gulf Islands Ecosystem Community Atlas British Columbia Chapter CPAWS Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Project Coordinator: Disclaimer: Dora Repard, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter All data herein are provided without warranty of any kind. The user assumes the entire risk as to the quality of the data. No guarantees of accuracy or precision are made and the Canadian Parks and Writers: Wilderness Society and all data contributors to the Gulf Islands Ecosystem Community Atlas do not Judith Shapiro, Consultant accept liability for any damages or misrepresentation caused by inaccuracies in the data, nor is there responsibility assumed to maintain the data in any manner or form or for any period of time. Corrie Leung, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter Natural features can be complex to describe and often change in position or character over time. As a Shannon Denny, Geological Survey of Canada result, the maps contained in this atlas are representations only and are not necessarily positionally Murray Journeay, Geological Survey of Canada accurate or defi nitively correct. Editor: Lot boundaries displayed on the maps in Part Four have evolved from a variety of data sources and are under constant update and refi nement. The lot boundaries on these maps cannot be considered to have Lucy Kenward, Consultant consistent positional accuracy and are best viewed as general guidelines only. Photographers: In no event shall the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society or any of the data contributors to the Gulf Todd Carnahan, Judith Hammond, Virginia Hayes, Sabine Jessen, Chris Junck, Elisabeth McColl, Islands Ecosystem Community Atlas be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or special Denise Sturmwind damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profi ts or benefi ts arising out of use of or reliance on the data. Map Design: Dora Repard, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter Publication Design: Roger Handling, Terra Firma Digital Arts Printing: Quest Point Enterprises Copyright: © 2005 Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter Contents I NTRODUCTION ............................................. 5 PART ONE: THE SOUTHERN GULF ISLANDS 7 PART TWO: PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 11 G EOLOGY ............................................... 12 S OILS ................................................... 22 G ROUNDWATER ......................................... 30 PART THREE: SPECIES & BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES 41 E COLOGICALLY IMPORTANT AREAS .................... 42 B IODIVERSITY ........................................... 45 E COSYSTEM MAPPING .................................. 54 S ENSITIVE ECOSYSTEM INVENTORY .................... 62 PART FOUR: CULTURAL ISSUES 71 H UMAN PRESENCE & ALTERED LANDSCAPES ......... 72 M ETADATA APPENDIX ..................................... 83 GULF ISLANDS Ecosystem Community Atlas 3 Top left: Female rufous hummingbird. © toddcarnahan.com Top right: View over the Strait of Georgia from Saturna Island. Elisabeth McColl Right: A damsel fl y warms itself on a stalk of grass. © toddcarnahan.com Introduction – The Community Atlas Project From 2002 to 2004, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society embarked on an public planning processes in and around national parks. For example, national exciting project working with local groups, individuals and agencies involved in park management planning, local and regional planning all solicit participation land management around four of Canada’s national parks: St. Lawrence Islands from the public. National Park and Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario, Riding Mountain The challenge now will be to keep the information in these atlases up to date. We National Park in Manitoba and Gulf Islands National Park Reserve in British welcome your continued input into the atlases, and welcome suggestions on how Columbia. Our objective was to gather information about the regions surround- we can continue to update the valuable work that we have done together. ing the national parks, to compile this information into community conservation atlases and to present these atlases in a way that will contribute to local policy development and land use that supports the ecological integrity of the national parks at the core of these landscapes. This atlas is one of the four that resulted from the project. We now know that the long-term ecological health of our national parks depends not only on how lands within park borders are managed, but also on what happens in the surrounding region, referred to sometimes as the greater park eco- system. In other words, activities both inside and outside national parks have an impact on how well parks can protect plants, animals and ecological processes. Although we have used the technical tools of geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze and present the data in a map form, this project has been much Garry oak meadow. In Canada, the Garry oak ecosystem is more than a GIS project. It has been about working collaboratively to determine found only in British Columbia and is limited to southwestern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and two what information is needed to manage the landscape around a national park in small stands in the Fraser Valley. Chris Junck a way that is supportive of healthy park ecosystems and healthy communities. It The Southern Gulf Islands Ecosystem Atlas has been about involving people who live in the greater ecosystems of national parks and ensuring that the atlases meet the needs of the individuals, agencies The Southern Gulf Islands Ecosystem Atlas was produced in partnership with and organizations who will use it in their work and their voluntary activities. Parks Canada, and focuses on the terrestrial ecosystems of the islands. A marine atlas of the Southern Strait of Georgia has also been produced by Parks Canada With this in mind, we involved local groups, agencies and individuals from the and includes information about the waters surrounding the Gulf Islands. very beginning. Before we produced any maps, we talked to people, soliciting ideas about what information would be useful in a community conservation atlas, The Southern Gulf Islands Ecosystem Atlas has four sections. Part One introduces the how it could be presented and how it might be used. We consulted on what data Southern Gulf Islands ecosystem, including its location, climate and general were available to build the atlas. The information that was generously provided ecology. Part Two describes physical aspects of the area, including its geology, by many people at many stages of the project is an absolutely essential part of the soils and groundwater. Information about the region’s specifi c ecology, including its sensitive areas, plant and animal species and ecosystem classifi cation, is fi nal atlas that is presented here. included in Part Three. Finally, using cadastral (property boundaries) and land- We envision that this atlas could be used to inform government planning and ownership information, Part Four outlines current human presence on the land. policy development directly, and to help citizens and groups participate in GULF ISLANDS Ecosystem Community Atlas 5 About CPAWS Pierre Iachetti, Nature Conservancy Canada Murray Journeay, Geological Survey of Canada The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is a non-profi t charitable Jan Kirkby, Canadian Wildlife Service conservation organization that has been working to conserve nature since 1963. Brett Korteling, Islands Trust We are a grassroots organization with twelve regional chapters and a national Judy Kwan, Environment Canada offi ce. Since it was founded in 1978, the British Columbia chapter has played a Greg MacMillan, Parks Canada lead role in establishing and protecting wilderness areas across BC. We achieve Ken Millard, Galiano Conservancy Association our goals through advocacy, education and cooperative partnerships with Kathleen Moore, Canadian Wildlife Service environmental groups, industry, governments, First Nations and others. Ardice Neudorf, Islands Trust Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia Chapter Eva Riccius, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter 610–555 West Georgia Street Ian Scott, Ecotrust Canada Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 1Z6 Tara Sharma, Parks Canada Telephone: (604) 685-7445 • Fax: (604) 685-6449 Mark Stone, Decision Support Services, Ministry of Sustainable E-mail: [email protected] • Web site: www.cpawsbc.org Resource Management Brian Thom, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group Partners, Collaborators and Acknowledgements Peggy Ward, Canadian Wildlife Service The Southern Gulf Islands Ecosystem atlas was created by the BC chapter of the Alison Woodley, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) in partnership with Parks Sarah Wren, Nature Canada Canada. Data contributors to the project include the Islands Trust, Geological Survey of Canada Pacifi c Division, BC Conservation Data Centre, Decision Support Services Branch of the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, Canada Wildlife Service and Nature Conservancy Canada. The following individuals played an important role in creating this atlas: Linda Adams, Islands Trust Andrew Couturier, Bird Studies Canada Shannon Denny, Geological Survey of Canada Marta Donovan, BC Conservation Data Centre Michael Dunn, Canadian Wildlife Service Keith Ericson, Galiano Conservancy Association Shane Ford, BC Conservation Data Centre Todd Golumbia, Parks Canada Ron Hamilton, Parks Canada Bill