www.saltspringconservancy.ca

Number 64 The Newsletter of the Conservancy Summer 2017

Protecting Isabella Point

Isabella Point—an historic and much-treasured Salt Spring covenants (690 acres) on the island. Conservation covenants south-end promontory—is now permanently protected by a are placed permanently on title and require current as well as voluntary conservation covenant. future landowners to protect the ecological features of a piece Landowner Basil Franey treasures the moss-covered rocky of land. The covenant holders are responsible for monitoring bluffs and rugged shoreline of the point and has worked the covenants and ensuring that the provisions are honoured. with the Conservancy and Fund to develop a In the Islands Trust area, through the Natural Areas covenant to preserve this special place on the island. The land Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEP), approved also includes Douglas-fir, cedar, maple and arbutus trees, and conservation covenants can convey a 65% reduction in it harbours several Species at Risk, most notably the Peregrine property taxes on the protected portion of the land. In Falcon and Band-tailed Pigeon. The rare Sharp-tailed Snake addition, the federal Ecological Gifts Program conveys has also been located nearby. important income and capital gain tax benefits for qualifying The Conservancy now holds 17 conservation covenants on covenants. Please contact the Conservancy if you would like Salt Spring (798 acres), and the Islands Trust Fund holds 23 to explore the possibility of a covenant on your land. 2 The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Conservancy AGM June 10 students. The Centre educates its guests about the importance of the land and the adjoining Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve in You are welcomed to attend the Conservancy’s Annual General protecting the environment and Blackburn Lake as a source of Meeting on Saturday, June 10. Aside from the formal AGM potable water. Recently, they installed a bat house to encourage elements starting at 1:30 pm, the day will also include a special bat populations and are considering other options to enhance presentation by Bob Weeden (3 pm) about his 57 years of wildlife habitat. engagement in conservation. At 4 pm, the Board will host a special reception to thank and honour Bob for his 22 years of If you are a landowner interested in joining the Stewardship service on the Conservancy Board, as he is stepping down to Agreement program and would like a site visit by one of the focus on his reading, writing and apple farming and to enjoy a Conservancy’s biologists, please contact our office. We can bit more leisurely life. arrange a visit and provide you with recommendations to care for and steward your land. The brief AGM will include remarks from Board President John Borst, a review of 2016 financial statements by Treasurer Lionel Johnson, an overview of 2016 accomplishments by Executive Board candidates Director Christine Torgrimson, a summary of the revised At the June 10 AGM, members will have the opportunity to Conservancy bylaws by Vice President Ashley Hilliard and elect two new members to the Conservancy board of directors. election of new board members. The Board was particularly interested in seeking women As a member, you will be asked to vote on acceptance of the candidates and younger candidates, ideally with young families. financial statements, adoption of the revised bylaws (a requirement Gail Bryn-Jones and Sam FitzZaland are running for the two of BC’s new Societies Act) and election of new board members. new Board positions. Members and supporters are invited to attend any or all of the Gail Bryn-Jones | Gail loves taking kids June 10 events. If you plan to come to the 4 pm reception, into nature and bringing nature to kids. A please RSVP by June 1 to [email protected] so teacher on Salt Spring for almost 30 years we can have plenty of appies and drinks on hand! and a BC wilderness guide for over 10, her passion and care for the outdoors comes from a lifetime of canoeing, backpacking, Salt Spring Centre of Yoga joins sailing and skiing. Stewardship Agreement program Gail did her undergrad and professional years at UBC and The Conservancy has completed a master’s degree in Language and Literacy at UVic in welcomed the newest 2015. She has taught middle school French Immersion and has landowners to join a been Administrator at the Centre School. Now she teaches water growing number of monitoring of Ganges Creek and describes beaver habitat at the island landowners Blackburn Reserve to Grade 4 and 5 students in her nature-based participating in its class at Salt Spring Elementary. voluntary Stewardship Gail began volunteering with the Conservancy a decade ago on Agreement program. the Education Committee. Since then she’s seen you at an AGM, a The Salt Spring Centre fundraiser or a bat or bird talk, and probably washed your coffee of Yoga will steward its mug, too. Last year, she helped with Blackburn Creek restoration 65-acre property to help and painting the storage shed. Gail would be pleased to serve on conserve nature for local the Conservancy Board. Brian Hutchings and Rajani Rock are members wildlife. Sam FitzZaland | Sam FitzZaland is the of the Salt Spring Centre Stewardship Committee. | Photo: Laura Matthias Brian Hutchings, who co-owner and general manager for Green has been involved in City Builders on Salt Spring Island. He the Centre since its inception in 1982, is part of the Salt Spring built the Conservancy’s multi-use, energy- Centre Stewardship Committee and the Elders Group that efficient building completed in 2015. Sam oversee the property activities. is passionate about green building practices The Salt Spring Centre has stewarded its land in many ways and, whenever possible, incorporates over the years and continues to do so. Brian highlights the energy-efficient elements into his building projects. successful organic garden project, which focuses on growing Sam earned an MBA from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, then worked without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and the committee’s as a project manager for an affordable housing developer in plans for a “food forest,” which will minimize cultivation for a Oakland, California. He has worked in a management capacity sizeable area. Most of the former farm fields are being left fallow on large residential housing developments in Silicon Valley and in to provide habitat for wildlife and rejuvenate the soil. The Whistler. He moved his family and business to Salt Spring in 2013. Centre is also controlling invasive plant species. A lover of the outdoors, Sam enjoys sailing, biking and hiking. He A low-impact trail along Cusheon Creek helps the Centre is excited about the potential opportunity to contribute to the Salt monitor the creek environment with the help of Centre School Spring Conservancy in a board capacity for the next 2 years. SUMMER 2017 3

