also provide vital habitat for the many other species with whom we share this area. The Discover Nature
in the Tri-Cities booklet for children has been recently
produced by the Burke Mountain Naturalists (BMN).
This booklet is available for download at www.bmn.
bc.ca, highlights eight of these parks and attempts to
explain the benefit each of them offers our local flora and fauna.
The booklet, prepared mainly by a team of BMN volunteers, is dedicated to the
memory of Danny Grass, the only child of long-time BMN members, Jude and Al
Grass, who sadly passed away during heart surgery. Al Grass, a naturalist who worked
for BC Parks for many years, was the author of many BC Parks nature guides. While
the provincial government has ceased to publish these guides, families that camped
with young children in the 1990s may remember these delightful brochures that gently introduced people to some of the inhabitants of BC Parks. It was this wonderfully
whimsical but informative style that we hoped to re-create in our guide to local parks.
Members of our team chose one or two of their favorite natural areas to write
about. While it was a challenge to select only eight parks, we needed to limit the
number to keep the booklet to an appropriate size. The places we selected are Belcarra
and Colony Farm Regional Parks, Como Lake Park, Mundy Park plus trails along
Hyde Creek, Coquitlam River and DeBoville Slough. We felt these sites provided
opportunities to explore a variety of habitats on trails there are mostly level and
accessible for young families with strollers.
The booklet has four pages dedicated to each park with a small trail map plus
drawings of the plants and animals that may be encountered during visits. However,
we did not want to produce a guide that simply named the plants and animals likely
to be observed in each park. Instead, we chose to introduce some ecological concepts.
Thus, the chapter on Belcarra Park explains the concept of shoreline zonation while
the chapter on Colony Farm Regional Park provides an overview of nesting strategies
used by birds. We also tried to hint at some of our area’s fascinating history by,
for example, mentioning the gravel extraction that formerly happened right in the
Coquitlam River, the several sawmills once found at the head of Burrard Inlet in Port
Moody and the importance of Belcarra beach to the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation.
With the help of artist Chris Tunnoch, we have provided drawings of about 45
of the most common bird species plus other animals likely to be encountered in
our parks along with about two dozen native plant species which are illustrated by
their characteristic leaf shape, blossom and fruit. While we attempted to indicate
the species most likely to be observed at each park, there is, of course, considerable
overlap. Thus, the Cedar Waxwings illustrated in the chapter for DeBoville Slough
are just as likely to be seen at Colony Farm Park. The Black-capped Chickadees
illustrated for Hyde Creek plus the Robins and Steller’s Jay shown for the Coquitlam
River are likely to be frequent visitors in most residential areas – they may even nest
in your backyard! Thus, the booklet is designed to be not merely a chapter-by-chapter
account of each park but to provide a more holistic overview of all our local wildlife.
One of our biggest challenges was keeping our descriptions concise and using
language that could be readily understood. For this, we had the help of our editor,
Dalyce Epp. As a result, we hope that our booklet will also be helpful for people
learning English as a second language as well as for young readers. The booklet
includes a glossary for some of the more uncommon terminology such as preening,
midden and redd. We have also thrown in a few fascinating facts. Did you know
there is no such bird as a seagull or when and where gray squirrels were introduced
into the lower mainland from eastern Canada?
We are grateful for financial support from the Burke Mountain Naturalists
and Wild Birds Unlimited which allowed us to obtain professional help to assist
with production of the booklet. With a generous grant from TD Friends of the
Environment Foundation, we have been able to print 1,500 copies of the booklet
which we will distribute free of charge. Copies have been provided to local libraries
so we hope our booklet will be on their shelves soon. We also want to ensure
schools and youth groups involved with nature appreciation have copies. 1
Forests are important in
mitigating climate change.
They are cool places.
D
The natural world
needs you.
Turn your ideals into action through
innovative programs that balance
theory and practice across all aspects
of ecological restoration.
Native Species and Natural
Processes
professional specialization certificate
Register now for the next course:
Design Principles for Natural
Processes
Starts Sept. 2015 (by distance)
Restoration of Natural
Systems diploma/certificate
Applications to both programs are
accepted year round.
Offered as a partnership between the
School of Environmental Studies and the
Division of Continuing Studies.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 250-721-8458
www.uvcs.uvic.ca/sustainability/
Learning that shapes who you are.
Fall 2015 BCnature 15
Raincoast Institute: Clayoquot
Sound's Environmental
Learning Centre By Dan Harrison
raincoast
INSTITUTE
File Photo Courtesy Raincoast Institute
A Project of the Raincoast Education Society
or fifteen years, the Raincoast Institute has been dedicated to proF
viding high-quality environmental education for residents and visitors of the Clayoquot Sound region.
Photo: Tofino Photography
Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island,
provides unique opportunities to study the interconnections
between the rich marine ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean and
some of the largest tracts of old-growth coastal temperate
rainforest in the world. Join us in Tofino for weekend fieldcourses in:
Marine Ecology
Forest Ecology
Edible & Medicinal Plants of the West Coast
Seaweeds of the West Coast
Mushrooms of the West Coast
Coastal Animal Tracking
& more...
Since 2013, we have partnered with local and visiting educators and
researchers to offer introductory-level weekend field-courses for adults
covering a range of topics specific to the ecology of the region. The
goal of the Raincoast Institute is to inspire adults and young adults
to connect with the natural world and to increase appreciation and
understanding of the ecosystems of the wild West Coast.
Field-courses planned for the coming year include: Mushrooms of the West Coast; (with ecologist Andy MacKinnon), Coastal Animal Tracking; (with biologist, photographer, and certified professional tracker David Moskowitz), Rainforest Ecology; (with ecologists
Dr. Barb Beasley and Dan Harrison), Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West Coast; (with ethnobotanists Gisele Martin and Jen
Pukonen), Marine Ecology; (with biologist and Ucluelet Aquarium curator Laura Griffith Cochrane), Seaweeds of the West Coast;
(with Dr. Bridgette Clarkston), and many more.
Rooted in the Nuu-chah-nulth philosophy of Hishuk-ish-tsawalk (everything is connected/everything is one), each course focuses
on various aspects of the complex ecosystems of the region, and is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive, holistic
understanding of the rich natural landscape of Clayoquot Sound, while remaining accessible to the general public.
Clayoquot Sound provides a unique opportunity to experience the interconnections between human communities, the rich marine
ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean, and some of the largest tracts of old-growth coastal temperate rainforest in the world. 1
raincoastinstitute.com
Welcome Krista Kaptein, BC Nature’s New Important Bird Areas
(IBA) Coordinator
C Nature is delighted to welcome Krista Kaptein to the position of Important Bird Areas
B
(IBA) Coordinator. The IBA Program is one of BC Nature’s flagship activities and has a strong
reputation across Canada. Together with our national partners, Bird Studies Canada and Nature
Canada, we coordinate bird surveys, conservation, and educational activities in many of the 84
IBAs in the province. The IBA Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of
the BC program, including supporting the network of 40 to 50 volunteer Caretakers, ensuring
adequate funding through grants and donations, and reviewing and updating the bird data on
which the international IBA designation depends.
Krista has a long history of volunteering with both BC Nature and her local club, the Comox
Valley Naturalists’ Society. She was Project Manager and Coordinator for the online and print
brochure Comox Valley Nature Viewing Guide that became a blueprint for the BC Nature Viewing
Guides. She is BC Nature’s website administrator for this online guide, designing it and posting
content, photos and maps, and will continue her involvement in this role. Krista is a great organizer, and was a key part of the BC Nature AGM committee in 2006, CVNS President for two
years, and Vice President before that, and Program and Volunteer Coordinator for Strathcona Park
Wilderness Centre for four years. She is active with the Mitlenatch Island Stewardship Team as a
Park Steward. She will be a tremendous asset to the Important Bird Areas Program and we look
forward to her involvement and leadership.
We should also like to say farewell and thank you to James Bradley, the previous IBA Coordinator for BC Nature, who leaves us
after 18 months of work with the IBA Program. His knowledge and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated, and we wish him well for
the future. 1
16
BCnature Fall 2015
Water Striders - Marvels of Hydrodynamics
By Terry Taylor
e have all seen them skating effortlessly across placid
waters, but how many of us know
anything about them? They appear so calm and peaceful as they
move gracefully over the water’s
surface. These insects, however,
are anything but calm and peaceful. They are the carnivores of the
pond surface and are searching for
something to eat.
Look more closely and you will
see some of their adaptations.
They stand on the water’s surface,
but their bodies are raised above it.
Like all insects water striders possess six legs, but it looks as if they
only have four. Each pair performs
a special function. The front ones
are short and held close to the
head. They look like extensions of
it. They are used like arms and are
used to capture prey. The middle
ones are like oars, and are used for
propulsion, while the rear pair are
rudders for steering.
The middle and rear legs produce
four little dimples on the water surface. This is due to surface tension.
