Current Coastal Projects
Rivers Inlet, Wannock River Estuary
Rivers Inlet cuts about 50 km into the central coast just north of the tip of Vancouver Island, terminating in the estuary of the Wannock River. Only 5 km upstream, the Wannock River opens onto Owikeno Lake which extends another 50 km inland. Together, Rivers Inlet, the Wannock River and Owikeno Lake form a deep fjord that snakes 100 km into the coast mountains.
Sockeye and other species of salmon migrate up the Wannock and spawn in the tributaries of Owikeno Lake. Until recently the Wannock had one of the largest sockeye runs in the province. (A discussion of the collapse of the sockeye fishery in Rivers Inlet, and the research supported by the Tula Foundation to analyze the causes of that collapse and other ecological phenomena are presented elsewhere on this website.) For many thousands of years, the Wuikinuxv (Owikeno) First Nation has occupied the Wannock estuary and the shores of Owikeno Lake. Their economy and culture were based on the sockeye.
During the peak years of the commercial fishery there were 12 canneries in Rivers Inlet, including several near the Wannock estuary. Later, as the fish processing industry became centralized and concentrated elsewhere, the Rivers Inlet canneries were abandoned one by one, and now only a few pilings and decaying wharfs remain.
Beginning in the 1960's the Rivers Inlet watershed was logged extensively. Until very recently the headquarters of logging operations were located on the Wannock estuary. Fig. 3 shows the lands owned by the logging company and their relationship to the Wuikinuxv reserve. When these private lands became available for purchase, the Tula Foundation financed their acquisition by the BC chapter of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The acquired lands are by no means pristine wilderness. Some sections show the impact of many years of industrial activity. Nevertheless, the area remains rich in biodiversity, including grizzly bears, showing its critical importance to the entire Rivers Inlet watershed.
The Tula Foundation has made a long term commitment to support the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Wuikinuxv First Nation in their stewardship of the estuary. This first year the parties are beginning baseline surveys of the ecosystem and developing remediation and management plans.
Campbell River Estuary
In 1999, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and the City of Campbell River (on the central east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia) joined forces to purchase an island in the centre of the Campbell River estuary known as Baikie Island, and a portion of the adjacent foreshore. After surveying and planning, restoration crews ripped up concrete, excavated more than 38,000 cubic metres of fill, restrored the shoreline to its natural contours, dug two new back channels, and replanted native vegetation in marsh and riparian areas. Today the Baikie Island Reserve is a great example of how swiftly an industrialized landscape can be brought back to health.
NCC's success with the Baikie Island Reserve was only the first step in a long term plan to reclaim the Campbell River Estuary. In the fall of 2007 the NCC and the City of Campbell River saw an opportunity to add to the restoration project, when the waterfront property of the defunct Ocean Blue Cedar Shake Mill became available. The Tula Foundation provided the bulk of the funds needed to complete this acquisition.
Although the Ocean Blue property has been badly compromised by industrial activity, it will be slowly restored to health. The site is ecologically important due to its proximity to Baikie Island and its influence on the intertidal area at the head of the estuary. NCC will restore the original marsh shoreline, and uncover a fish-bearing stream that lies buried under industrial rubble.
Once the conservation plan for the property is complete and a conservation covenant has been completed, NCC will transfer the restoration lands to the City of Campbell River. Restoration will be a joint undertaking with the City, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Discovery Coast Greenways Land Trust, and the local community.
Read the project description on the Nature Conservancy of Canada website, which includes links to local press coverage. A recent article in the Vancouver Province highlights this next phase of the Campbell River project.
New Projects
We have recently two new major coastal projects in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada:
Ellerslie Lake, British Columbia Central Coast.
Kumdis Estuary, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).
Details will be provided soon.
Fig. 1. Location of Rivers Inlet, north of Vancouver Island
Fig. 2. Rivers Inlet (to the left of the red box) and Owikeno Lake (to the right)
Fig. 3. The Wannock River links Rivers Inlet to Owikeno Lake. Red boxes show approximate boundaries of acquired land; green boxes show approximate boundaries of Owikeno First Nation land. Other land belongs to the Crown. (Black areas are shadows.)
