Skagit Bird Blitz – May 9 – 11, 2014 (Further information in Spring Magazine)
Deadline to apply for Rene Savenye Scholarship by May 30, 2013
Manning Park Bird Blitz – June 20 – 22, 2014 (Information in Spring Magazine)
FGM 2014 – Hosted by the Shuswap Naturalists – September 25 – 28, 2014. Salmon & Shorebirds – Incredible Journey
AGM 2014 – Victoria, BC – your hosts Victoria Natural History Society and the Rocky Point Bird Observatory
“Registration is now open for ‘Coastal Connections’ the Annual General Meeting of BC Nature to be held in Victoria May 1 – 4, 2014, hosted by the Rocky Point Bird Observatory and the Victoria Natural History Society – Link here . There will be a wide range of interesting talks, inspiring field trips, a banquet, reception at the Bateman Centre and lots of opportunities to meet like-minded naturalists. Don’t miss it!”
Issue 40
Date March 2014
CAMPS 2014
Updates Tofino and Nicola Valley Camps are full with a waiting list. Wells Gray Park – Please note instructions below – Phone in instructions, costs etc. Updated.
Wells Gray Camp
March 30 Sign up – see instructions below Hosted by the Kamloops Naturalists, this camp is sure to fill up quick. To that end, please review the details below: Wells Gray Park – Camp 1 – August 14 – 17, 2014 This four-day camp allows people to explore the wonders of Wells Gray Provincial Park. Day trips and talks include, flora and fauna, fire and ice (volcanos and glaciers), the pioneering experience and the Clearwater River. Dynamic trip leaders will make this a worthwhile adventure for all participants! Price $300.00 * * Price includes all meals, outings – Accomodation is separate and is listed on our website. To reserve your spot – Registration – 10:00 am – March 30, 2014- Teresa Corboy – 250-376-7505 Wells Gray Park – Alpine Trek – Note Date Change: August 13 – 17, 2014 – Price Reduced to $795.00 (+GST) Registration – 9:00 am – March 30, 2014 – Teresa Corboy – 250-320-0889
Please note: Registration Phone numbers and times are different but the date is the same! Please specify when calling for your camp reservation – “Alpine Trek” or “Park Camp.”
Good News
Year of Talk – “New Park on Quadra Island” – $5.85-million deal purchases land to link two existing park. Read More
Emergency Order in Place – Feb. 2014 to protect the Sage Grouse, For Alberta & Saskatchewan Link Here
Modernizing BC’s Water Act – New Water Sustainability Act Introduced – Link Here – Read all about the strengths and weaknesses of the new Water Sustainability Act Link Here
Court rules federal government acted ‘unlawfully’ in delaying recovery strategies for at-risk species – Read More Here
20 March 2014 – After an extremely successful first year, the British Columbia Shorebird Survey returns this summer. The project was launched in 2013 by Bird Studies Canada and Simon Fraser University to study Western Sandpiper abundance and behaviour with help from Citizen Scientists. The 2014 surveys will occur on the weekends of July 19-20 and August 16-17 at several sites around Vancouver, Victoria, Eastern Vancouver Island, Tofino, and Washington. We’re looking for volunteers able to commit to two to three days of surveys, lasting two to three hours each day. There will be a volunteer training session from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC. To learn more, register as a new or returning volunteer, or sign up for the training session, visit the BC Shorebird Survey webpage. If you have questions, please contact Karen Barry () or David Hope ().
About Town
Citizens Against Port Expansion – Public Meeting – Saturday April 5, 2014 Here is the Link for further information.
Webinar – Which Price is Right? Pricing Water and BC’s new Water Sustainability Act – Monday March 24, 2014 for information on submissions please visit this Link for further information
Earth Hour on March 29 – Turn your lights off – Link for further information
Protecting the Great Bear Presentation Night – March 29 – Ross Beaty Lecture Theatre, University of British Columbia. For REgistration information – Link Here Admission by Donation.
14th Annual Riversheds Forum – April 11-13, 2014 – Yale, BC – For Registration information – visit this link
The Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative is hosting an event in Whistler on April 8. I hope you can join us! It’s going to be a great night featuring PBS & BBC Host and Narrator Chris Morgan, and BC Ministry of Environment’s Large Carnivore Specialist Tony Hamilton. “A Night with Grizzlies” – for registration information visit Link Here
Kamloops – “Brush With Nature” – Nature Conservancy of Canada – BC Join us on April 2 to learn more about Napier Lake Ranch and how you can help protect this incredible grassland property. for more information
Activities for your Children or Grandchildren involving nature – Summer Camps
SUMMER CAMPS at VanDusen Botanical Garden – Link Here
Soaring Eagle Nature School – Visit Link
Letter to the Editor – From February Enews”
Sir: You stated, “I’m sure all of us are pleased that the Prosperity Mine Project has been turned down again.” Do not assume all of us are pleased. Poverty is a much greater health risk to the people of Williams Lake than the Taseko Prosperity mine would ever be. The role of BC Nature should be to use its skills to work with the mine to help create a viable tailings pond not just to say no to every development. By the way have you investigated whether Fish Lake really is worth fishing in? Anecdotal evidence is that it has few fish. Member Parsons.
