Imagine a place where sun-drenched Garry Oak meadows border moist, shady seeps, all perched above steep rocky cliffs overlooking the Salish Sea. Imagine a cool, mossy forest where ghost pipe emerges from the carpet of green and oceanspray, red huckleberry, salal and Oregon grape fill the forest floor. Where over 60 species of plants, birds and mammals find a home, providing shelter, food and space to grow and roam.
Now imagine knowing that this place has been protected forever, and its many inhabitants can remain in perpetuity without the threat of displacement, habitat degradation or loss. This place is real: it is Mosswood Nature Reserve.
Mosswood Nature Reserve is home to ecosystems associated with the Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) biogeoclimatic zone. The CDF is the smallest and most at-risk zone in BC, supporting the greatest number of species and ecosystems at risk (Conservation Data Centre, 2021). Habitat loss and fragmentation is largely due to ongoing land conversion for residential and commercial purposes, with development pressure continually increasing in the region.
This year, in response to the fragmentation and loss we see all around us on the Southern Gulf Islands, two generous community members have worked with the Pender Islands Conservancy to permanently protect this 10 acres of diverse forest, wetland and cliff ecosystems.
The Inhabitants
Mosswood contains four ecological communities that are red-listed in BC, and at least 10 species at risk are known to be present on or near the land. While over 60 species have been identified so far on the newly-protected land, we expect many more are yet to be discovered. In a world where species are being lost before we even learn about them, it's reassuring to know that places like Mosswood will remain as refugia – repositories for biodiversity and sources of ecological resilience and habitat connectivity.
This land has been protected as a refuge for the many species for whom there is increasingly less space on these islands. So, Mosswood is designated a Nature Reserve and will not be publicly accessible. We thank the generous and committed donors who have secured the legacy of Mosswood Nature Reserve – not only their own, but an ecological legacy for S,DÁYES that will endure for all future generations.