Citizen scientists befriending birds and butterflies

From left: Barn Swallow, Dun Skipper | Photos: Laura Matthias

Our Citizen Science project has been launched! Over two As with the other butterfly teams, she’ll walk the same path, dozen volunteers have been trained in butterfly, bee and bird with little deviation, in the same direction once a month to do identification and in data recording, and they started gathering the official data recording. Transects are walked only when the data this May. temperature is above 18 to 20°C with no wind or rain. Linda Gilkeson, PhD, is an entomologist with a particular Veronica Norbury, MSc, is a wildlife biologist who provided interest in butterflies and other pollinators. She has carefully formal basic training on bird identification by sight and trained 10 volunteer scientists in the identification of butterflies. song and on reporting protocols. Experienced birders were In the old days, entomologists would catch and pin the paired with new birders, and these pairs began walking their butterflies for positive identification. Nowadays, however, designated routes on May 8 and May 15 at sunrise, with two scientists either record sightings or, when possible, gently catch more dates in June. butterflies in a net, use a magnifying glass for identification if Diana Symons, one of necessary and then let them go. According to Linda, Salt Spring the volunteers who was has about two dozen species of butterflies, and most are native, willing to bird watch before so they’re easy to tell apart for the trained eye. 6 am, received both the

bird identification and Gloria Dorworth is one of butterfly training. She has the butterfly volunteers trained by Linda. Since a great interest in ecology her childhood, she has and the outdoors and saw had a fascination with and this as an opportunity compassion for insects, to learn more and meet especially butterflies and other like-minded people spiders, and birds as can be Diana Symons | Photo: Coreen Boucher with varying degrees of seen in her artwork. knowledge. With her citizen scientist In June and July, the citizen scientists will summarize their partner, Gloria will walk a data before giving a public presentation at the Art & Nature Gloria Dorworth transect in Duck Creek Park, Fest at Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve. The Citizen Science Photo: Coreen Boucher which is close to her home. Initiative was funded by the Salt Spring Island Foundation. 4 The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Thirteen new species identified on Salt Spring Island

Hans Roemer taking a closer look at rare mosses and lichens with a hand lens. Above: Carrina Maslovat monitoring plants on Mt. Maxwell. Photo: Laura Matthias Below: Carolina Meadow-foxtail | Photos: Laura Matthias Salt Spring Island is more unique and special than you might Carolina Meadow-foxtail was found in know. The island falls within the imperiled Douglas-fir pools that hold water at certain times biogeoclimatic zone, of which less than 1% remains in near of the year. These types of habitats natural old-growth condition. We look out our back door and see are hotspots for rare plants adapted to Douglas-fir, arbutus and Garry oak trees, but these habitats exist changing moisture patterns. within a tiny area on the southwest coast of Canada, and Salt Slender-spiked Mannagrass was found at Spring Island is fortunate to be in that area. Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve before last The island has 34 rare ecosystems internationally recognized as fall’s wetland restoration work. Care was important for conservation and over 100 rare species. In some taken to work around it and integrate it cases, Salt Spring is the only known location for a particular into the new wetland habitat. species, making local habitat protection even more important. Monitoring for rare species can provide important information to Conservancy staff and consultants have the opportunity to landowners that is useful for minimizing damage to rare species work with landowners in the field to monitor some of these and their habitats. If you want to help protect these rare habitats interesting species. With a team of talented botanists including and species, sign up for a stewardship visit to your land. Over 60 Ryan Batten, Carrina Maslovat and Hans Roemer, 13 new species other landowners have signed voluntary Stewardship Agreements were identified in 2016 that had not been recorded before on to help protect and care for habitat on their land. Salt Spring, including three flowering plants (Carolina Meadow- Please contact us to see what rare gems might live with you foxtail, Slender-spiked Mannagrass, and Macrae’s Clover), ([email protected]). We are grateful to the one liverwort (Orobus-seed Liverwort) and 9 lichens: Seaside Government of Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program, Wildlife tarpaper, Concentric Vinyl, Pacific Tarpaper, Carbuncular Toad, Habitat Canada, and Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation Mourning Phlegm, Streaked Horsehair, Least Reindeer, Starfish for their generous support of the Conservancy’s conservation Vinyl and Texas Balloonwort. projects. SUMMER 2017 5