At our scale, water offers little resistance, but at the insect level it is like
glue. The strider’s legs depress the
surface but do not penetrate below
it. Some substances are hydrophobic. They repel water. Water striders are hydrophobic. Their bodies
are covered by thousands of microscopic hairs which are coated by a
layer of water-repelling wax. Even if
the strider gets splashed the hairs
rapidly remove any water, and the
long legs increase the surface area
so they can keep the body above the
surface. If you look at the shadow
cast on the pond surface, you will
see that the body never touches the
water.
When flying insects fall into the
pond the surface tension prevents
them from escaping no matter how
hard they struggle. We receive information and communicate via vibrations in air. Water striders receive
information and communicate
via vibrations in water. They feel
the ripples from struggling insects.
They also use ripples for mating.
They make different frequencies
for courtship or territory and these
ripple messages are understood by
other water striders.
Although water striders are
insects, they look and act something like spiders. Spiders pierce
their prey and inject venom and
digestive enzymes. Water striders
W
also pierce their prey and inject digestive enzymes.
They are true bugs (Hemiptera) and true bugs possess piercing mouth parts. Most of them live on
plants. The aphids are examples of plant feeders.
During mating season male water striders establish territories on the water surface, which they vigorously defend against other water striders. Out of
mating season, however, they are quite social and
will feed together on large trapped insects.
Unlike many insects, water striders do not go
through the three stages of metamorphosis. The
eggs hatch into nymphs, which are like baby striders. There are no larva or pupa stages. The nymphs
go through several steps, shedding their old skins
like snakes, until they finally grow up. They can
be seen in late spring skating across ponds and
puddles. Their bodies are not as elongated as the
adults, and look even more like spiders. They have
the same life style as their parents, only smaller prey.
As you sit beside a calm lakeshore, look for these
common inhabitants. Can you see the dimples on
By Rosemary Taylor
A marvels of hydrodynamics
the water, or the shadow which shows only
the legs are on the surface? Can you see how
they move like skaters on a rink? Some of
the pleasures of being a naturalist are seeing details on each outing that you never
noticed before. 1
Fall 2015 BCnature 17
Grasslands 101
By Grasslands Conservation Council of BC
rasslands are open areas where grasses or grass-like plants are
G
the dominant vegetation and where there are few trees. Grasses
came to dominate over other species, such as trees, because they are
better able to thrive in hot, dry climates where spring and summer
rain is sparse.
Grasses take advantage of moisture in the soil during spring and
have many long, fine roots to search for water at, and just below, the
surface of the soil. The blades of grass plants curve inward to capture
rain drops and direct them into the centre of the plant, where they
are absorbed by the roots. By mid-July in British Columbia, grasses
By R. McGuire
have gone to seed and the plants are drying out. A layer of mulch
and a crust of mosses, lichens, liverworts and other organisms on the
ground between the grasses help to shade the ground from summer The unique antelope brush grassland of the South Okanaganheat and from wind, thus preventing evaporation of precious water Similkameen - proposed as the site of a national park.
from the root zone below.
Grass pollen is distributed by the wind that blows constantly in these
dry, open areas. Grass seeds themselves are tiny cylinders, often with a long thread-like "awn" on the end, allowing them to move into
cracks in the ground towards moisture. The awns of some grasses, such as needle and thread grasses, are tiny spirals that enable the seed
to actually bore into the ground – or your socks as you brush against the plant.
Grasses also reproduce vegetatively either by producing mini grass plants from the roots called "tillers" or by sending out underground
shoots called "rhizomes". Both these methods ensure that grass plants can spread without the need for seeds, allowing them to become
established in areas before other plants that need to set seed to reproduce.
Grasses are also able to withstand grazing and fire. The growing point of most plants is situated at the tip of a leaf or shoot, but in
grasses it is at the base, close to the ground. When a grass plant has been grazed or burned it is able to grow again from this protected base.
Grasses are not the only plants in grasslands. Many flowering plants, also called forbs, have adapted to the hot, dry climate, completing their cycle of flowering, seed formation and drying out before the hottest part of the summer. Forbs become more abundant with
elevation and can create spectacular displays when in bloom.
Shrubs are also an important component of grasslands, and in some areas they are the dominant plant. Big sagebrush, antelope-brush
and rabbit brush are common in lower elevation grasslands in British Columbia; all have long, deep tap roots that search for water well
below the surface.
The rolling landscape of grasslands includes hills, river valleys, canyons and cliffs. All these features alter the amount of sun and
precipitation a specific part of the landscape receives. Elevation also influences temperature and precipitation: at higher elevations days
are cooler and shorter, precipitation is higher and snow stays longer. Some areas of the grasslands are hot and dry while others may be
relatively cool and moist.
Water runs over the landscape in the form of rivers, streams and small creeks, collecting in low areas to form lakes, ponds, wetlands
and moist ground. The combination of landscape features, elevation and climatic differences create a mosaic of plant communities and
habitats that includes: open grasslands; rocky talus slopes and rock outcrops; riparian areas; wetlands; ponds and lakes; gullies; aspen
stands; open coniferous forests; and closed coniferous patches.
Distinct plant and animal species live in grasslands; they are adapted to living where drought is common, summers are long and hot,
and winters are cold and relatively dry. Many animals that live in grasslands are grazers, like the California Bighorn Sheep, and many,
like the marmot, burrow underground. Some animals, such as the Sharp-tailed Grouse, use both the grasslands and nearby forests during the year, while others such as the Western Harvest Mouse (vole) spend their whole lives in the grasslands. 1
For further information on grasslands, please visit http://www.bcgrasslands.org/
Leave a
Lasting Gift
Donate to The Nature Trust of BC in your
will to help conserve the natural diversity
of wildlife, plants and their critical
habitats for future generations.
For more information, contact Deb Kennedy
at [email protected]
or call 604-924-9771 or 1-866-288-7878
www.naturetrust.bc.ca
Giving BC Nature
Ad 2015.indd
BCnature
Fall 2015
18TNT Planned
1
2015-02-04 5:57 AM
Opinion: The Hypocricy of Helicopter Skiing
#ActOnClimate… but it’s still ok to get in the bird and fly to the summit, right?
By Kt Miller
hen I was 21, I packed up my life, put
W
my car on a ferry, and landed in Haines,
Alaska, to work for a heli-skiing operation. At
the time I was seeking adventure, I was looking
for something to shake up my life, and shake it
up it did.
As a rookie you get very little time in the bird
and lots of time sitting on the tarmac, fueling
the choppers for stoked clients who just had the
best ski run of their life. I figured I had to put
in my time, just like everyone else, so I sat in the
van and fueled the whirly birds day after day.
Down days were spent bushwhacking through
thick alders to ski the dense powder above, with
occasional forays at the snow cat hill. I even got
up high a few times and gawked at the sea of
stunning mountains.
While there, I started to become more aware
of my surroundings and my life in general. My
parents hadn’t taught me about climate change;
they taught me to love life and chase my dreams,
but we ate at McDonald's and participated in
what some would call “redneck” activities. No
one can deny that it’s a riot to rally around on
a dirt bike or a snowmobile, and shooting guns
in the woods is a hootin’ good time. That was
my childhood and I whole-heartedly embraced
every minute of it.
The fall after my first season in Haines, I went
to Churchill, Manitoba, on a whim. A mentor
of mine ran an organization called Polar Bears
International and invited to me to come up and
volunteer. I didn’t have anything better to do at
the time and figured it would be really cool to
see polar bears and try something new. What I
didn’t know is that my time in Churchill would
change my life in a big way, transforming me
from simply a nature lover to a full-on environmentalist.
I learned a lot about climate change that fall.
I learned that unlike some endangered things,
you can’t put a fence around it — climate change
knows no borders or boundaries, and it affects
everything, everywhere.
This made me think twice about returning to
Haines to work in the heli-ski industry, but I
went anyway. I’d groveled so much the previous year, dispatching from the tarmac, fueling
helicopters, and doing any and all grunt work I
could find. I hadn’t made a dollar, and I wanted
to reap the rewards of my groveling. I wanted to
go back and actually get paid. I wanted to ski
in the magnificent Chilkat Mountains, and part
of me wanted to do it for the ladies because at
the time there were no female heli-ski guides in
Haines.
So I returned, but it didn’t feel right.
I was fueling the helis one day and asked
the pilot how much fuel they consumed. “Oh,
roughly 45 gallons of Jet A per hour.” Wideeyed, I replied “Oh, that’s a lot,” and put my
head down. It seemed ridiculous to waste that
much fuel and contribute that much carbon pol-
lution to the environment
for skiing, for pure recreation with no real purpose.
It could be called frivolous
at best.
Despite diving back
into the grunt routing, I’d
barely skied since I arrived
that season. Then my
cabin burned down and
a friend and fellow guide
died in a terrible accident.
“The universe is telling
me something,” I thought.
After a long eight weeks, I
packed my car and left. I
haven’t touched a helicopter since.
I may be tainted from the
accident, or perhaps just
jaded in general, but using
helicopters to ski doesn’t
seem worth it to me. I get
it. I’ve been there. Jeremy
Jones was there, too. He
saw the mountains changing, he saw winter disappearing and he decided to
do something about it. He
stopped snowboarding by helicopters and started doing all his projects via his own
two feet, human powered. A handful of other athletes have done the same, myself
included, and it’s cool to see.
