Habitat Overview: West Coast Vancouver Island

Barkley region:
       Habitat news
       Barkley habitat overview, Ecological Reserves
       Huu-ay-aht Watersheds Enhancement Program
       Somass River Watershed Management
       Bamfield Eelgrass Stewardship Project
       Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Abalone Project
       NTC Sea Otter Habitat Stewardship Project
       Ucluelet Harbour Project

       Map Atlas - Barkley Region Habitat

region overview

habitat

fisheries

aquaculture

energy

water

recreation

BARKLEY HABITAT NEWS

Massive ocean observatory finished off Vancouver Island
Oct. 21, 2009: A team of scientists and marine engineers have completed the construction and installation of the world’s largest and most advanced cabled ocean observatory off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Story

Ucluelet harbour plans get no federal funding help
July 19, 2006: Small Craft Harbours will not pay for fish cleaning station or parking lot improvements. Story

Ucluelet riparian area under review
June 21, 2006: There will be an open house,and a public hearing, on new rules to protect riparian areas from impact of development. Story

Ideas abound for Ucluelet marine facilities
April 12, 2006: Many issues are in the works and most are funding dependent with Ucluelet's Small Craft Harbour. Story

BC Hydro to bury line to spare eagles
March 29, 2006: BC Hydro to bury a section of power line that is responsible for many eagle fatalities. Story

Tracking bacteria in Ucluelet Harbour
March 23, 2006: A Bacterial Source Tracking project began with help from Uu-a-thluk Fisheries, UFN and Health Canada. Story

Storm surge could affect some natural boundaries
March 15, 2006: Planner wonders if recent February storm might cause province to reevaluate the historical high water mark. Story

Hupacasath work to restore Ash River
March 9, 2006: BC Hydro and Hupacasath Nation work together to restore Elsie Lake watershed to its historic grandeur. Story

Sea lion food habits shifting
Aug. 10, 2005: Barkley Sound area population of California sea lions is at an historical high. Story

National park undertakes wolf and cougar studies
June 29, 2005: Intensive field studies on wolves and cougars are getting underway this summer in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Story

BARKLEY HABITAT OVERVIEW

Abundant rainfall and mild temperatures account for the lush vegetation and temperate rainforests found in this region, which holds the Canadian record for the most precipation in one year (Henderson Lake, 812 cm, in 1931). Old-growth forests include species such as sitka spruce, western hemlock and western red cedar, and the undergrowth is thick with salal and evergreen huckleberry. The forests closer to the coast are dense, with moss-draped limbs, debris-strewn forest floor and boggy low-lying areas.

The Barkley region is bisected by the Alberni Inlet, a 40km fjord extending from Barkley Sound more than two thirds of the width of the island. Fifty feet deep at the harbour in Port Alberni, the Inlet drops to 1000' and at its far end, past Haggard's Cove, rises to 300'. The inlet provides important schooling habitat for salmon before ascending to the spawning grounds. The inlet has a strong estuarine flow during winter and spring months which flushes the inlet and mitigates some of the deterioration of water quality. It is subject to a substantial pollution load from pulp mills, sewage and marina outfalls.

There is a barrier sill which is a maximum 88 metres deep which restricts convection to the open Pacific. Pipestream Inlet, a classic low runoff fjord, and Effingham, a high runoff fjord, flow into the sound. Pipestream Inlet has some of the warmest recorded surface temperatures (>21°C) on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

A great number of reefs, rocks, islets and islands provide diverse habitats within Barkley Sound, with the low shoreline backed by high rugged mountains. The Broken Group Islands Unit consists of over 100 islands, islets and rocky outcrops scattered in the centre of Barkley Sound, and totals 10,607 hectares, of which only 1,350 hectares is land. Natural features of this group of islands include lagoons, sandbars, blowholes, arches and secluded beaches. This region is a popular destination for kayakers and wilderness campers, and although these activities are 'low impact', the growing number of visitors require management to protect the habitat.

The region's coastal wildlife includes mink, martens, river otters and raccoons; inland, the primary species are black-tail deer, black bear, cougar and Roosevelt elk. Marine life includes killer whales and grey whales, porpoises, basking sharks, harbour seals, California and Steller's sea lions. There are several types of sharks in Barkley Sound, including the rare six-gilled sharks which are found in near-shore waters, and specifically around Renate Reef, between July and September. Shore-birds are numerous, and birdlife increases dramatically during spring and fall, as migrating flocks descend on the Sound en route to their breeding grounds. Barkley Sound has one of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in North America.

