Along a shaded north-facing slope on Pender Island, big-leaf maple seedlings and saplings emerge from the understorey and recruit into the canopy in gaps formed by fallen trees; the beginning of old-growth forest structure is re-emerging from this heavily harvested landscape of the past century.
The land slopes steeply up toward a dry ridge of arbutus and Garry oak. Along the way, a perched wetland collects water and sprouts skunk cabbage from its saturated soils. This precious refuge within the seasonally dry Coastal Douglas-fir forest provides critical habitat for forest-dwelling red-legged and Pacific chorus frogs, recharges groundwater reserves for the surrounding human community, and serves to buffer climate extremes that are becoming more common than anomalous.
Centuries-old, veteran Douglas-fir tower over the younger arboreal generations, hosting nesting and roosting bald eagles and ravens in their massive branches, while their thick and furrowed bark supports foraging woodpeckers and creepers and the diverse invertebrates on which they feed. These survivors promote diversity in forest structure and species composition that would be impossible to achieve in their absence.
Fallen veterans now provide new forms of critical habitat as moisture- and nutrient-dense nurse logs, colonized by communities of invertebrates and fungi that collectively generate slow-release fertilizer for the otherwise thin, nutrient-poor forest soils.
Boulder overhangs signal the top of the ridge, beyond which sharp-tailed snakes and common nighthawks inhabit Garry oak and arbutus meadows.
The cliff face provides an herbaceous refuge from the browsing pressures of black-tailed deer, with Scouler’s harebell, Oregon boxwood, oceanspray and saskatoon among the diverse species thriving along the rocky precipice.
This 10-acre forest was donated to the Pender Islands Conservancy under the federal Ecological Gifts Program for permanent protection from development, to prevent the fragmentation and loss of its sensitive habitats and ecosystems. It is part of a larger landscape of conservation that is the product of many individual efforts: through conservation covenants registered on private lands, public park dedications, conservation land purchases by the Conservancy, and land donations such as this, the Pender community has so far collectively managed to connect more than 80 acres along this sensitive and diverse ridge on North Pender Island. We thank the generous donors, George and Kelly Leroux, for the ecological legacy they leave our community with this gift.
Message from the donors:
“On our very first hike up the north-east slope, we encountered immense cedar, Douglas fir, grand fir, arbutus and Garry oak – and a hanging wetland! Skunk cabbages near the top of a dry ridge? Amazing. It was a fascinating glimpse into the varied and complex habitats there, as eagles, ravens, turkey vultures and osprey soared against the distant backdrop of the Coast Range. By setting this land aside, perhaps our grandchildren’s great-grandchildren can experience the same awe and respect we feel, in a protected forest on its way back to being old growth. We feel fortunate to be able to donate this land to the community for conservation.”
-George and Kelly Leroux