But there’s still a strong contingent of professional snow athletes and film companies who emit huge amounts of carbon pollution every year by using helicopters
to get photos and footage, negatively impacting the sport that is their livelihood
and is vanishing before our eyes.
Spring 2014 felt especially poignant to me. It was a rough snow year in the Lower
48 and athletes and film companies were hurting for shots and the turns they had
been lacking for much of the season. April rolled around and it seemed like everyone was up in AK. Instagram and Facebook were flooded with heli-skiing images.
Day after day, post after post, the flood of Alaska pow shots went on, and I
couldn’t help but think, “Don’t these guys get it? We are having the worst winter
we may have ever seen, and they’re dumping carbon pollution into the air like
it’s their job?” Oh wait, it is!
It was especially ironic on April 22, 2014…Earth Day. A handful of fairly big
players in the ski industry posted Instagrams about how much they loved the
mountains and the earth…but the photos they posted came from helicopters. On
top of which, some of those who posted heli-ski photos on Earth Day have also
advocated for Protect Our Winter’s #ActOnClimate project and Climate Reality
Project’s - I am Pro Snow campaign.
What I want to know now is when will we as a culture be willing to sacrifice our
frivolous joys for the sake of the future? It’s great that the ski industry is talking
the talk, but when will everyone, companies and athletes included, choose to walk
the walk? And what’s the line? Is heli-skiing okay if you only do it a few times a
year, but the rest of the year you act as an environmentally aware citizen? Is it okay
if you offset the carbon burned? If you use the images you gather to warn others
about the effects of climate change? I don’t think so.
Getting out in nature is more important than it’s ever been, and in my opinion
so is skiing. But blatant disregard for the impact of climate change throughout the
environment is unacceptable, and people of influence should live by the values
they preach. I’m trying to do that in my life, even when it isn’t easy, and I encourage others to do so, too. 1
Kt is a photographer, athlete, and environmentalist. Website: ktmiller.photo
Fall 2015 BCnature 19
“Know nature and keep it
worth knowing”
2015 Annual Appeal
BCnature Fall 2015
September 2015
Dear BC Nature Member,
We are proud to be a force of 53 local natural history clubs and 5700 members committed
to “Know Nature and Keep it Worth Knowing”. BC Nature and your BC Naturalists’
Foundation are working hard for nature and we need your ongoing support!
Nature is precious to us all. More than ever, it is essential that nature be valued and
cared for, as so many habitats and wildlife are at risk. BC Nature’s programs work
both to conserve and educate by supporting our clubs, mentoring young naturalists,
maintaining the upkeep of Important Bird Areas (IBAs), stewarding Wildlife Trees
(WiTS), contributing extensive citizen science data and making our voices heard by
government. BC Nature supports members with a valuable range of services and projects.
For example, the Communications Committee manages our popular BCnature magazine,
eNewsletter (Nature’s Voice) and our informative website.
We advocate for nature protection through an active Conservation Committee.
Currently, we are appealing the approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline
Project by both the National Energy Board and the Federal Cabinet and the case will
be heard at the Federal Court of Appeal in Vancouver in October 2015. We are also
Intervenors against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline which will be heard
in September 2015. For these legal challenges, we gratefully acknowledge support from
the Environmental Law Centre of the University of Victoria. We are also voicing strong
opposition to the expansion of Deltaport at Roberts Bank, and generally try to keep
the government cognizant of their legal obligations to nature (i.e. the Agricultural Land
Reserve, BC Parks, Forest management, Fraser River and Delta protection, Salmon
protection, Columbia River treaty and Similkameen National Park, etc).
Our Education Committee gives annual awards for natural history projects at Science
Fairs both for junior and senior high school students and provides the Rene Savenye
scholarship to worthy post-secondary students.
Fall 2015 BCnature
The Education Committee encourages extensive networking of naturalists through
conferences, field trips, and camps organized by BC Nature and its clubs. We support
NatureKids BC (formerly known as Young Naturalists’ Club) by sharing our office space
and meetings. Many local clubs work closely as partners and mentor young naturalists.
The amazing fact is that most of BC Nature’s valuable work is done by volunteers,
aided by just one full-time office manager and a few dedicated contract project staff and
summer students. Moreover, it is the level of volunteer activity that has helped us keep
costs down and operate efficiently on a very small budget. Our members are generous
and supportive, and our successes have only been possible because of YOU. The
expertise, local knowledge and commitment of naturalists in communities throughout
BC remains our strength. We thank you sincerely for your previous donations to BC
Nature and our BC Naturalists' Foundation. Your donation to BC Nature provides
a significant component of our yearly operating budget. Thanks to your generous
donations last year and the annual disbursement from the BC Naturalists’ Foundation,
we provided club support grants of $11,000 to 10 worthy projects.
In this joint appeal for BC Nature and the BC Naturalists’ Foundation, we also ask that
you remember the long term sustaining role of the Foundation. Consider naming the
Foundation in your will, making a major donation, gifting your life insurance or other
forms of planned giving.
This year we are continuing our annual appeal in a new format. To reduce costs, we are
not using a separate large envelope for mailing and the Foundation’s Annual Report is
now available on the website, with hard copies mailed on request. Please help with this
new approach -- cut out the donation slip below and mail, or you can phone in your
donation. Please support this annual appeal from BC Nature and the BC Naturalists’
Foundation.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kees Visser, President - BC
Nature
BCnature Fall 2015
Bev Ramey, President - BC Naturalists’
Foundation
Thank you for your ongoing support of
BC Nature and the BC Naturalists’ Foundation.
With this year’s (2015) annual donation appeal, we are now able to accept monthly
donations (either credit card or direct debit) and we accept e-transfers (bank-to-bank email
transfers). Credit card donation can be either phoned in or can be submitted on the form
below. For further information, please email or telephone: Office Manager - BC Nature 604-985-3057 or [email protected]
Thank
youfor
forsupporting
supporting
BC
Nature
Thank you
BC
Nature
Yes! I want to give:
$35
$50
$100
$200
Make cheques payable to: BC Nature
OR
Visa
MC Card #: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
OR
Other $ ________
/
Expiry
OR Phone in 604 985 3057
http://bcnature.ca/ - Home Page “ Support us” - Support Us Button is for Donations via PayPal
Please mail donations to: BC Nature 1620 Mount Seymour Road, North V ancouver, BC V7G 2R9
We gratefully accept any amount of donations, a tax receipt will be issued for donations over $20.00.
Please print
Name:_______________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________________
City:___________________ Province:__________ Postal Code:_________
I would like to support the long term sustaining role of the Foundation for naturalists
and have also enclosed a separate cheque to the BC Naturalists’ Foundation.
BC Nature & BC Naturalists’ Foundation accepts donations
through canadahelps.org
F O U N D AT I O N
Mail a Cheques/Credit Card - for BC Nature or BCN Foundation
Phone or submit this form for Credit card Payment
Online payment via http://bcnature.ca (for BC Nature) or canadahelps.org - BC Nature or BCN Foundation
T hanks for your appreciation of the BC Naturalists’ Foundation and its supporting role for naturalists
Fall 2015 BCnature
Neonicotinoids and Birds
By Jannaca Chick
his past year there has been a lot in the news about the effects of neonicotinoids particularly in relation to bees, but
T
also on birds as well as the environment. As I am interested in
how these insecticides could affect birds, I contacted Alison
Moran, who coordinates the Hummingbird Project at Rocky
Point Bird Observatory (RPBO). She said that she often gets
asked this question and directed me to a number of online
resources. I thought it might be useful to outline how these
pesticides work, why they are used, the effects on birds, and
the basis of the current controversy.
What are Neonicotinoids? Neonicotinoids, commonly
called “neonics,” are broad-spectrum systemic insecticides.
They were first introduced in the 1990s in response to the
widespread resistance of pests to older products, as well as
associated health concerns. Neonicotinoids are now the most
widely-used insecticides in the world, registered for use on
hundreds of field crops in more than 120 countries. They are
coated on seeds, sprayed on plants and injected into trees.
You may also use them regularly, since some, such as imadocloprid (Advantage®), are commonly used in treatments for
pets to prevent fleas and lice.
How Neonics work - Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic for
many invertebrates, meaning that they disrupt information
flow down nerves and thus, have an impact on muscle coordination and spatial perception, such as the location of a food
resource. As such, neonics can act directly and indirectly. They
can act directly as toxins, affecting invertebrates such as plant
predators, which eat coated seeds or plant tissues containing
the insecticide. They can also affect organisms indirectly by
altering prey availability.
Neonics are water-soluble, which causes them to break down
more quickly than the older class of more recalcitrant insecticides. It was expected that they would break down quickly;
Discover Our Natural World.
Call or email us today to
request our detailed itineraries
throughout Canada and the world
1-800-387-1483
[email protected]
VisitVisit
QuestNatureTours.com
to browse
QuestNatureTours.com to browse
worldwideourtours
and request
a detailed
expert-led
small group
tours itinerary
20
BCnature Fall 2015
however, some environmentalists and scientists are concerned that studies show this class of pesticides is lasting longer than expected in the
environment. They are worried about leaching and runoff potential,
groundwater infiltration, and the possibility of longer-term direct and
indirect effects on target and non-target species.