Listening to the sea, looking to the future: “Clam garden” restoration in the Restoring intertidal ecosystems in partnership with Coast Salish Nations

The Northern clingfish (left) and Helmet crab (right) are two of the “strange” creatures found in intertidal ecosystems. Photo left: I. R. Reid/Parks Canada, Photo right: Skye Augustine

For most of us, the interface between land and sea is a strange and For thousands of years, Coastal First Nations people have managed unfamiliar place. Yet, despite our lack of understanding of this intertidal ecosystems using an ancient form of mariculture: the mysterious world, our actions can have dramatic impacts on the cultivation of marine life and spaces. Through the construction of health and integrity of intertidal ecosystems. rock walls, sustainable harvest and a variety of beach management methods (e.g., tilling or “turning-over” sediment), First Nations people along the Pacific Coast—from the Alaska Panhandle to Managing the intertidal the Salish Sea—have learned to manipulate beaches to support larger, healthier populations of culturally significant species such as octopi, urchins and shellfish. At least a thousand years ago, Coast Salish ancestors constructed a rock wall on the western side of Fulford Harbour, running parallel to shore. Over time, loose sediment became trapped on the landward side of this wall, infilling the beach and transforming the once sloped shore into a flattened terrace, thereby creating the perfect habitat conditions for important food, trade and ceremonial species, including butter and little neck clams. In the academic community, these complex mariculture systems are sometimes referred to as “clam gardens.” Hul’qumi’num Elders refer to the practice as “caring for beaches.” For thousands of Coastal First Nations have used a suite of tools and techniques to manage years, the act of caring for and tending clam gardens has changed intertidal ecosystems for thousands of years. Pictured here is a classic “clam the topography of the coastline and has likely influenced the garden,” a flat beach with a rock wall at the low tide line. structure and function of intertidal ecosystems all along the Pacific Lee Truman, Parks Canada Northwest coast of what is now known as North America. 6 The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

An eco-cultural project Human activity can have dramatic effects on intertidal ecosystems. Pollution, overfishing and the effects of climate change are some of many factors influencing the health and integrity of all of the world’s marine environments, including intertidal ecosystems. The restoration of clam gardens could be an instrumental first step in having humans return to their role as stewards of the oceans. By looking to the past and listening to the teachings practiced by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, the strange and wonderful world of the intertidal could thrive once again in the Salish Sea.

What can you do?

The Fulford Harbour clam garden was constructed at least 1700 years ago by Coast Salish ancestors. | Photo: I. R. Reid/Parks Canada

In partnership with Hul’qumi’num and nations, the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR) is examining the impact of the ancient mariculture techniques on intertidal ecosystems in southern Gulf Islands. Guided by Coast Salish traditional knowledge and informed by science, the Clam Garden Restoration Project is restoring two clam garden sites: one at Fulford Harbour and another at Russell Island. Under the guidance of Elders and knowledge holders, Parks Canada is working alongside Coast Salish communities to rebuild the rock walls and care for the beaches. By incorporating technologies and practices used successfully by First Nations Skye Augustine, Coordinator of the Clam Garden Project, educating young people for thousands of years, the project hopes to strengthen stewards on the different intertidal species found at Fulford Harbour. the suite of tools available to resource managers and, with Photo: Hugo Wong/Parks Canada time, improve the ecological condition of intertidal ecosystems.

Moreover, Parks Canada also hopes to provide more meaningful Interested in protecting intertidal ecosystems in the Salish Sea? opportunities for Coast Salish peoples to reconnect with their Here are four ways you can help: traditional practices in the GINPR. • Keep our oceans clean. Be wary of what liquids and chemicals you pour down your sinks. Human influence • Respect harvesting and fishing regulations, and take only what you need. • Organize or participate in beach cleanups. • Leave shells at the beach. They could be the future home of crab or clam “spat” (juvenile clams).

