Handle with care

Spring 2009

New national park reserve protects fragile ecosystem

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

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by Hans Tammemagi

Hauled out on a small rocky islet, dozens of seals watched me warily with sad liquid eyes, their grey plump bodies poised to splash into the water at the slightest alarm. White gulls posed atop the outcrops. Groups of oystercatchers with their long orange beaks jostled near the waterline. My camera captured the elegant profile of a great blue heron silhouetted against the horizon.

My kayak drifted silently with the tidal current along the Java Islets on the southwest side of Saturna Island. Balancing a pair of binoculars in one hand and a camera in the other, I reveled in the teeming marine life. But I had to take care to stay at least 100 metres from the shore, for these islets are designated as a Special Preservation Area.

Under a deep blue sky, I’m enjoying my favorite pastime, paddling amongst the southern Gulf Islands off the west coast of British Columbia, one of the most beautiful and accessible archipelagos in the world. This area basks in Canada’s only Mediterranean climate. With the weather warm and dry in the summer and mild and moist in winter, a unique ecosystem has evolved with plants and animals that occur nowhere else in Canada.

But surrounded by three major cities (Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle), the fragile ecosystem is threatened by development and tourism. To protect this area, the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve was created in 2003 consisting of 15 islands and over 65 islets. Happily, it continues to grow as the park continues to acquire more property.

Ron Hamilton, the recently retired park superintendent, has been involved with the park since it was formed. He knows better than anyone why the park is special.

“For such a small area the diversity is incredible,” he says. “It has sandy and rocky beaches, arbutus and Garry oak trees and each island is distinctive.”

The unusual plants found here include many endangered and threatened species, including Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, the sharp-tailed snake, shellfish, ferns and killer whales.

“It is one of the most ecologically at-risk areas in Canada,” Hamilton says.

The Gulf Islands are folded into steep, forest-covered hills and valleys with rocky shorelines, steep headlands and offshore rocks and islets. Perched on exposed fractured bedrock in dry shallow soils, plants develop slowly on these crags.

If trampled, these ecosystems may not be able to recover for many years, if at all.

Todd Golumbia, the park ecologist, describes his favorite habitat.

“I love the temperate rain forests, which are deep and mysterious,” he says.

The fragile fawn lily is one of the many spring blooms found only in the Gulf Islands in Canada.

Towering, ram-rod-straight Douglas firs are the most common tree, but red-barked, gangling arbutus, the western red cedar, western hemlock and Garry oak are also common. Ferns, mushrooms, banana slugs and salal bushes populate the understorey. Many plants such as the Garry oak and arbutus trees are in the northern extreme of their habitat, making this one of the few places in Canada where they are found.

On the drier rocky ridges, there are open wildflower meadows and grassy hilltops. In spring, moist places burst into color with wildflowers including camas, stonecrop, white fawn lilies and chocolate lilies. Sometimes I am rewarded by a clutch of calypso (fairy slipper) orchids, which John Muir, the celebrated naturalist called “the rarest and most beautiful of the flowering plants.” Delicate and deliciously perfumed, they are one of six orchids found in the Gulf Islands. But with loss of habitat, they are rapidly being lost (I hold their locations a close secret).

Land animals include numerous deer, raccoons and even feral goats (on Saturna and Prevost islands). There are very few predators although black bears, cougars and wolves are (very) occasionally seen. Birds include bald eagles, which are icons of this area, great blue heron, falcons, turkey vultures, migratory and resident seabirds, shorebirds such as gulls, cormorants, black oystercatchers and pigeon guillemots.

Life under the water is just as diverse as that above. Fresh water from the Fraser River mixes with ocean waters that flood through Juan de Fuca and Haro straits to create a nutrient rich, highly productive marine environment. The rocky reefs, lush beds of bull kelp, protected bays, eelgrass meadows, estuaries and fast tidal flows between the many islands create homes for sea stars, crabs, anemones, sea urchins, barnacles, oysters and the Pacific octopus, the world’s largest. Other marine life includes seals, sea lions, river otters, harbour porpoise, Dall’s porpoise as well as summer visitors like minke, gray and humpback whales.

My favorite underwater creature is the killer whale. I dream of kayaking amongst a pod of orcas, their large smooth bodies rising and falling in the water, their tall dorsal fins towering over my kayak. But the killer whale population is dropping and they are on the endangered list. The cause of their plight is the same as that facing the Gulf Islands Park: too many humans. Salmon, their main food —and also the eagles’ — has decreased significantly, the orcas are being harassed by whale watching boats, and the waters are polluted with toxic chemicals.

Golumbia explains the problems he faces.

“Our job is a contradiction. We must promote recreation but we must also protect the park.”

He points out that the park is “porous” to the public – that is, it has no gate or entrance so there is no control over who comes and goes. And many visitors, unfortunately, have no idea what lands are part of the park and how very sensitive they are.

“Education is key,” he says. “We must make people aware of the uniqueness and fragility of this area.”

Golumbia also stresses that boaters and kayakers visiting the park should get maps and information from Parks Canada.

“It’s important to stay out of the Special Preservation Areas (the islets) and to leave no trace of your visit,” he says. “If in doubt, call us.”

Soon after, I paddle from Pender Island to Rum Island, one of the prettiest in the Park, with one stroke following another in a soothing hypnotic rhythm. A seal head pops out of the water and its large eyes watch my progress. As I pass Moresby Island “No Trespassing” signs glare down from the shore. I am happy that the National Park Reserve is protecting a little corner of this paradise.

Basics of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve

Basic camping areas: Beaumont, Pender Island; Cabbage Island; Narvaez Bay, Saturna Island; D’Arcy Island; Portland Island; James Bay, Prevost Island; Rum Island.

Moorage, mooring buoys &/or dinghy dock: Sidney Spit; Beaumont, Pender Island; Cabbage Island; Arbutus Point and Princess Bay, Portland Island.

Protect the Park: No campfires are permitted. Do not disturb or feed wildlife. Camp only in designated spots. Keep 100 metres from islets. Leave no trace of your visit.

Information: Get brochures, maps and information from Parks Canada at offices in Sidney, Pender Island, Saturna Island or call 250 654-4000 or 866 944-1744.

Online: Visit www.pc.gc.ca/gulf

Hans is a freelance writer and avid kayaker living on Pender Island. He has written seven books and is the environment columnist for the Vancouver Sun.