This past Friday morning the Covenant Monitoring team visited two properties to carry out monitoring visits. On both sites the volunteers checked for any breaches of the covenant restrictions and confirmed the Owner’s reserved rights. The standard covenant restrictions involve not disturbing the natural ecosystems and native species. Specifically, not allowing for soil disturbance or alteration of any streams or bodies of water, and removing native plants or introducing non-native species. When Owners live on the property, then some reserved rights are allowed, including maintaining trails and for wells or septic fields to be placed in the covenant area. Areas for residential use and for the protected area are mapped out on the legal survey and attached to the covenant when filed at the Land Titles Office. While visiting a site, the monitors try to confirm the boundaries of each area by looking for white property stakes and using land survey techniques. Sometimes a fence line is not an indicator of the property boundary, but may be an encroachment by a neighbour into the covenant area.

After a brief lunch break, the team spent the afternoon removing invasive species at two properties that border a covenanted property. Unfortunately plants do not respect property lines and the covenant was being threatened from outside the property boundaries. With the permission of the neighbouring landowners, the team removed English Ivy from Garry Oak trees and cut and pulled out Himalayan Blackberry and Laurel Leaf Daphne. We provided the landowners with Best Practices documents for controlling the invasive species. By taking this proactive approach, not only is the covenant area protected, but the naturalized areas next door will gradually recover as well.

If you would like to support the TLC monitoring program that protects over 230 sites throughout BC with covenants, please donate today.