Issue #26 Spring 2007 NaturalA newsletter on how The Nature Trust works to conserve BC’sLegacy natural beauty Vaseux Lake, South Okanagan Vaseux Lake West hanks to the support of the Habitat Conservation Trust habitat for a number of threatened species, including California T Fund, the BC Trust for Public Lands and Nature Trust Bi ghorn Sh eep, Gopher Sn ake, Yellow-bellied Ra cer, White- donors, a 44.5 hectare (110 acre) property on the west side of headed Wo odpecker and Western Ra ttlesnake. It will help to Vaseux Lake in the South Okanagan has been conserved. ensure that spring and winter range remains available for The Nature Trust owns a network of properties in the immediate ungulates in the South Okanagan and will provide habitat vicinity of Vaseux Lake. This new acquisition consists of open for an increasing population of resident bighorn sheep. The forest/grassland including Ponderosa pine-Bluebunch grass property also provides a wildlife corridor between the Vaseux habitat and Antelope-brush. This property provides important Lake area and the White Lake Grasslands Protected Area. Buttertubs Marsh he Nanaimo Field Naturalists, the Nanaimo and Area T Land Trust, City of Nanaimo and The Nature Trust are working on the acquisition of a .4 hectare (1 acre) parcel at Buttertubs. This will be accomplished with the support of the local community, North Growth Foundation, TD Friends of the Environment, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, the Kaatza Foundation, the Nanaimo Community Foundation and the Federation of BC Naturalists Foundation. Buttertubs Marsh, located in the centre of Nanaimo, is known to area residents as a haven for wildlife and a quiet place to stroll around the wetlands. A circular walking trail enables visitors to observe wildlife in this beautiful setting. The 18.7-hectare (46-acre) Buttertubs Marsh Conservation Area is owned by The Nature Trust of BC and managed through agreement with the Province of BC, the City of Nanaimo and the Nanaimo Field Naturalists. Buttertubs Marsh, with a total area of approximately Buttertubs Marsh, Vancouver Island 40 hectares (100 acres), is the last large area of undeveloped land within a few kilometres of downtown. This wetland and floodplain wildlife habitat includes more than one kilometre ISSUE #26 FEATURES: of the Millstone River. Birds found in the marsh include From the Heart . 2 Wood Ducks, Barred Owls, Red-winged Blackbirds, Marsh Vancouver Island Marmots . 3 Wrens, Virginia Rails, Common Yellowthroats, and Willow Brant Wildlife Festival . 4 Flycatchers. Several amphibian species as well as beavers, Camp Slough . 7 deer, muskrats, mink and river otters use the area. 1-866-288-7878 ❉ www.naturetrust.bc.ca The Nature Trust of British Columbia ❉ 1 From the Heart By Andrew MacKay, Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP hen you give to charity on an annual basis, you receive W the charity’s immediate gratitude and recognition, the spiritual satisfaction that you are doing something positive to help the people and world around us, and an income tax receipt. When you make a charitable gift from your estate, you know you will not live to see the bequest paid and put to good use, nor the thank you card or recognition plaque, but you hope that some part of you will live on for the rest of “Planning a charitable gift can bring the family together” us to enjoy for years to come. Making your most substantial gifts to charity through your will is popular because you know that you will not need your worldly goods any more, and the donation receipt will coincide with the increased burden of the deferred income taxes triggered by death on RRSP’s, RRIF’s, recreational property and investment portfolios. For couples, the donation can be timed in the will to coincide with the death of the surviving spouse so that the surviving spouse has Gravel Reach, Fraser River. (Photo: Chris Armstrong) all assets available for his or her support, and the donation tax If you wish to be known by what you give rather than what credit becomes available when the majority of the taxes are you get in this life, then philanthropy is already part of your due, after the death of the surviving spouse. daily life. However, if you are not in a position during your lifetime to make a substantial donation, because you are afraid of outliving your wealth, then making a gift to charity in your will is a very unselfish way to give back to the people and the world around you some part of the life you enjoyed. A charitable gift in your will can give recognition to your family by creating a perpetual endowment bearing your family’s name, or you could commemorate a special person or place in your life with a gift in their name to a conservation based charity such as The Nature Trust of British Columbia. The charity is happy to recognize