Neonicotinoids’ toxicity to bees and other insects, as well as their
affects on birds and the environment at large, has been much in the
news this past year. Information from scientific studies and statistics
on honey industry bee losses have led to a better understanding of
observed, and potential, environmental effects. While these affects are
being addressed generally by regulatory agencies and industry, responses
by different countries (and even provinces of Canada) differ. For example, Ontario has decided to adopt a precautionary principle concerning
pollinator protection and is just bringing in new regulations that will
dramatically reduce neonicotinoid use in that province.
Neonics and birds - Scientific literature identifies a number of environmental concerns for avian species. Although supposedly not an
intended target of the insecticide, birds can be directly and indirectly
affected by neonics (direct: toxicity from ingestion of coated seeds; indirect: reduced food availability for insectivores). Direct toxicity concerns
differ depending on the sensitivity of a species and route of exposure.
Concerns are highest for birds that are pollinators, seed eaters, insectivores, nectarivores, and those dependent on invertebrate prey.
Studies have shown that while neonicotinoids are commonly considered to be safer for mammals and birds than for insects, they can still be
dangerous in high enough doses. In Canada, canola seeds, wheat, corn,
soybeans, and even some fruits, vegetables and flower seeds are coated
with neonics, which allows the them to be incorporated throughout the
plants. These are of particular concern for seed-eating birds given the
fact that only a small number of seeds need to be ingested to be harmful. According to a study published by Environment Canada researcher
Pierre Mineau in 2013, “a single kernel of imidacloprid-treated corn can
kill small and Blue Jay-sized birds, and sicken larger ones”.
For avian insectivores, the abundance and availability of food directly
affects their habitat selection, reproductive success, and survival. Aerial
insectivores as a group have been experiencing widespread population
declines for the last few decades. Their dependence on emergent insects
is well known. Since these pesticides persist in water and kill target and
non-target species alike, there are fewer insects overall for birds to eat.
It should be noted that during breeding season even seed-eating birds
become insectivores and they feed insects to their young in nests. As
planting season coincides with bird breeding season, there is an overall
increased risk to birds.
Agricultural perspective - The farmers' concerns must also be
recognized. They need to make a living and keep their costs down as their
profit margins are small. They already deal with many factors, including
variable weather patterns, complex pest management strategies, and
changing prices on the open market. Farmers have turned to coated
seeds because this use is targeted and broadcast spraying of crops is not
necessary, greatly reducing the amount of insecticide used. In addition,
pre-treatment of seeds often does away with the need to till fields (tillage
can adversely effect soil quality and structure, and can lead to increased
land erosion and fertilizer use). If neonics are not used, it is possible
that farmers will need to use more land for crops to get the same yield.
In addition to the environmental and economic considerations discussed above, there is also the issue of food security. Most of us are not
growing food ourselves and thus, we rely on the output of farmers on a
daily basis. This begs the question, “If neonicotinoids are banned, then
with what will they be replaced?”
More on Neonics - Clearly, neonic use is a multi-faceted topic, with
real concerns on all sides. Balancing the environmental costs and benefits of using these products with economics and food security is not
a trivial task. However, it is one that regulatory agencies, science and
the agriculture industry are trying to solve. There is now a quite a bit of
information available on the subject of neonicotinoids. 1
Jannaca Chick's interest in birds and the environment has led to her involvement
as a volunteer with Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Victoria, BC for the past
several years.
Bee Diversity
play an integral role in keeping an ecosystem functioning by playing a specific role
and using a specific resource. For bees this means that not every bee will pollinate
every flower. Through evolution, bees have adapted the shapes of their bodies and
By Ranah Chavoshi
the lengths of their tongues to pollinate specific flowers. Different bees also have
hen we talk about bees we automatically different nutritional needs as a result of these adaptations. To fulfil these needs
think of apis mellifera, otherwise known as different bees visit different flowers as different flowers hold different nutritional
the Honey Bee. Honey Bees are hard to miss. We contents. To build a well-functioning ecosystem, some bee species, such as the
often think of them pollinating our flowers and Honey Bee, have developed into generalist pollinators and pollinate a variety of
making our honey. Then, when we use bee prod- flowers. In contrast, specialist bees only pollinate specific flowers. For example, the
ucts such as wax and commercial beauty products Blue Orchard Bee osmia lignaria is a highly efficient pollinator of the flowers in the
from brands such as Burt’s Bees we feel we fully rose family and sweet cherries.
understand our relationship with all bees. HowBiodiversity in ecosystems has a profound impact on humans. Take a moment
ever, Honey Bees are far from being the only bees. and imagine a world without 33% of your favourite foods. That is a world without
Simply by making the assumption that all bees bees. One of three bites of food that we eat came from a bee-pollinated plant.
are Honey Bees, we miss all the other bee species Beyond agriculture, our world requires pollination. Our garden plants and our
that are so essential to the healthy functioning of natural ecosystems all require pollination from bees. Without bees, our landscapes
an ecosystem. There are approximately 25,000 dif- would be barren and dry.
ferent bee species worldwide. In British Columbia
Globally, native bee populations have been in decline. This is commonly associwe boast 450 species, These species range from ated with Colony Collapse Disorder which encompasses various factors such as
native bumblebees bombus sp.to Solitary Bees. Soli- urbanization and habitat fragmentation that have driven bees out of their natural
tary bees are species that don’t belong to a colony habitats. The environmental shift caused by climate change has made it more
like Mining Bees andrena sp., Sweat Bees halictidae difficult for bees to adapt to changes in their natural environments and has been
sp., and Mason Bees osmia sp. One of the species another important factor in the decline of global bee populations. The shift in
of bees found in British Columbia is the Euro- global temperatures has allowed diseases and parasites to invade and take over
pean Honey Bee, the well-known apis mellifera. bee populations. Lastly, the growing use of insecticides has had repercussions that
The European Honey Bee is not actually a native have not been made clear to the public. All these factors are stressors causing the
pollinator! The European Honey Bee was initially decline of bee populations.
introduced by European settlers in the early 1600s.
Everyday actions can make or break conservation efforts for bees. The number
By the mid-1600s, Honey Bee colonies were mul- one cause of the decline of global bee populations is habitat loss. With continued
tiplying.
deforestation, bees lose their natural habitats. Having a “bee-friendly” garden on
While these introduced Honey Bees do play an your balcony or in your backyard can help to conserve bee populations. Ones
important role in our ecosystem, it is still impor- plants in a “bee-friendly” garden should be flowers that naturally attract bees
tant to acknowledge other bee species. All species because of their colour and odour. To keep your garden safe for bees it is essential
so that no pesticides are present. However, despite being a very
important first step, avoiding the use of pesticides in your own
garden isn’t enough. Recent studies have shown that approximately 50% of the plants that you purchase from commercial
nurseries have neonicotinoid residue on them. Neonicotinoids
are a relatively new class of insecticides that causes paralysis and
death by affecting the central nervous system of insects.
To avoid the continued use of neonicotinoids simply ask the
Join these
representatives at your local nursery about which plants have
not been treated with any insecticides or pesticides before purFabulous
chasing any new plants. On a global and national scale the use
of neonicotinoids must be regulated if we are to continue using
Birding Tours
them. On July 1, 2015, the Ontario government became the
first one in North America to restrict the use of seeds treated
2016
with neonicotinoid pesticides. Ontario has proposed reducing
the use of neonicotinoids by 80 per cent by 2017. In British
Columbia, we have a similar campaign that is being pushed
through by the Wilderness Committee of British Columbia.
There is even a petition on Change.org to ban neonicotinoids.
Unfortunately, if the bees go, we go with them. Despite their
Colombia March 1-16, 2016
tiny size, bees make a big difference on our planet Earth. They
pollinate the plants whose fruits we eat and whose vegetables we
$ 3995 US (From Bogota)
know we should. They even pollinate the plants whose beauty
has overwhelmed us for millennia. Without a diverse bee popuHungary & Slovakia May 30 - June 7, 2016
lation our biome would perish, our agricultural systems would
$ 2345 US (From Budapest)
likely be stressed to the point of failure, and, ultimately, our
global economy would crash. Clearly we desperately need bees,
China-Poyang Lakes December 1-16, 2016
because humans are not good pollinators! However, there is
hope. By increasing awareness of bee diversity we are taking
$ 3435 US (From Shanghai)
the first steps to help conserve bee populations. Furthermore,
by choosing to purchase only untreated plants and by asking
Flora & Fauna Field Tours
our local and provincial governments to ban insecticides like
1093 Scollard Dr., Peterborough, ON K9H 0A9
neonicotinoids we can begin to reverse the damage we have
done to bee populations and keep our world full of sustenance
www.florafaunafieldtours.com
and beauty. 1
[email protected]
W
Flora & Fauna
Field Tours
Tel: 705-874-8531
Fall 2015 BCnature
21
Cumberland’s Trails are Open to Comox Valley’s Preschoolers
By Jarrett Krentzel
he founder and program director of Hand-In-Hand Early
Years Nature Education Program, Jarrett Krentzel, is excited to have launched his Nature Preschool concept in Cumberland. With the help of two Early Childhood Educators
(ECE), a successful summer camp with full registration has
been completed and a highly informative website, hand-inhandeducation.com. Hand-In-Hand Education is taking its first
steps onto Cumberland’s trails with excited classes of three-to
four-year-olds.