Take a Minute and nominate A BC River
The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORC) will publish its 2014 Endangered Rivers List in April. Rivers included in the List will be those on which public recreation is considered by ORC’s Endangered Rivers Committee to be the most endangered or threatened. The Committee will review nominations from members of ORC’s member organizations and other individuals active in outdoor recreation. Persons or organizations making a nominations are requested to provide as much of the information listed below as possible. Public recreation which might be threatened or endangered might include fishing, canoeing, kayaking, birdwatching, hiking or just walking by the river.
To make a nomination please go to: Link Here OR go to the home page of the Outdoor Recreation Council website at www.orcbc.ca and follow the links
In 2013 the Peace River was nominated by more than 200 individuals and organizations as a result of which it headed the 2013 list by a wide margin and the environmental assessment process for the proposed Site C dam on the Peace is now under way. In 2014 we are looking for nominations for threatened rivers other than the Peace, such as the Similkameen (high dam proposal south of Princeton) and the Fraser (toxic waste plant near Chilliwack). There will undoubtedly be others! And the more nominations the better so we can develop a comprehensive and informative list.
Your Executive and Conservation Committee Hard at Work
Conservation Letters sent and received to March 21, 2014 Off Road Vehicle Act – Bill 13: Letter to Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations Minister Steve Thomson thanking him for introducing this Bill and encouraging quick passage of this Bill which will require the display of a visible numbered plate on all ORVs. Sent March 7, 2014. Water Sustainability Act: Replied received March 7, 2014, from provincial Ministry of Environment, Assistant Deputy Minister with comments on the letter BC Nature sent November 15, 2013 regarding focus to modernize this Act. Cohen Commission on Fisheries: Reply from Provincial Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations, Minister Steve Thomson, in response to our letters of December 23 and November 13, 2013 to the Premier. The reply dated March 4, 2014, addresses BC Nature’s concerns over implementation of several of Justice Cohen’s recommendations on Fraser River sockeye. (Also note there was a reply January 21, 2014 from Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Shea to BC Nature follow-up correspondence of November 29, 2013, regarding implementation of Cohen Commission recommendations.
To remove your name from our mailing list, please contact the BC Nature Office email us here All email addresses are protected from misuse by BC Nature by way of Blind Carbon Copying these notices. Questions or comments? Contact us via E-mail us at BC Nature
Join the Comox Valley Conservation Community for a day long celebration of the watersheds and waterways that connect us all in the Comox Valley!Learn about restoration and habitat enhancement projects, salmon cycles, drinking water, forests, creeks, wetlands and estuaries – and so much more. Art projects, kids activities, volunteer engagement opportunities, hands on learning and guided walks – all looking out over the beautiful Puntledge River.Comox Valley Nature will be there with our new outreach tent. Come by and say hello, and try our bird identification game. We can also show you why native plants are best for your garden, and how to spot invasive species.Pack a picnic and stay for the day! Saturday Sept 19th from 9 am – 3 pmin Puntledge Park 1111 1st , Courtenay ...
In her memoir, Pacific Northwest author Caroll Simpson recounts the highs and lows of running a remote fishing lodge on her own following the untimely death of her husband, and of falling in love with the natural world. Simpson tells stories of living in the remote wilderness and managing the lodge, becoming an accidental environmental activist, fending off wild animals, working as an angling guide and finally, fighting off a proposed mining operation and participating in the development of a government land management plan as a spokesperson for the wilderness tourism industry.While Simpson welcomed paying guests at Ookpik Lodge, unwanted house guests included a woodchuck, a pack rat, and martens. Simpson constantly had to watch out for grizzlies, moose, and cougars. Storms and extreme weather also provided fodder for hair-raising tales. All this makes for wonderful storytelling.Caroll’s story is essentially a love story. In an essay for Sierra Club, Simpson wrote: “I developed an immense passion for flora and fauna. Just walking back and forth on the 300’ dock several times a day, I was exposed to the unbelievable beauty of the northern spectrum of water life: the golden eagle soaring above, the osprey and kingfisher diving and coming up with fish for their hatchlings, the muskrats and otters looking for an easy meal, the tireless beaver working into the late evening sunsets. All of these creatures and more expressed their generational ownership of this small piece of the world. In return each was given my utmost respect and admiration…As I listened to the loons at the end of each day and the owl and the wolf in the night, I felt blessed to be witnessing such beauty. “On September 20th, join Comox Valley Nature and Save Our Forests Team for an afternoon of storytelling about this remarkable time spent living on a remote British Columbia lake.The event is being held at the Comox United Church Hall. (250 Beach Drive, Comox) Admission is by donation. Doors open at 2:30; the event begins at 3:00 p.m. There will be time for Q&A after the presentation, as well as books available for purchase. Tea/coffee and cookies - including forest-themed cupcakes - will be available for a donation.Join us, and prepare to fall in love. ...
