Photo by Alex Harris
The Pender Islands Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation are partnering in an exciting campaign to purchase 13 acre property on North Pender Island as part of a larger effort entitled “Forests for the Future,” aimed at helping to protect the threatened habitats of the Coastal Douglas-fir forests.
This beautiful property is unique in that it supports several ecologically important features in a relatively small area. The wetland is an oasis for pacific chorus frogs and a wide variety of birds, and is of great hydrological significance within the Buck Lake Reservoir watershed, storing large amounts of freshwater year-round and contributing to our community’s climate change resilience.. There is a small stand of large, maturing western red cedars at the entrance to the property. It forms the edge of one of the few remaining contiguous forest patches on Pender, providing essential habitat for native songbirds, and nesting sites for larger birds such as woodpeckers and owls.
We have dubbed the property the 'S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest'. S,DÁYES is the SENĆOŦEN name for Pender Island, and the olive-sided flycatcher is one of 35 species of birds that have been identified on the property. The olive-sided flycatcher is blue-listed in BC, and listed as threatened federally, due to declining populations through most of its range. This species prefers forest edges next to wetlands and uses snags as perches for hunting--exactly the sort of snags found in the property’s wetland--thus, this flycatcher is the embodiment of the entire property.
Photo by Sandy Proulx
We invite you to help us protect this ecologically valuable forest and wetland by contributing to our fundraising campaign--or ask your family and friends during this holiday season to gift you a donation toward the purchase of the S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest. Gift cards are available should you choose to make a donation in a loved one’s name. Double your gift: donations made until the end of December will be matched up to $50,000.
Photo by Alex Harris