Children and nature go hand-in-hand…naturally. When a
tree drops its leaves on an autumn day, a child reaches down
a hand to touch it. When a raindrop falls from a winter sky,
a child stretches out a hand to feel it. And when a butterfly
flutters by on a spring day, a child chases it with their hand
to hold it. Children and nature go together, and when a child
explores, interacts and learns from nature they do so by reaching out their hand to touch it!
This is how children learn best and this type of nature education program is designed to make a child’s learning experience
the most natural way possible…through nature and play-based
education…another relationship that goes hand-in-hand.
Krentzel believes that three-to-five-year-old children are eager
to explore, interact and learn from the world they experience
daily. The best way to make possible that learning process,
and guarantee a nurturing and enriching educational experience, is to ensure that each child feels safe and comfortable
within their learning environment. As educators, Krentzel and
his staff carry out this high standard of education, allowing a
child’s curiosity and inquisitiveness to lead them through a
natural process that will provide them with a strong foundation for learning while having fun…once again, a relationship
that goes hand-in-hand!
“A strong foundation for education begins with connections…with each other and with our environment.” Krentzel
explains. His program builds these connections – connections such as: children and nature, nature and play, learning
and having fun. At Hand-In-Hand Education, children will
develop those connections by exploring Cumberland’s beautiful Coal Creek Historic Park with their fully-qualified ECEs
leading the way.
Coal Creek Historic Park is the gateway to the Beaufort
Mountains. The 40-hectare park includes “wetlands, salmon
bearing streams, lush second-growth forests, towering Douglasfir trees, magical Western Redcedar groves and rare Western
Yew trees”1…and that’s just what a child’s eye can see! Imagine
all that is out there that a child’s nose can smell, a child’s ear
can hear, a child’s hand can touch and a child’s spirit can feel!
This park is not only the gateway to the Beaufort Mountains,
it is the gateway to building the foundation of a child’s entire
learning experience, guided by their own processes of thought
and imagination: exploring ideas, defining goals, enhancing
memory, naming objects, increasing strength, testing theories,
improving communication and developing character.
These are just a few of the many developmental benefits that
will aid in the progress of a child’s appreciation for nature,
their education for the environment and their stewardship for
the future.
Hand-In-Hand Education is an outdoor educational program that is designed to offer a unique early childhood learning experience for children aged three to five years. As Jarrett
Krentzel explains, “Our classroom is the natural environment. Our chairs are the logs, our pencils are the sticks and
our possibilities are endless!” The program is offered Monday
to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., outside, as this is an
environmental educational program. It is conducted by two
certified and experienced ECEs teaching a maximum of 16
T
20
BCnature Fall 2015
By Rob Campbell
Three year old class at Nature Preschool
children. Expanding on the BC Ministry of Education’s Early Learning Framework, the emphasis of the program will be on a nature and
play-based curriculum and will encourage preschoolers to engage with
their environment through art, music, games, physical activities and
group learning. The model for the nature educational program consists
of two components: Ecology and Adventure Education.
The Ecology component of the program focuses on becoming creative interpreters through the exploration of nature trails. This allows
each student time and space to experience quietly the sights, sounds
and smells of the natural world and to express these feelings through
drawing, song and dance. Birds will be viewed through binoculars,
sea creatures through nets and plants through magnifying glasses.
Throughout the year students will explore, question and interpret
through sensorial play and meaningful encounters. They will follow
the interests of the children, value their passions, ideas and individual
learning styles, and provide an experience to encourage developmentally appropriate in-depth learning.
The Adventure Education component makes possible personal and
interpersonal growth (communication, problem-solving, trust-building, risk-taking and cooperation). Through these activities children are
able to expand on their development in communication, cooperation,
trust and problem-solving skills in an atmosphere that is safe, respectful
and fun. Children are guided in making connections between these
activities and “real-life” situations. Families report a positive impact
on home environment, child performance and interpersonal dynamics
when these activities are reinforced in the home.
Hand-In-Hand Education operates with two stages: Seeds & Roots.
Seeds are three years old and meet Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00
a.m. to 12:00 Noon. Roots are 4 years old and meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon. The fee for Seeds is
$169/month and Roots is $244/month. 1
1
Welcome to Coal Creek Historic Park map; Village of Cumberland Parks
and Trails
Some Fun and amazing Facts about some of our animal Friends
• Houseflies don’t allow their short lifespans (14 days) to
hinder their musical abilities. They always hum in the key
of F.
• On average, there are 50,000 spiders per .4 hectare in green
areas.
• You can tell a turtle’s gender by the noise it makes. Males
grunt and females hiss.
• Humpback Whales create the loudest sound of any living
creature.
• The slowest fish is the Seahorse, which moves along at about
0.02 km
• Dogs’ nose prints are as unique as human fingerprints and
can be used to identify them.
• Giraffes have no vocal cords and their tongues are blue-black
in colour.
• A snail can grow back a new eye if it loses one.
Be a Naturalist Mentor!
Federated Clubs of BC Nature
Lower Mainland Clubs
Abbotsford-Mission Club - Abbotsford
Alouette Field Naturalists - Maple Ridge
Bowen Nature Club - Bowen Island
Burke Mountain Naturalists - Coquitlam
Chilliwack Field Naturalists - Chilliwack
Delta Naturalists Society - Delta
Friends of Semiahmoo Bay - White Rock
Langley Field Naturalists - Langley
Little Campbell Watershed Soc. - Surrey
Nature Vancouver - Vancouver
Pender Harbour & District Wildlife Soc.
Royal City Naturalists - New Westminster
Squamish Env. Cons. Soc. - Squamish
Stoney Creek Env. Comm. - Burnaby
Sunshine Coast Nat. Hist. Soc. - Sechelt
Surrey Environmental Partners - Surrey
Whistler Natural History Society - Whistler
White Rock Surrey Naturalists - Surrey
WildResearch - Burnaby
Yorkson Watershed Enhance. Soc. - Lgly.
Kootenay Clubs
Fernie Nature Club - Fernie
Rocky Mountain Naturalists - Cranbrook
West Kootenay Naturalists - Castlegar
Thompson Okanagan Region
Central Okanagan Naturalists' Club - Kelowna
Kamloops Naturalists - Kamloops
Lillooet Naturalists Society - Lillooet
Nicola Naturalists - Merritt
North Okanagan Naturalists Club - Vernon
North Shuswap Naturalists - Scotch Creek
Oliver Osoyoos Naturalists - Oliver
Shuswap Naturalists - Salmon Arm
South Okanagan Naturalists - Penticton
Vermillion Forks Field Naturalist - Princeton
Northern BC
Bulkley Valley Naturalists - Smithers
Kitimat Valley Naturalists - Kitimat
MacKenzie Nature Observatory - MacKenzie
Northern Amphibian Nats. Soc. - Terrace
Prince George Naturalists - Prince George
Quesnel Trail & Nature Club - Quesnel
Timberline Trail & Nature Club - Dawson
Creek
Williams Lake Field Nats. - Williams Lake
Vancouver Island
Arrowsmith Naturalists - Parksville
Comox Valley Naturalists - Comox
Cowichan Valley Nat. Soc. - Duncan
Nanoose Naturalists - Nanoose Bay
Pender Island Nats - Pender Island
Rithet's Bog Cons. Soc. - Victoria
Rocky Point Bird Observatory - Victoria
Salt Spring Trail & Nature Club - Salt
Spring Island
Victoria Nat. History Soc. - Victoria
Volunteers Needed
We are actively looking for
volunteers to assist with BC
Nature Executive as the Parks
and Protected Area Coordinator
and a "Camp" organizer for 2017.
If interested, please contact John
Neville [email protected]
Foster Future Naturalists and Stewards of Nature!
Foster the Love of Nature and a Fascination in
Science!
A Naturalist Mentor can help youth with:
• Nature Exploration and Field Trips;
• Outdoor Science Fair Projects and Judging;
• Habitat Enhancement Projects;
• Slide Shows to Community and Schools, and;
• Habitat and Wildlife Surveys
Learn more at www.bcnature.ca (education tab)
Fall 2015 BCnature 23
Turtles and Bullfrogs and Koi… Oh My!
Invasive Pets are Threatening BC's Amazing
Biodiversity - Don't Let it Loose!
By Julianne Leekie
s keen naturalists, you probably
know that British Columbia is home
to more species of living things than any
other province in Canada. BC has 70%
of Canada’s nesting bird species, 72% of
Canada’s land mammal species and 50%
of Canada’s amphibian species – what
incredible biodiversity! Our province is
a mosaic of regions as well—jagged ranges of snow-clad peaks, forested foothills,
grasslands, river valleys and ocean coastlines—that support an amazing range of
ecosystems and provide us with awe-inspiring vistas and landscapes.
