Walking the trail around TLC’s Second Lake property in the District of Highlands, it doesn’t take long before you come to understand why the 73 hectares (183 acres) found within the at-risk Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone was protected back in 2005. The site includes a valley-bottom lake and adjoining wetland, rocky moss-covered outcroppings, and surrounding Douglas-fir/arbutus forest. An important part of the Upper Millstream Creek watershed, Second Lake provides connectivity between a chain of small lakes as well as other large, protected areas from the Gowlland Tod range on Saanich Inlet to TLC covenanted lands like Mount Work Regional Park and Thetis Lake Regional Park.
Last year our Passport to Nature Program featured an event exploring the Boundary Layer at Second Lake with volunteer naturalist experts Andy MacKinnon and Kem Luther. More than 25 participants joined us to explore the site and document 40 different species of fungi. As the area is only open to the public during our guided events, TLC’s Passport to Nature series offers an opportunity for the community to connect and learn about protected areas like Second Lake while making a difference for conservation.
Species inventories like that compiled at the Boundary Layer event also aid in ongoing stewardship decision making and restoration activity planning. This year our Passport to Nature Program will see us return to Second Lake for a Broom Bash on May 25. The local Friends of Second Lake Society will join TLC volunteers in broom removal and trail clearing work. It is through our community partner and volunteer support that we can achieve these important stewardship activities and continue to fulfill our mandate to protect B.C.’s biological diversity.
You too can make a difference for critical habitats like Second Lake.
Leveraging partner and volunteer efforts multiplies our impact on the ground.
TLC’s Fort Shepherd Conservancy Area in the West Kootenay – similar to many of our protected areas – has a network of partners involved in its care and stewardship. Members from the local Trail Wildlife Association, Teck Metals, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Kootenay Native Plant Society, Okanagan Nation Alliance, Coville Confederated Tribes, and others regularly volunteer to support the area’s maintenance and enhancement projects.
Fort Shepherd is a 2,382-acre property on the lower benches of the Columbia River south of Trail. Acquired in 2007, Fort Shepherd was protected by TLC to ensure its significant ecological and heritage values would remain intact. Its unique landscape including the open benches provide winter range for elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer. Through ongoing stewardship, we strive to improve community relationships with the land with low-impact access and enhancement activities that support and improve habitat conditions for Fort Shepherd’s dozens of species and communities at risk like the red-listed Grassland/Brushland (Gb) ecosystem. The Gb zone includes saskatoon, choke cherry, ceanothus, mallow nine-bark, oceanspray, and bluebunch wheatgrass.
Last year saw record engagement at Fort Shepherd with planting projects, bat monitoring, studies on species at risk, invasive plant management, habitat enhancement projects, and more! One significant event was held in the fall in collaboration with the Kootenay Native Plant Society, Sn̓ ʕaýckstx (Sinixt) Confederacy, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Kinseed Ecologies, and Waneta Sunshine Rotary Club. TLC staff and volunteers planted 1,000 common camas bulbs to continue our efforts to support native and endangered pollinators in the Columbia River Basin and to increase biodiversity in the interior brushlands found at Fort Shepherd.
TLC and the Kootenay Native Plant Society will be hosting another Passport to Nature event on October 5 at the Fort Shepherd Conservancy Area to continue supporting pollinator way stations. Now in its fourth year, the Welcome Back Monarchs events have returned desired results: with more than 350 pollinator-friendly species planted, we’re observing native pollinators frequenting the planting sites.
Collaborative projects benefit the local community as well as Fort Shepherd Conservancy Area; Conservation programming has been targeting the region’s struggling ungulate population as well as providing access opportunities for community members to join us in stewarding this incredible site. Trail cameras checked by our volunteers on the ground provide wildlife data and monitor the activities on the lower benches. They highlight the plethora of species that rely on the area: bears, elk, deer, bobcats, otters, merganser, nighthawk, snowshoe hares, mice, and even flying squirrels have been found to frequent the property.
Education is a critical part of our conservation efforts.
In addition to our Passport to Nature Program designed to connect members of the communities we work in with our protected areas, our educational programming also includes our Deertrails Naturalist Program. Developed in 2018, the program features week-long workshops that invite participants to dive deeper into place and explore the lessons we can learn from the natural world. Participants get the rare chance to connect with seasoned experts in a range of specialties from the microscopic world of lichen to valley-developing geology.
As I write this letter, we are preparing for our May 2024 session which will be held in the beautiful Clearwater River Valley. Contiguous to Wells Gray Provincial Park and Thompson Rivers University’s Wells Gray Wilderness Centre, TLC protects 57 hectares (141 acres) of wetlands, forests, meadow, and wildlife corridors in the Valley. The workshop will take participants through a series of naturalist-led hikes to learn about the Valley’s volcanic history and vibrant ecology. This year our expert naturalist instructors include Briony Penn, Lyn Baldwin, Juliet Pendray, Trevor Goward, Cathie Hickson, Nancy Flood, and Chris Coppin.
Through the introduction to bird study, plant lore, fungus and lichen identification, forest ecology, and volcanology, Deertrails connects participants to the living world awakening to spring and offers insights into how they can reimagine their place in it. Past participants have gone on to engage with TLC and the larger land trust community in B.C. through volunteer action and even some shifts in career choice. We’ve seen participants from the previous four sessions partake in restoration and stewardship activities, join us as members and board members, and lead initiatives of their own to spread the importance of conservation.
With more than 5,300 hectares (13,000 acres) in our portfolio, building a community of conservation that cares for and about our protected areas is critical to our success. The ongoing monitoring, restoration, and stewardship of these areas requires networks of experts, volunteers, and partners to fulfill our mandate. Our protected areas span the province and offer the opportunity for all to engage in some shape or form for the betterment of all. With chances to participate in TLC’s Deertrails Naturalist Program and Passport to Nature Program – and the many site-specific and organization-wide volunteer opportunities we offer – our conservation network is strengthening and expanding to make an even greater impact in the challenges we face in conservation.
Protecting endangered and at-risk ecosystems throughout B.C. requires our continued engagement and investment for ongoing stewardship and monitoring.
Will you join us in protecting B.C.’s biodiversity in perpetuity?
To support TLC’s vital conservation work, this spring we are aiming to raise $40,000 to support our province’s most precious protected areas through our many restoration, stewardship, and monitoring initiatives. Please consider donating online, calling 1-877-485-2422, or popping your gift in the mail to the address below to make your donation to these critical areas today. Donations are eligible for 2024 tax receipts.
Your gift will make a difference in ensuring habitats like those found at Second Lake, Fort Shepherd, and the Clearwater River Valley remain protected and thriving for the benefit of all. Thank you for your generous support of TLC’s important work.
With gratitude,
Dianna Stenberg
Executive Director