The Barkley region has unique habitat management challenges because of the contrasting needs of an urban area, Port Alberni, situated among large central island watersheds, and the recreational and wildlife interests of wilderness refuge areas such as Great Central Lake, Sproat Lake and Barkley Sound.

   Marbled Murrelet
Barkley Sound supports a significant proportion of BC's endangered marbled murrelet population. The Brand Creek watershed (700 hectares) provides ideal marbled murrelet nesting habitat, with exceptionally high levels of nesting activity. more info

Ecological Reserves in the Barkley region
Ecological reserves are areas selected to preserve representative and special natural ecosystems, plant and animal species, features and phenomena. The key role of ecological reserves is to contribute to the maintenance of biological diversity and the protection of genetic materials.
Baeria Rocks Ecological Reserve is a 53 hectare reserve at the head of Imperial Eagle Channel, Barkley Sound. It was established to protect nesting seabirds, and to preserve rich intertidal and subtidal communities for research and educational purposes. This reserve is closed to the public to protect nesting seabirds.
Sutton Pass Ecological Reserve - (3.4 hectares) This small reserve was established to protect one of the few known occurrences of adder’s-tongue fern in British Columbia.

Huu-ay-aht Watersheds Restoration and Enhancement Program
The Huu-ay-aht First Nations in Bamfield have undertaken the restoration and enhancement of the Sarita watershed, as well as 35 other rivers, streams and creeks found within Huu-ay-aht traditional territory.
Sarita River enhancement - The Sarita river historically supported a diverse and numerous salmonid population, but these stocks suffered severe decline due to habitat destruction. The Huu-ay-aht First Nation, working with the Nitinat Hatchery, initiated a chinook stock-rebuilding program in 1983. The number of chinook returning to spawn in the Sarita River has increased to over 2000 fish returning to spawn in 2002.
Fish habitat restoration projects in the Sarita river include removal of log jams, construction of a 300m long side-channel, a fish way, riffle-pool sequences and over 100 large woody debris structures to create deep pool habitats. In 2002, due to government funding cuts, no funding was available for restoration projects in the Sarita watershed. Nevertheless, there is some $1.5million worth of watershed restoration work left in the Sarita River, especially on Weyerhaeuser private lands and in the first 3 km of river upstream from the estuary.
Klanawa Watershed side-channel - An 8000m2 side channel was built at the confluence of the North and East Forks of the Klanawa watershed in 2001 to provide off-channel habitat for coho and steelhead. Over 3 million chum fry were transplanted into this watershed from the Nitinat River in 2002 and 2003. Once chum are re-established in this watershed, the plan is to transplant chinook also. Chinook went extinct in the Klanawa in the 1960s. It is estimated that this watershed requires approximately $2 million worth of restoration work.
Sugsaw Creek chum enhancement - In the 1950's, up to 15,000 chum salmon spawned in Sugsaw Creek. After logging related impacts in the 1950's and a1960's, the chum stock dwindled to less than 400 fish. The Huu-ay-aht First Nations built a small hatchery facility at the mouth of Sugsaw Creek, with 200,000 chum fry released in 2003. Also, a 4" diameter polyethylene pipe was laid between the Sugsaw Falls and the hatchery to provide up to 800 liters per minute of gravity-fed water. A 400 m long spawning channel is also planned so that fish returning to the Sugsaw Creek have proper spawning gravel. In the next decade, due to improved spawning conditions, chum numbers are expected to rebound considerably.
Clemens Creek is the major river drainage into Henderson Lake, Barkley Sound. The Uchucklesaht Tribe is using the Henderson Lake Hatchery to rebuild sockeye and chinook salmon stocks in Clemens Creek and transplanting chinook stocks in Henderson River. The project is also providing scientific data on the number of returning spawners, and their timing and migration patterns. As well, a trap to assess out-migrating smolts and a counting fence to assess returning adults will be installed in the Henderson River.

Somass River Watershed Integrated Management
The Somass River watershed consists of three major sub basins: Sproat (387.5 km2), Great Central (651 km2), and Ash (388 km2). Two lakes dominate the Somass watershed: Sproat Lake and Great Central Lake. This combined watershed supports important chinook and sockeye salmon populations, as well as the water use requirements of industry and the community. Since 1956, Somass River flows have been controlled by a dam at the outlet of Great Central Lake. In recent years it has become apparent that water regulation decisions may involve significant trade-offs between sockeye versus chinook salmon water needs, community water use, and the need for maintaining water quality in the Somass River.

Efforts to restore the Elsie Lake and Ash River watershed areas have risen from one project a year to five projects conditionally approved for 2006. read article

A report developed by the Northwest Ecosystem Institute and DFO details the conflicting needs of this watershed and integrated management considerations. read report summary (PDF)

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