Did you know that these treasured ecosystems and landscapes are under threat
by invasive plants and animals that are
let loose into our woods and waters?
So what's the problem? Invasive species
are not native to BC, and have serious
impacts on our environment, economy
and communities. They can outcompete
native species for food and space, damage ecosystems, disrupt food sources and
introduce parasites and disease. Invasive
species cost BC and Canada billions
of dollars per year. Some of the most
A
serious invasive critters and plants, like Red-eared
Slider Turtles, Goldfish, and Parrot Feather, were
originally sold as pets or plants for water gardens
and aquariums.
Pet and Aquarium Owners
Water gardeners, aquarium and terrarium owners can select from a variety of plants,
invertebrates, reptiles and fish. Unfortunately, some of these species have the potential to
become invasive. Pets that become too much for an owner to care for are sometimes let
loose into nearby water or woods.
Most pets don’t survive in the wild. Releasing a pet into an unsuitable habitat is also
considered animal cruelty and charges can be laid through the BC SPCA.
Some pets are able to thrive and reproduce in their new environment, and once established, can reduce native populations and change the structure of the ecosystem. Even if
your aquatic pet is known to be native to the local environment, it should still never be
released, as it may introduce diseases or parasites into the local ecosystem.
British Columbia is now home to several introduced invasive pet and plant
species, including:
• Red Eared Slider Turtle
• American Bullfrog
• Round Goby
• Rusty Crayfish
• Parrot Feather
• Yellow Flag Iris
Red-ear Slider Turtle (L) Bullfrog (R)
• European Cottontail Rabbit
Don’t Let It Loose!
A new province-wide campaign launched by the Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC)
and the provincial government asks you: Don't Let it Loose BC!
Never release your plants and animals into the wild or dump
aquariums or water garden debris into rivers, streams, lakes or
storm sewers.
What Should I Do Instead
• Contact the place where you purchased the
animal to see if they will take it back;
• Contact local science centres, zoos or aquariums
to see if they can use the animal for educational
purposes;
• Dry and freeze unwanted aquatic plant material
and add it to non-composted trash;
• Report sightings to your Regional Invasive
Species Committee www.bcinvasives.ca/partners
• If all else fails, have a qualified veterinarian
euthanize the animal in a humane manner.
Get outside, enjoy this wonderful season, and help protect BC’s
amazing biodiversity by being an invasive species spotter! Report
invasive species toll free to ISCBC 1-888-933-3722 or through
the Provincial Report-a-Weed online and mobile app www.reportaweedbc.ca Don’t Let It Loose BC!
Photograph - Red-ear Slider Turtle - Joy Viola
Bullfrog - R. Ottens
Goldfish - W. Aguirre
24
BCnature Fall 2015
TAKE A SMART
STEP TOWARD
A GREEN
AND HEALTHY
FUTURE
MAKE A LASTING GIFT TO A LAND TRUST
OR ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP IN YOUR WILL
DISCOVER YOUR GIVING OPTIONS.
No matter the size or type, your gift will be leveraged into action by your
favourite hard-working environmental or conservation organization.
Our website, GiveGreenCanada.ca, offers resources that will help you clarify
your goals and discover your options.
DID YOU KNOW? Less than 2 cents of every dollar donated in Canada annually
goes to the environment. G2 / Give Green Canada, formerly Green Legacies, is
a project of Tides Canada Initiatives, a registered charity.
G2 is a hub working with donors and advisors and also provides mentorships, tools and
innovative training for nonprofits for a stronger, more resilient sector.
To cut out and keep handy.
You’re invited to visit us at www.GiveGreenCanada.ca. We are a project of Tides Canada
Initiatives, recognized by IMAGINE Canada as a leading charitable organization demonstrating
best practice in key areas of governance and management.
For more information please get in touch with Natasha van Bentum, CFRE Director, G2 / Give Green Canada
[email protected] or on Twitter @GiveGreenCanada.
G2/LAND/SmartStep
For environmental and conservation groups: visit our TOOLKIT www.GiveGreenCanada.ca
with thanks to
National Geographic
Fall 2015 BCnature 25
Loss of an Unusual Nesting Habitat for Bank Swallows riparia
riparia near the Kettle River, British Columbia
By George W. Scotter
hile studying the vegetation in the
Christian Valley in May 1988, Malcolm Martin, the late Ernie McNaughton
and I observed a colony of Bank Swallows
riparia riparia near the east branch of the
Kettle River, British Columbia (49° 14’ N,
118° 55’ W, 645 m). The colony was located on the east side of the river about eight
km north of Westbridge near the Christian Valley Road. The swallows were nesting in a bank of compressed sawdust that
had accumulated from an abandoned sawmill operation on a hill above the bank.
The consolidated sawdust was soft enough
for the birds to build nesting burrows but
cohesive enough to maintain its form. The
habitat appeared ideal for Bank Swallows
since it was within a few hundred metres of the Kettle River and a backwater,
at least in the spring, for foraging. The
sawdust bank was close to being vertical
thereby making it difficult for predators to
access the burrows and raising the safety of
the site for nesting birds. In addition, the
sawdust, being softer than sand deposits,
may have required less expenditure of energy for excavating a nesting burrow.
There were 109 nesting burrows in the
colony, concentrated mostly at the highest
and steepest portion of the sawdust pile.
We divided the sawdust pile into three
portions and each of us counted the number of birds in one of the sections after
making a loud noise to frighten the birds.
The combined count was 87 Bank Swallows, which was likely a minimum count
since some birds may not have left their
nest or been present at the time of distur-
W
bance. It seems likely that 4050% of the nesting burrows
were being used at the time.
Since colonial nesters often
return to the same breeding
site, the author visited the site
during the nesting season on
three other occasions between
1988 and 2009. The birds
continued to thrive during
that time period but were not
counted because there were
too many for one person to
count because of their erratic,
By Wikipedia Commons
zigzag flight. In addition, the
dates of visitation were not
Bank Swallow - File Photo - Wikipedia
always the same.
Recent articles on the Bank
Swallow population indicate a decline of 90% over the last 40 years and it is designated
as a Threatened Species in Canada (COSEWIC 2013; Ferguson 2014). That stirred me
to visit the Kettle River site on 21 May 2015. I was shocked to find no Bank Swallows
and that the sawdust had been removed, possibly used in a new plant nursery that is
being established a few km away.
It is not unusual for Banks Swallows to nest at man-made sites such as road cuts, sand
and gravel quarries, and sawdust piles rather than at natural sites. The only previous
report of sawdust being use for nesting by Bank Swallows in British Columbia was at
Duck Lake near Creston in June 1968 (Campbell et. al. 1997). The use of sawdust piles
has also been reported by Gross (1942), Greenlaw (1972), and Peck and James (1987).
John (1991) reported that the nesting requirements of Bank Swallows were relatively
specific and that birds only nested in cliffs with enough stability to maintain a threemetre vertical face. The sawdust pile near the Kettle River seems to have adequately met
those requirements.
Finding that this breeding site had been lost and knowing of the ongoing plight of the
Bank Swallow in Canada, it would be highly desirable to ensure known nesting sites are
protected and that additional inventories are conducted to find other sites for the recovery of this species. Providing Bank Swallows with some degree of protection possibly
through conservation easements and better application of existing legislation to protect
the habitat of Threatened and Endangered Species is needed. 1
&
wilderness wildlife
matter
Purchase a Wilderness Committee
calendar and be part of our campaigns to
protect threatened wilderness and wildlife.
Check out our unique
wilderness merchandise online:
WildernessCommittee.org
Only $15.95
Call 604-683-8220 or 1-800-661-9453 today!
Mention this ad when you call us to receive a discount!
26
BCnature Fall 2015
Bulk orders
available!
WILDERNESS
C O M M I T T E E
/WildernessCommittee
@WilderNews
Beach Hero Marine Interpretive Program 2015
By Sarah Brookes
he Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society was pleased to presT
ent the Beach Hero Marine Interpretive Program from May
to August this year. The program provides conservation-minded
marine interpretation at White Rock beach and Crescent Beach,
through field trips, interpretive walks, and attendance at community events.
In May and June, we visited elementary school classrooms to
introduce local marine life and followed up with hands-on beach
exploration field trips. As the weather improves and the school
year winds down White Rock and Crescent Beaches receive an
overload of students visitors, with buses full of children arriving
from as far as Abbotsford to this important Wildlife Management Area. The Beach Hero Marine Interpretive Program plays
an important role in helping teachers, students, and parents
By M. Cuthbert
appreciate and take care of all the organisms that call the beach
home.
Intertidal walk with Sarah
In July and August, we led free intertidal walks, roved the beach,
chatted with recreational fishers and crabbers, and attended local
community festivals. While not all families came to the beach expecting a lesson on local intertidal life and beach etiquette, the program
was well received and thoroughly enjoyed by all ages. We were delighted to have the help of BC Nature’s summer student Ranah Chavoshi
at the White Rock Sea Festival, a large annual event over the August long weekend where we offered games, beach walks, information
and an aquarium with local species.