🎟️ Get your tickets to the Project Watershed 2026 Keeping It Living Dinner today! projectwatershed.ca/2026-keeping-it-living-dinner/Every ticket holder makes a difference. 💙 🎟️ Get your tickets to our 2026 Keeping It Living Dinner today! projectwatershed.ca/2026-keeping-it-living-dinner/When community and local businesses invest in conservation, our entire ecosystem benefits. Ticket sales directly support habitat restoration, scientific research, and environmental education, while the generosity of our sponsors helps offset event costs, ensuring that more of the funds raised can go directly toward this important work. Thank you to our incredible sponsors and dinner attendees for believing in the power of community-led conservation. Odlum Brown Community and Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, 40 Knots Winery, CNB Together, we're keeping our watersheds living. 🌿 Hope to see you September 12, 5 - 8 pm at 40 KNOTS Winery #KeepingItLiving #ProjectWatershed #CommunitySupport #Conservation #ComoxValley ...
The City of Courtenay is developing a long-term vision for Bill Moore Park and Dogwood Park to guide future improvements. To help guide these decisions, three initial concepts have been developed, and there is an opportunity for you to offer your input.The latest survey on the City website engagecomoxvalley.ca/bill-moore-and-dogwood-park asks for feedback on three concept plans and specifically which concept you prefer. The three concepts present a range of recreation possibilities and there is room on the survey for your comments.Dogwood Park is a 2.32‑hectare nature park featuring mature forested areas, natural habitat and a small wetland. Only Concept A will maintain the intact forest areas in Dogwood Park. Concepts B and C propose increased recreation in the park including an off leash dog park, disc golf course, pump track (a purpose built track for children’s cycling) and nature play areas. While the planners may say that no trees or few trees will be taken down to accommodate this, the under-story will not survive this level of trampling and fragmentation. The trees as well as all the wildlife who now call that area home will disappear over time. For those of us who value this forest, Concept A is the only option that makes sense.Dogwood Park is one of the few islands of green for many, many blocks. It provides habitat for wildlife, shade, retains water and acts as a carbon sink. On the architect's base plan of current conditions it is now characterized as an "underutilized space". The City has heard from sports enthusiasts but not nature lovers. Let them know why you value an intact forest and your connection to it. The survey is open until Sept 15. ...
The Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation (CCIPR) wants the federal government to establish a regulatory body for the horticultural industry and create a national database identifying invasive plants and their risks in different regions. "Even if we don't prohibit them, we need to let the public know when there is potential harm," said CCIPR co-founder Cathy Kavassalis. "We do this on other products, and we should do it on plants too. It's just common sense."In July, Nanaimo council passed a motion to pursue a bylaw amendment restricting the sale of plants on a list maintained by the Invasive Species Council of B.C. A week later, Surrey moved to ban sales by businesses including nurseries, large retail chains and florists. Kavassalis said a problem that could be addressed at higher levels of government is being pushed down to municipalities."These are all patchwork solutions that, in some ways, just waste a lot of resources," she said. The CCIPR says a national database could give provinces, territories, retailers and gardeners a shared source of information about which plants pose risks in different regions. Kavassalis also wants invasive plants removed from shelves or clearly labelled.For more on this story visit www.cbc.ca/news/science/invasive-plants-sale-federal-regulation-9.7312362 or see our link in bio ...
Join the Comox Valley Conservation Community for a day long celebration of the watersheds and waterways that connect us all in the Comox Valley!Learn about restoration and habitat enhancement projects, salmon cycles, drinking water, forests, creeks, wetlands and estuaries – and so much more. Art projects, kids activities, volunteer engagement opportunities, hands on learning and guided walks – all looking out over the beautiful Puntledge River.Comox Valley Nature will be there with our new outreach tent. Come by and say hello, and try our bird identification game. We can also show you why native plants are best for your garden, and how to spot invasive species.Pack a picnic and stay for the day! Saturday Sept 19th from 9 am – 3 pmin Puntledge Park 1111 1st , Courtenay