its donor’s contribution and generosity in a way that is meaningful to the donor’s family and friends. Planning a charitable gift can bring the family together in the selection of the appropriate cause, which reflects the family’s values and aspirations. With a gift to The Nature Trust of British Columbia, that reflection may include a view of the mighty Fraser River or tranquil coastal wetlands Francis Point, Sunshine Coast where you and your loved ones once spent a sunny day. Making a Difference in Conservation im and Mary Borrowman of Stubbs at the mouth of the Tsitika River in the JIsland Whale Watching have been middle of the reserve. This facilitated the gracious hosts for a number of tours from expansion of the ecological reserve from Telegraph Cove on northern Vancouver a marine reserve to include adjacent Island to support the work of The Nature land that has now been expanded to Trust (see Thanksgiving Tour on page 5). over 500 hectares (1,235 acres). The The Borrowmans had an essential role Borrowmans aid in the identification of in the formation of the Robson Bight killer whales, the creation of educational (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve where programs and an interpretive centre, killer whales go to feed on salmon and the sponsorship of research and the rub on smooth pebble beaches. The development of policy to formalize Nature Trust acquired a key property wildlife viewing guidelines. Jim and Mary Borrowman. (Photo: Peter Jucker) 2 ❉ The Nature Trust of British Columbia www.naturetrust.bc.ca ❉ 1-866-288-7878 Data Collection Team rom mid-April to mid-September, a new natural features, and disturbances, such Fdata collection team will be traveling as fire, trails, roads, and buildings will to Vancouver Island, the East Kootenay also be recorded spatially. and the South Okanagan to collect baseline This team is a joint initiative of the ecological information on 25 to 30 Nature Ministry of Environment and The Trust properties. In subsequent years Nature Trust. The team will provide additional properties in these and other rigorous training and field experience regions of BC will be reviewed. for four candidates recruited under the The focus of the ecological data BC Conservation Corps program under collection will be on the vegetation that the supervision of The Nature Trust’s occurs at specific points in each property. Ecosystem Specialist and regional Plant species along with their physical Conservation Land Managers. Te am characteristics will be measured. Other members will be encouraged to apply data will include sightings of fish and for potential employment opportunities wildlife species, along with any indication with the BC Ministry of Environment, that a species has been present on the Canadian Wildlife Service or Fisheries property (e.g. nests, burrows, wildlife tree and Oceans Canada after the season is use). Geological landforms, permanent completed. Data collection at Rock Creek, South Okanagan Vancouver Island Marmots Kudos for Are Making a Comeback! Corporate Support! By Robert Huber Thank you to Talisman Energy Inc. for he Marmot Recovery Foundation generously donating $15,000 a year for T has come a long way towards the next three years to The Nature Trust. reaching its goal of restoring Canada’s This funding will help to support our most endangered mammal, the Peace River Conservation Youth Crew. Vancouver Island Ma rmot, back to Talisman is an oil and gas company sustainable levels in the wild. We have headquartered in Calgary that strongly had significant successes the past three supports activities in communities where years in our captive breeding program it operates. Talisman joins BC Hydro and in our reintroduction efforts. We and title sponsor HSBC Bank Canada in have effectively tripled the population supporting this crew. of Vancouver Island Ma rmots from just over 70 when the Foundation was begun in 1998 to over 210 today. Since 2004, 130 Vancouver Island Vancouver Island Marmot. (Photo: Oli Gardner) Ma rmot pups were born in captivity number of sources including The Nature while 27 pups were born in the wild. This Trust of BC, the Provincial Government, higher than expected number of births TimberWest Forestry Co., Weyerhaeuser HSBC Bank Canada is providing has enabled us to accelerate our release and Island Timberlands, and from the $2,000 in 2007 for showcasing Nature effort; in 2006 we released 29 marmots public. We are also grateful to Mount Trust conservation lands as part of the back into their natural habitat from Washington Alpine Resort for its Science in Action Program designed captivity. To date, we have released 57 donation of land on which the Tony to encourage school students to be marmots, with plans to release another Barrett Mount Washington Marmot more active while learning about the 35 to 40 in 2007.