This year the program had a restricted scope and reach due to limited funding; three part-time interpreters worked to deliver the program with the help of volunteers. The Beach Hero Marine Interpretive Program is grateful for the support from BC Nature and the BC
Naturalists' Foundation, Choices Markets, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Province of BC. 1
The Exploration Club for Families.... NatureKids BC helps children get outdoors to play, imagine
and explore in nearby nature. We are a network of volunteer-led nature clubs serving urban and rural
children ages 5-12 and their families. Membership is only $25 per family per year. Join the club and
come explore with us.
e celebrated our 15th Birthday and held our last “official” AGM as the Young
W
Naturalists’ Club of BC at Porteau Cove on June 20. After a rousing rendition of
Happy Birthday members took care of business which included the launch of our new
name NatureKids BC and some official society business such as electing new Directors
and the consumption of delicious birthday cupcakes.
By Kristine Webber
NatureKids BC welcome this year’s Board of Directors: Cynthia
Berg, Tricia Edgar, Victor Elderton, Vanessa Lee, Frances McCoubrey, Valery Ross, Daphne Solecki, Romy Tong and Andrew Wilczynski. A huge thanks and a debt of gratitude to departing Directors Ruth Foster, Mick Stobart, Sandra Bicego and John Keller.
The AGM was followed by the Eastern Fraser Valley NatureKids
Club’s Explorer Day "Wonders of the Pacific Deep” a magical,
hands-on program for the whole family, led by author and marine
biologist Sheila Byers and volunteers from the Marine Life Sanctuary Society. The young naturalists and their families explored the
biodiversity of the ocean's sub-tidal zone and had a chance to get
up close and personal with sub-tidal animals like Sea Cucumbers,
Sea Stars and crabs.
Nature Club Changes
New Clubs for fall: Delta Home Learners NatureKids Club (volunteer Nature Club Leader Michal Sirton) and Thetis & PenelaBy K. Webber
kut Island NatureKids Club (volunteer Nature Club Leaders Airiane and Douglas Rogers).
AGM at Porteau Cove
This summer the Stanley Park Club closed and members were
welcomed into the Vancouver Club. In addition, Barbara Everdene joins Leslie Bol as co-leader of the Vancouver Club.
There is a leadership change at the Eastern Fraser Valley NatureKids Club. Long-time leader Cynthia Berg is stepping down and
three new co-leaders will be leading the Club—welcome to Mairi Lippa, Alena McInroy and Laurie DeJong.
NatureKids is seeking volunteer nature club leaders or co-leaders for the following clubs: Quadra Island, Nicomekl, Kamloops,
Nanaimo and North Vancouver Island Clubs. Volunteer Club Leaders’ primary role is to organize outdoor nature adventures, called
Explorer Days, for NatureKids BC club members. For more information on being a club leader, contact Tammy Keetch. 1
Follow NatureKids BC on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturekidsbc or www.naturekidsbc.ca
Contact information for NatureKids BC - Vanessa Lee, President [email protected] or Kristine Webber, Executive Director
[email protected] or Tammy Keetch, Clubs Coordinator [email protected]
Fall 2015 BCnature 27
2015 Award Winners
Congratulations to all of the 2015 BC Nature award winners. Along with the seven awards presented at the 2015 Salt Spring
Island AGM, and articles placed in the Summer BCnature magazine, the following four deserved members were presented their
awards over the summer by their clubs. Congratulations to all of our Award recipients!
Al Grass - Daphne Solecki Award
l Grass is well-known throughout BC for his love and vast knowledge of nature and
A
natural history. He is equally known for his passion for sharing his knowledge with
everyone he meets, adults and children alike, and inspiring them to love nature as he does.
He has supported and contributed to the Young Naturalists’ Club of BC (YNC), now
NatureKids, in so many ways since its inception, by leading countless field trips for our
young members in a variety of locations. He has especially tried to share his love of spiders
with children, overcoming any prejudice they may have brought to the study of his favourite
eight-legged friends.
Above all, since its first issue in 2000, he has contributed his column Ask Al to the YNC
quarterly publication, NatureWILD. Fifteen years! And he still is going strong.
Over that time, Al seems to have covered every topic under the sun, but still there is always
something new to get excited about.
We celebrate Al’s contributions to YNC (NatureKids) and thank him so very much for all
he has given to the children of BC. 1
Doreen Olson - BC Nature Club Service Award
oreen retired to the Okanagan after a 30-year
D
career with Air Canada. For eight years she operated a Bed and Breakfast for bird
watchers gaining accolades from clients and also being written up in several unsolicited
magazine articles including the prestigious Small Planet Guide. She is a 21-year-member of
the South Okanagan Naturalist Club and is currently a Director and former vice-president.
Along with Lisa Scott and Dick Cannings, Doreen was a founding member of the
Meadowlark Nature Festival, starting in 1997. She was a founding member and first
Chair of the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA). In 1996, realizing
a dream and opportunity, she partnered in opening and operating the successful Tumbleweed Nature Store in Penticton, which featured specialized products for the naturalist
community.
In 2000, the Penticton Wine Country and Chamber of Commerce invited Doreen
to the Board of Tourism Development Services where she was appointed the Chair of
the Eco-Agri Tourism Committee for two years. In 2002 Doreen was honored with
the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for her significant contribution to Canada. In 2010
Doreen was one of six land owners recognized by South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program for work in the Okanagan and on her own property, as a leader in
stewardship of water, land and wildlife. She is passionate about sharing information and
insight on the huge variety of birds and other wildlife on her property.
From the very outset she has been one of the main spokespersons for the campaign to
establish a South Okanagan National Park. Doreen has devoted countless hours to this
campaign. Without Doreen’s unflagging enthusiasm and thousands of hours of work, the
Park campaign would have fallen by the wayside long ago. 1
Terry Carr – BC Nature Club Service Award
erry Carr obtained a Biology degree at UBC. After travelling extensively in Europe and
T
the Middle East, he returned to UBC to study Ancient History and then Librarianship.
He worked for 32 years at the Vancouver Public Library, holding several positions including
Reference Librarian, Head of the Science Division, and Public Service Manager
For many years, Delta Nats has had an educational display table, with scattered aims in
sprucing it up. When Terry joined the club and volunteered to participate at events, he also
took on the organization of our display table and the educational material in-hand. He not
only produced new posters but spruced up the samples and requested more photos and
subjects/objects not only for the Show and Tell, but also for the kids to handle. This display
has become the talk of Delta!
Terry continues to search for more educational hand-outs and material when he goes to
other events such as the Wings over Water event in Blaine, Washington State.
Terry gets Delta Nats members involved; there is never a time when there is a shortage of
volunteers.
Last year, Terry was involved with the search for and finding of a new meeting place. Our
old location, Cammidge House which could hold only 40 people, legally and comfortably
,became too small for our lectures and shows. We had been turning people away for awhile
now; at our new location we can aim for 130! 1
28
BCnature Fall 2015
Krista Englund – BC Nature Regional Award
n the minds of many BC Nature members, Krista Englund will forever be associated with the
IKrista
Important Bird Area (IBA) Caretaker Program, which originated in BC and now is national.
was recruited to the BC IBA program when it was managed by a handful of volunteers.
Her persistent, positive and cheerful approach has been critical to the program’s success. At
the beginning, the goals were to have complete, up-to-date site summaries and a network of
volunteer Caretakers who would be familiar with the 80-plus, far-flung and often remote sites
designated during an early stage of the program. Oh, and these goals were to be accomplished
with a miniscule budget.
Krista worked for BC Nature on a part-time contract, working one or two days a week, from
early 2008 until December 2014. She recruited, trained and coordinated the work of more than
50 IBA Caretakers, conducted meetings, talks and workshops throughout the province, wrote
newsletter and magazine articles, was the liaison person with the national offices of Nature
Canada and Bird Studies Canada to ensure good communications among all the partner
organizations.
To entice provincial environmental staff to learn about the IBA program, Krista organized
“lunch and learn” sessions at their Victoria offices. She also inaugurated video and phone
conferencing to link workshop participants around the province, as well as using programs
such as Webex for IBA meetings.
An experienced scientist, Krista worked on updating the site summaries, assessed bird population and boundary requirements for many sites. She organized these tasks in a systematic way, always working with the local experts
to ensure that no voices went unheard.
While travelling on holidays to visit family, Krista also took time to visit with Caretakers in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions,
at her own expense. 1
A Visit to the Galapagos Islands, August 2015
By Clive Keen
hy would anyone go to Disneyland
when they could go to Galapagos?
For naturalists at least, it's a real magic
kingdom. It's not because of the great variety of species on offer: I can see more
bird species in my local septic lagoons, and
every Galapagos flower is blah-yellow because there's only one type of bee there,
blah-yellow being what it likes. But there
are three factors making this a sensational
visit for the kind of people reading this
magazine.
First, there is the weirdness of the species.
Island dwellers really don't have to conform. Tortoises weighing 250 kilograms
are the most obvious example, but there
are lots of others. There are penguins sunning themselves on the equator; iguanas
diving into the sea for their dinner; highly
coloured crabs jumping from rock to rock;
Mockingbirds that are clearly different
W
By Clive Keen
Lava Lizard
from island to island. A high
proportion of all the species
are endemics, found absolutely
nowhere else on earth, or even
on another nearby island.
