Blue Carbon and The Cowichan Estuary
Introduction
Robin Lawson at Lake Cowichan in an arid Fall
Hello – I am a retired Math teacher from Ontario who chased the Wild West to this Island from Ontario after 5 other members in my family over the past 4 decades immigrated to this Valley - with 2 sisters and families still here. I was especially attracted to the beauty of the Island and the stunning Cowichan Estuary after visiting my sister’s house below Tzouhalem, the appropriately recognized Sacred Mountain of the Native Peoples. It is the beauty of Tzouhalem and surrounding hills that helps make the Bay area such a special place, but even in 25 years of visits I saw big changes when I also moved here in 2011. Like many who have come to this Island for its rugged beauty and perhaps some of the last, major vestiges of wilderness left in the “civilized” and inhabited southern band of Canada with available work, I am passionate to protect what is left. In heavily urbanized Ontario I saw shocking habitat destruction during 5+ decades. The past few years of increasing retirement have seen me return to the nature of my younger years with a renewed interest in birds, wildlife and photography, and I have seen up close and personal how the situation has altered to be dramatically worse for many grassland species most acutely – but many losses in so many other areas. There are always success stories with birds, who will quickly attempt adapting to virtually any barren environment with limited successes. But most do not want to see a landscape dominated by starlings + city pigeons (Rock Doves), for example, at the cost of our many wonderful native species. Those who feed these creatures will be blessed to see a good variety in this part of the world, quite in excess of the ‘suburban desert’ that I inhabited north of Toronto during my career. The Estuary is one of the very best local spots for birding with its varied habitats supporting so many sea birds and land birds alike. But birds do not live in isolation and they have to feed. This is only possible for many specialist species in complex ecologies that are not too badly damaged by human impact, and that is what I want to speak of. It is CERCA’s vision to try and bring ideas and policies around to a holistic vision that will allow more players access to the beauties here (with direct economic spinoffs for tourism/recreation) and allow an eventual restoration of the eel grass, water flows from the delta area to cleanse the bay as well as resurgence of hallmark species like the Chinook indicating a return to ecological health. There have been notable success stories in combined efforts to clean up major estuaries such as the chaos of industry-riddled Campbell River. This lends hope to our eventual goal of turning back the clock on so called progress and thereby supporting nature, while benefitting access to more of the public without undue economic hardship for current players. There will inevitably be conflicts of interest, but we hope that heightened awareness and a holistic perspective will spell out the benefits to all of us. Only a few can currently profit from the dismal, downwardly spiral trend, particularly in the past 4+ decades that I am aware of.
In order to understand where we are going, I believe it is important to see where we have been and attempt to sidestep the mistakes of our predecessors, and create a better vision for the future. Civilization is exceedingly complex and we are all part of a global experiment that appears to be increasingly critical at this moment in time. I often think of the tobacco industry as a model of increasing public awareness and long term health concerns pitted against a profit motivated, corporate entity. I believe the model of this history is apropos to our current stage with Estuaries, and many parallels are apparent. Information should set us free but too often the playing field of transparency and disclosure is tilted by aggressive manufacturers’ campaigns financially underwritten by the short term bottom line plans of the very rich boardroom, too often removed from the common concerns of the everyday public.
“Naturally” we are apprehensive about past attitudes and practices of industry in the estuary, one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. These are typified by an extremely high biological diversity, but also with a very fragile ecological sensitivity. Industry first settled in estuaries worldwide due to easy access and very habitable space. Sea faring and water craft were a major transport means to new worlds and waterways were a resource still used extensively for urbanization to this day for good geographical reasons. Our species "naturally" competes for the same resources in these richest of habitats. But times have changed, perceptions and the knowledge base have altered with increased experience and understanding of the consequences of human impact. We now know that without checks and balances, production industry is not compatible with estuary sensitivity. Demographic changes in the Cowichan Valley attest to that. People move here from all over Canada and other parts of the world for life quality reasons as offered by the scenic estuary and surrounding natural settings, clean air and highly diversified recreational opportunities.
estuary from Tzouh
The Bay from Tzouhalem
TOPIC OF TODAY:
The Cowichan Estuary and Blue Carbon Sequestration
Blue Carbon is the term used for the capture of atmospheric carbon by living organisms under the sea. This capturing and retaining of Carbon is deemed to be paramount in helping mitigate the runaway levels in the atmosphere that is threatening to warm the Earth irretrievably during our species’ shortening existence. It is estimated that the valuable estuary habitats of mangrove swamps and our local eel grass + salt marshes can be up to 100 times more effective per area than the forests that most have focused so much on hitherto. This is big and quite recent news. Australia is a leader in this initiative, perhaps prompted by global warming fears on a Continent dominated by racked with drought and untimely floods in other areas over this past decade. We are lucky to have Dr. Colin Campbell as the B.C. Sierra Science Advisor and Marine Representative, a native of Melbourne who has recently had a creature of ancient evolutionary time named after him almost 40 years after studying it along with many other changing Aus marsupials, when the new Continent had already geologically split off. Dr Campbell did this PhD thesis at Berkeley based on this, and after working in Australia returned his efforts to this Continent of former student days. He is highly tuned into the much greater % loss of estuary habitats (population and resource demands including unregulated recreation) than even our valuable forests, and will act as a fine technical contact person in the years ahead. His blogs are a tremendous education from a well grounded and scientifically objective, brilliantly trained eye. http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/blog/colin-campbell-posts
dipper
More Estuary + Cowichan River Dipper below
Our Cowichan Estuary is just beginning to gain successes with eel grass restoration but water issues in the Cowichan Lake/River system represent some very acute, recent concerns with the salmon and flushing the Estuary/Bay areas. Again it is our belief that the Cowichan Valley, Bay and Estuary be seen as one, a system where the varied players must attempt to shed divisive self interests and look at a bigger picture of combined co-operation to the mutual benefit of all. One of our first major thrusts will be to document the extent of eel grass and salt marsh acreage habitat types with estimates in its importance of carbon sequestration that Dr. Colin mentions can be so much more efficient in retaining the carbon out of the air, where its feared role as a greenhouse gas seems to represent a dire threat to the biosphere’s continued survival. This is a huge area of concern that demands visits in future blogs to spell out the scope, data and issues seemingly vital to the future of humanity. The junk economy of hydrocarbons may be a later article – plus ideas to get off the junk?
What’s wrong with this picture above? Mariner’s Island is strewn with decaying logs escaped from past log booms, undermining the pluses of the surrounding salt marshes’ carbon capture capacity, by releasing their gases during decomposition. Can industrial practices change? Only if attitudes and values attached to great natural bounties and perspective shift.
Although the mighty Fraser’s Estuary represents almost 30% of the British Columbia Coast’s share of these irreplaceable resources, the Cowichan is nowhere near as impacted in development to that highly populated area – so far. An ideal would be to later bring back the shellfish harvest so traditionally vital and integral to why the Cowichan Peoples settled this historically abundant area. On a finite earth, we continue to reap what we sow at considerable peril. The Cowichan is considered to be one of the big 5 in B.C. for value in the Blue Carbon sequestration program. We hope to enhance those capture values along with its obvious scenic value for more players – who certainly do not come to see Mariner’s Island and relicts of former industrial neglect, where no-one felt the need strongly enough to hold the economic beneficiaries accountable.
In further blogs I hope to introduce items of interest and concern for the Estuary that we aspire to restore to an esthetic marvel whose harvest can benefit more and more players including the salmon and the Native People, who stayed far more in balance with this beauteous place.
I am looking forward to your comments on the Blue Carbon issue which CERCA will pursue within its current action program.