Garry-oak meadow with camas and buttercup flowers. Graham Osborne Photo credit: Graham Osborne
Coastal Rainshadow Forests -
Extremely Rare and Endangered
On the southeastern side of Vancouver Island, the forests are much drier than the famous temperate rainforests that cover the rest of the Island. These "coastal rainshadow forests" are found in two major ecosystems or "biogeoclimatic zones": the Coastal Douglas Fir zone along the ocean, and the driest variants of the Coastal Western Hemlock zone a little farther inland.
Because of the Mediterranean-style climate with longer growing seasons and mild winters, the east coast of Vancouver Island boasts one of the greatest concentrations of biological diversity in BC. Douglas fir, grand fir, arbutus, and Garry oaks are some of the main trees that grow here. Some of Canada’s most endangered plant communities occur here as well, such as the highly endangered Garry oak meadows, which once occurred mainly where the city of Victoria now sits. Only 1% of the original Garry oak meadows remain, and they are home to over 100 species at risk. In addition, only 1% of the Coastal Douglas fir zone still exists in its old-growth state, while only 2% of the Nanaimo Lowlands Ecosection is protected.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of this region is privately owned. The coastal rainshadow forests are found within the 20% of Vancouver Island that exist as private lands, largely owned by two companies, TimberWest and Weyerhaeuser (which may soon sell those lands to Brascan), as well as a multitude of smaller landowners. Development of these lands has been exacerbated in recent years by the removal of the Forest Land Reserve which protected private forest lands from urban sprawl in the 1990’s.
The only way to protect private lands is to buy them. This will require significant funds, available only through government, to purchase these lands at fair market value in order to complete the Vancouver Island Conservation Vision. Private land trusts can augment the fundraising but cannot raise anywhere near the amount that governments can put in.
Governments in many jurisdictions around the world have undertaken initiatives to purchase private lands in order to expand their protected areas systems. For example, it may surprise you that the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, appropriated $5 billion from the US Federal Treasury a few years ago in order to purchase private lands in Florida to expand their protected areas system, based on a Conservation Areas Design! Here in BC, the Capital Regional District (government of Greater Victoria) established a $16 million parks acquisition fund over 10 years in order to expand the regional parks system. The BC government must show leadership and put aside significant funds for the expansion of our highly inadequate protected areas system on eastern Vancouver Island.
However, the greatest opportunity to expand our protected areas system on the southeastern side of the Island is to protect all or most of the parcels of public (Crown) lands there, which cover only 5% of the area. These areas can be protected for FREE and represent the easiest opportunity for expanding our protected areas system in the coastal rainshadow forests.
Instead, however, the BC Liberal government is selling off these Crown lands at a breakneck speed. They have doubled the sale of Crown lands to private real estate developers in recent years. From the Lannan Forest near Courtenay, to the Deep Bay aquifer in Qualicum Bay, to the Lost Trails Wetlands near Qualicum Beach, from rare aspen groves near Nanoose Bay to red cedar stands near Shawnigan Lake, Crown lands across Vancouver Island are rapidly being sold off - and local citizens are standing up in opposition.
The municipal councils and regional districts of Vancouver Island, organized into the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities, have a far greener vision than the BC Liberal government. In April of 2005 they passed a resolution calling for "no net loss" of Crown lands on the East Coast of Vancouver Island between Campbell River and Sooke (in the E&N Land Grant area). However, the protection of Crown lands on the East Coast ultimately depends on the people of BC getting organized and speaking up en masse to the provincial government.