Second, there is the omnipresence of the wildlife. Travelling
in my part of northern BC, I'll
often go for hours without seeing a single species, and when
I do, it's the inevitable Raven.
But at any moment on Galapagos, I was likely to look up and
By Clive Keen
see Frigatebirds, Boobies, and
Pelicans, look down at a bunch
Flamingo disagreement
of seals, Lava Lizards and Sally
Lightfoot Crabs, look across and see a roosting Yellow-Crowned Night-heron and perhaps even spot an Elliot's Storm-petrel skimming the harbour. And the numbers can be
stupendous. Cattle Egrets fly across in groups of 50; you might see 200 in a single field.
Third, and most significantly, is the fearlessness of the wildlife. You find yourself stepping over a Fur Seal pup suckling on mom, dodging your way past a haughty Galapagos
Sea Lion, trying not to tread on the tails of marine iguanas or squashing a Lava
Lizard, and restraining yourself from taking yet another photograph of the Darwin's Finches just inches from your face. This is not at all like being mobbed by
the ducks at Reifel. The wildlife doesn't want anything from you. They aren't
panhandling, but doing their own thing, sharing their world with you. Was it
like this in the Garden of Eden? There were times when it was all so moving
that I needed long moments of quiet before I could show my face back in polite
society.
Should you add Galapagos to your bucket list? Not if you're a birder intent on
increasing your score of lifers. You'll do far better to go to Peru or Costa Rica,
or almost anywhere else in South America, where a chunk of a continent can
provide ticks by the bucketload. And not if you are a nervous traveller. With five
legs to the flight, meaning 45 hours in the air, or standing in line-ups, or filling
in yet more forms, or waiting edgily for airport announcements. It really doesn't
help that Economy Class is gradually morphing into cattle class. It doesn't help,
either, that Ecuador is a “traveller's warning” zone, with updates on volcanoes,
political instability, pickpockets and lawlessness. But if you've the health and
stamina, it's a trip of a lifetime. Or several lifetimes. Oh yes.1
Fall 2015 BCnature
29
30 BCnature Fall 2015
The Last Word
Naturalists Helping Species at Risk
By Greg Ferguson
pecies at risk is a frequent topic of discussion and concern for naturalists.
In October 1996, federal, provincial, and territorial governments agreed
to protect species at risk through the Accord for the Protection of Species at
Risk. This agreement is part of Canada’s commitments to protecting species
under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. In June 2003,
the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) was enacted, requiring the Government of Canada to take into consideration the species status designations and
recommendations of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
By Wikipedia Commons
Canada (COSEWIC) for legal listing. A Canada-British Columbia Agreement
on Species at Risk was later approved in April 2005.
Red-Listed American Badger
Fast forward to May 2015 when 711 wildlife species were identified by COSEWIC in the following risk categories: Extirpated (23), Endangered (316),
Threatened (167), and Special Concern (205). According to the Government of Canada’s Species at Risk Public Registry, 521 of
these species are currently listed under Schedule 1 of SARA; the legal list
of wildlife species at risk in Canada. This translates into 190 species that
COSEWIC has identified as requiring protection and recovery actions
to ensure their continued existence in Canada. Even with this level of
urgency, these species have yet to be provided with the legal means to
be adequately protected in Canada (i.e., by finalized recovery strategies).
The Government of Canada continues to demonstrate a lack of leadership in applying the SARA to mandate protection for at-risk species in Canada. Researchers have shown that for 369 species that have been assessed
by COSEWIC more than once, 115 have deteriorated, 47% of which were
initially listed as special concern, 202 have remained unchanged, and 52
have improved in status. Researchers also examined whether SARA-listing
was associated with improved COSEWIC assessment outcomes relative
to unlisted species and found that of the 305 species that had multiple
assessments and were SARA-listed, 221 were listed at a level that required
By Wikipedia Commons
identification and protection of critical habitat; yet critical habitat was
fully identified for only 56 of these species.
Red-Listed White-tailed Jack Rabbit
Two key recommendations have arisen. There is a need to formally
identify, through a recovery strategy, and protect critical habitat for
species listed as threatened and endangered. Furthermore, there is a
TD Wealth
need to make every effort to actively prevent species from becoming
at-risk in the first place.
One key component to defining and legally identifying the critical
My goal is to help you reach yours
habitat of a species at risk is proving a species occurs in an area (i.e.,
a confirmed sighting or identification of the species). Sightings of
species can be provided to Environment Canada, Department of
Benefit from a one-on-one relationship with a
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and/or Parks Canada, who are the
dedicated professional Investment Advisor.
agencies responsible for writing recovery strategies for species at risk.
Data can also be provided to the BC Conservation Data Centre and
Receive sound financial advice while staying
regional and local governments to ensure all levels are aware of the
involved in the key decisions about your portfolio.
information.
Naturalists can and already do play a vital role in providing this
B. Kevin Neill, BA
essential information to various levels of government, as well as
Investment Advisor
undertaking on-the-ground conservation efforts. As a community,
604-482-8309
we have an important role in continuing to identify and advocate
1-888-668-9966 (toll-free)
for the protection of critical habitat for species at risk in the areas
we visit, know, and value. For guidance, naturalists should review
[email protected]
Environment Canada’s three-year recovery document posting plan
Birder, Naturalist, Environmentalist
to assess which species will have recovery strategies written in the
Socially responsible investing available
coming years so they can contribute the most current information.
Once final, recovery strategies are not likely to be updated for fiveyears, which can be a long time for a species that faces threats to its
Now accepting new clients.
survival each day.
Start a conversation today.
It is clear the federal Government is falling short on its responsibility to protect and recover Canada’s species at risk. While these
species do not have a voice, naturalists are in an opportune position
to use theirs. The upcoming federal election is a critical opportunity
to vote and encourage others to vote for a representative and party
that will take action to protect and improve the status of species at
TD Wealth Private Investment Advice is a division of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.
TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. – Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. ®/ The TD logo and other trade-marks
risk in BC and Canada. 1
S
are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or a wholly-owned subsidiary, in Canada and/or other countries.
Fall 2015 BCnature
31
Spotlight on a BC Nature Federated Club
Vermillion Forks Field Naturalists
By Janis Wright
he Similkameen Valley is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, and we, the
T
Vermillion Forks Field Naturalists (VFFN) members are most fortunate in
our location, as Princeton enjoys a dry and sunny climate, with both the Si-
milkameen and Tulameen rivers flowing through the area. We are surrounded
by countless lakes, rolling grasslands, forested highlands and snow- covered
mountain peaks, settings which offer abundant birding and wildlife viewing,
with a multitude of diverse hiking opportunities.
VFFN boasts approximately 75 members who range in age from pre-teens
to octogenarians. Our club originated 24 years ago under the expert hands
of Madelon Schouten, who still serves on the executive as chairperson of our
Swan Lake committee. Swan Lake is a 57-hectare wildlife and bird sanctuary
just north of town, restored and maintained by our club since 1998. The refuge
is home to or visited by 128 species of birds, as well as turtles, salamanders,
bears, badgers, weasels, and more. Each May our club’s participation in the
Meadowlark Nature Festival includes a birding excursion along the trails of
this little paradise.
Our club includes an enthusiastic team of hummingbird banders who spend
several days each week from April through September trapping, banding and
Our hiking group at the Keremeos Columns
collecting data from four species of hummingbirds: Rufous, Calliope, BlackChinned, and Anna’s.
Sue Elwell heads the group, under the direction of Alison Moran
of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Victoria, with the goal of
conservation. The team has been most successful in their mission,
hosting a weekend workshop this spring, and banding more than
1100 hummingbirds this season. Of note was an Anna's that was
banded here in 2013 and recaptured this year on Grouse Mountain.
in North Vancouver.
Club meetings are held once a month, with the exception of July
and August. A guest speaker follows the short meeting, with presentations on a variety of topics that range from fossils, birds and geology to animal tracks, butterflies and river systems. Our meetings are
convivial affairs, open to the public, with refreshments and casual
conversation offered after each talk. December’s meeting is always
preempted by a festive Christmas party!
Also open
VFFN hummingbird banding program
to the public
are our field trips, which are held twice a month - more often during
the summer. These popular outings range in degree of difficulty, and
may be as easy as a stroll along a riverbed or as challenging as a strenuous climb up an alpine mountain. Many are educational, as our club
is lucky enough to include well informed members on the subjects of
birds, mushrooms, wildflowers, animal tracks, butterflies and geology.
We find that snowshoeing is a great way to enjoy the winter months,
and traditionally plan at least one moonlight snowshoe trek each year!
VFFN is an active group, and has recently launched a website to keep
our members and the general public well-informed - this may be viewed
at www.vffn.ca. Our club welcomes visits from BC Nature members or
BC Nature clubs located elsewhere in the province. Come and sample
what Princeton has to offer!! 1
Rufous Hummingbird getting fitted with a band
BCnature is published four times a year by the FBCN,1620 Mount Seymour Road, North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9
Publications Mail No. 41804027