On Monday, August 22, TLC staff and volunteers monitored the Kinghorn Covenant located at Mt. Work Regional Park. This covenant is home to the northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora), ranked as a species of Special Concern by COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) and also on the Provincial Blue List. Spotting not just one, but three of these little creatures obviously delighted the crew. This highlights the importance of monitoring as we are able to determine if the critical habitat for endangered species is, in fact, allowing them to survive and thrive. Thankfully, this is true for the Kinghorn Covenant and we intend to keep a close eye on the area to make sure it stays that way.
The Kinghorn Covenant came into existence by a donation from the Kinghorn family in 2009. Jim Kinghorn built a cabin on the land in the early 1980’s that his family used often, even bringing oil drums onto the site to have power and running water available. The cabin still exists today and although it no longer has power or running water, it still has its charming hand-built feel. The family has also left a binder explaining the intention of the donated land and cabin, and they ask that the general public respectfully enjoy the day-use cabin.
The covenant is also a part of the Ecological Gifts Program, a federal incentive to allow landowners to donate their ecologically-sensitive land for conservation purposes and receive special income tax benefits. As such, Environment Canada (EC) monitors the Eco-Gifts to ensure their intent is being upheld, and Dave Cunnington from EC joined us for our visit. As Dave’s PhD. topic dealt with amphibians, he was very glad to see our friends the red-legged frogs!
After a quick lunch break at the cabin the crew continued onward to the far end of the covenant. As this covenant is part of the Mt. Work Regional Park, it sees a fair amount of use. Thankfully, most people are respectful of the area and very little garbage was found. Unfortunately, the most commonly found garbage is discarded dog feces wrapped in plastic. TLC kindly reminds folks to “pack it in and pack it out”, including whatever Rover decided to deposit!
If you are interested in seeing Jim Kinghorn’s cabin, or the Kinghorn covenant in general, please get in touch with Torrey at covenants@conservancy.bc.ca and she will point you in the right direction. As there are many trails within the Mt. Work Regional Park, and not all of them are mapped, it is an easy place to get turned around! We want the best for our park patrons, including getting there and back safely.
The northern red-legged frogs were too quick for our cameras, but here’s a great shot of one from John Battaso of USFWS via flickr.