Interested in learning more? For more information about clam gardens, or the Clam Garden Restoration Project, please visit: The Clam Garden Network: https://clamgarden.com/ Clam Garden Restoration Project: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ bc/gulf/natcul/natcul6/natcul6b.aspx

Workers and volunteers from Coast Salish communities are rebuilding the Article prepared by: Kelly Forbes, Outreach and Interpretation with rock walls at Fulford Harbour and Russell Island. the Clam Garden Restoration Project Photo: I. R. Reid/Parks Canada SUMMER 2017 7

Art & Nature Fest: Connecting people and wild places

We are pleased to announce the Art & Nature Fest at The festival’s steering committee welcomes your Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve! This 3-day event will be imaginative ideas for individual and collaborative held on July 1 and 2 and August 7. performances or workshops that forge connections With generous funding from the Department of Canadian between art and nature. Those selected will receive a small Heritage to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, we are honorarium. Download proposal forms and find more info creating an entertaining, educational and interactive at http://saltspringconservancy.ca/art-and-nature-fest celebration. You will be able to attend workshops, go on interpretative walks, dance, create art, walk a labyrinth, listen to music or partake in many other opportunities. All of this for free!

Funded by the Government of Canada. Financé par le gouvernement du Canada.

WE THANK OUR FUNDERS The Pinch Group at Raymond James The Government of Canada’s Community Support: Wisteria Guest House Ltd. Habitat Stewardship Program Stewards in Training School Program: for Species at Risk Armand Heights B&B National Wetland Conservation Fund Coast Alive Ecological Services The Province of Country Grocer School District #64 Islands Trust Fund Fraser Thimble Farms TD Friends of the Environment Nature Trust of BC Gatehouse Lodge B&B Thrifty Foods Smile Card Program NAV Canada Salt Spring Island Conservancy Green City Builders Stewardship, Land Acquisition Public Conservation Office: 265 Blackburn Road Harry Bardal Graphic Design Assistance Fund Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2B8 Hedgerow House B&B and Species at Risk: Hours: 10–4, Monday–Thursday Highgarden B&B BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Salt Spring Island Foundation Phone: 250/538-0318 Polster Environmental Services Natural Resource Operations Many wonderful private donors Fax: 250/538-0319 Salt Spring Carriage House B&B BC Parks Enhancement Fund [email protected] SS Exchange Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation www.saltspringconservancy.ca Sunnyside Guest Suite Registered Charity No.: 89006 Sunset Solace Cottage 3977 RR0001 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Christine Torgrimson Salt Spring Island Conservancy Membership Application Donations $ In addition to my membership fee, BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Youth (Under 16) 1 yr @ 15 John Borst (President) $ $ I have enclosed my donation in the Ashley Hilliard (Vice President) Senior / Low-Income: 1 yr @ 20 3 yr @ 60 amount of: $ $ Lionel Johnson (Treasurer) Regular Single 1 yr @ 25 3 yr @ 75 $ $ $ Susan Higginbotham (Secretary) 50 500 5000 Regular Family 1 yr @ $35 3 yr @ $105 Bob Weeden (Past President) $100 $1000 Other Brian Lawson Group/School 1 yr @ $35 3 yr @ $105 Derek Melton $250 $2500 Kees Ruurs Business 1 yr @ $55 3 yr @ $165 Dave Secord Tax receipts will be provided for Debby Wetmore Name(s): ______donations of $20 or more. ADVISORS: Carol Biely Address: ______Please send me member email Linda Gilkeson ______updates. Philip Grange Please send me the Acorn via e-mail. Acorn Editing Team: Postal Code: ______(We NEVER give out members’ e-mail addresses!) Coreen Boucher Phone:______Susan Dann Please contact me about becoming a Christine Torgrimson E-mail(s):______monthly donor Acorn Design: Harry Bardal 8 The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Arctic Skipper

Photos of a rarely seen species of butterfly, the Arctic Skipper, was captured by Simon Henson in late May at the Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve. This is encouraging news in a year marked to date by the appearance of few native butterflies, perhaps caused by the unusually harsh winter and late spring. The yellow-listed Arctic Skipper (subspp. magnus) is known along the southeast coast of and from Denman Island, but not officially recorded on Salt Spring or seen by the Conservancy. Its habitat is moist meadows and streamsides and the caterpillars eat grasses, while the adults sip flower nectar—all to be found at the Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve. This is the first of what we hope will be many interesting observations as part of the Conservancy’s Citizen Science project to record butterflies in Salt Spring’s nature reserves and other areas.

Arctic Skipper | Photo:Simon Henson

Salt Spring Island Conservancy 265 Blackburn Road Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2B8