Christmas 2017 Letter from the Chair
Dear CERCA members and friends of the Cowichan Estuary,It is the time of the year to look back on CERCA's 2017 activities and other issues of potentially far-reaching consequences. Amongst many others:
The Syrian war continues without a lasting peace agreement in sight leaving unimaginable misery in its wake and the threat of new wars darkening already the sky.
The refugee crisis is worsening by the day; there are more displaced persons and more people close to starvation now than ever before.
The nuclear danger posed by North Korea becoming far worse since the new arrival in the White House; not to mention all the other irrational decisions coming from the same source such as constructing a wall along the Mexican border, getting out of the Paris accord, travel ban for muslims, and as if this would not be enough now recognizing Jerusalem as capital of Israel for no good reason, causing many more people to suffer and die over this announcment. All very frightening.
More bad news about climate change: no chance of reaching ambitious goals set in Paris to stop temperature increase and curb green house gases which are now fuelled by melting permafrost and continuing use of fossil fuels. Arctic and Antarctic ice shields recede to historically low levels with rising sea levels threatening coastal communities world-wide. Droughts and flooding becoming the new normal, hurricanes and wild-fires reaching magnitudes and intensities such as never before. California the new desert state of tomorrow?
Against this background I am personally more convinced than ever that to think globally but to change locally is one of the more promising solutions to most of our environmental problems. There are countless examples of successful local engagements and grassroots initiatives from around the globe combating climate change and environmental sinners, the Cowichan Valley being no exception: North Cowichan's efforts to become a carbon neutral community, the CVRD joining ICLEI (i.e. Local Governments for Sustainability, founded in 1990 as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) and elaborating an ambitious climate action plan, Cowichan Bay village forming part of Cittaslow, and the many activities of environmental groups in the Valley working in support of a better world.Within this context I still would like to suggest that if Governments on every level would act responsibly there would be little need for NGOs such as CERCA. As it turns out CERCA is forced to continue to fight for what it stands for, in spite the change in Government and all other laudable interventions on a local level. Center to CERCA's concern remains the re-zoning issues. Why it may have to take a catastrophic flood flushing the terminal with all its contaminants and structures into the estuary before fellow citizen and decision makers will wake up to the realization that estuaries are much too valuable to be wasted and destroyed for short-term benefits is beyond comprehension. We know that estuaries are amongst the most efficient carbon sinks of all ecosystems; they are called "the cradle of life" for a reason, also offering prime habitat to our precious salmon species. To risk all this in order to accommodate some ephemeral and environmentally incompatible industry appears irresponsible and short-sighted. A decision on this issue is expected to be made early next year. By now CERCA has exhausted all possibilities to stop the re-zoning and to prevent an unwise political decision against better knowledge. Let´s hope for the best!2017 CERCA Year in a nutshell:
Estuary Habitat Map: Undoubtedly CERCA's biggest 2017 achievement is the production of the attached Cowichan-Koksilah Estuary Habitat Map which was finalized in November after months of comprehensive field- and laboratory work. The geo-referenced habitat polygons are based on hundreds of waypoints taken by CERCA volunteers. Numerous sample plots analysed to define micro-habitat types. CERCA volunteers spent countless hours in the estuary at low tides during the summer months verifying the habitat polygons identified on orthophotos and thousands of geo-referenced drone photos produced by Vadebonceour Consulting. The aerial photo interpretation was done by Miranda Smith of M. Wright and Associates with financial support of the DFO. The extensive drone work, production of an orthophoto of the estuary and development of a 3-D model was done by Dr. Nathan Vadebonceour, mostly financed by CERCA with a financial contribution by Ducks Unlimited. All ground-truthing was completed by dedicated CERCA volunteers who were not afraid of getting stuck in the mud, crossing estuary channels carrying waist-deep water and out-running in-coming tides. Thanks to all of them for volunteering. The fringe benefit: a big learning experience to all of us participating discovering unknown mysteries of the estuary first hand, an unforgettable adventure. This state of the art, scientifically based habitat map will form the basis for all other work to be conducted in the estuary, to be added as GIS map layer, slowly expanding the knowledge of this precious ecosystem. The map will be made available free of charge to other researchers, institutions and persons who would like to use it for environmental protection work.
I invite you to have a closer look at some of the map details. Check out the distribution of oyster beds, or the location of eelgrass still to be found. We also collected valuable field data on oyster size and distribution, barnicle cover and the number of crabs found on each sample plot --mostly associated with oysters and gravel bars. These data will be used for our carbon study helping us to estimate the bio-carbon sequestration of mudflats. The mapping of salt marsh habitat polygons will also be very useful for future salt marsh monitoring. It will be interesting to learn whether salt marshes will expand or recede over time and how they will react to rising sea levels. The habitat map will serve as valuable tool for land use decisions in the estuary and much more.
CERCA 2017 Symposium "Climate Change and The Economy: This has been CERCA's second Symposium with focus on Climate Change. The first, implemented in 2014, dealt with "Expected Impacts of Climate Change on Coastal Communities and Estuaries" whereas this year's Symposium addressed expected impacts of climate change on our economy, how to prevent and mitigate expected impacts from climate change and how to adapt to such changes on a local level. With more than 230 pre-registered participants the Symposium was well attended, a reflection of the great interest in the overall theme and the high quality contributions by our esteemed guest speakers. The very positive feedback received from numerous attendees is taken as a testimony to a highly successful event. Indeed it was a remarkable day and for many of us more than a wake-up call. The wealth of information provided by our speakers and the lively discussions involving the panel members provided not only food for thought but also a definite call for action!
Blue Carbon Project: Estuaries are considered some of the most efficient and important carbon sinks of all ecosystems, gaining increasing importance in the light of climate change, the reason for CERCA to address this issue jointly with UVIC through a research project implemented by CERCA member Tristan Douglas using the work for his MSc thesis. Focus of this project is to define carbon sequestration potential of estuarine mudflats which for some reason have been left out of all previous studies --world-wide-- which concentrated on salt-marshes and sea grass. Key additional research questions of Tristan's thesis are: (a) how is current industrial activity in the Cowichan Estuary affecting its carbon storage capacity, and (b) what is the relative importance of the Cowichan Estuary mudflats as a carbon sink compared to adjacent eelgrass and saltmarsh habitats?
The experimental approach covers six major steps: (1) Collecting series of 18 sediment ~40 cm cores from the Cowichan estuary; (2) estimating sediment accretion rate of estuary (210Pb in cores from various locations); (3) determining bulk carbon storage in the Cowichan Bay mudflats, saltmarsh and eelgrass, and sediments in area of grounded log booms (using loss on ignition); (4) identifying dominant sources of buried carbon (lipid biomarkers and stable isotope analysis); (5) profiling grain size throughout the cores; (6) and quantyfing and identifying microorganisms present in the upper 10 cm of mud cores.All field work related to the blue carbon project and part of the laboratory work has been completed in 2017. The rather costly isotope analysis -partly being financed through a CVRD grant- will hopefully be finalized by early 2018. This research project is expected to fill an important global knowledge gap and a niche of the BC protocol on blue carbon.
China Delegation: In March 2017 CERCA hosted a high level delegation from the coastal city of Tianjin in China, a city with a population of 15 Million and an area of approximately 12 thousand square km. The Group visiting CERCA and the Cowichan Estuary included the Deputy Director of the Tianjin Oceanic Administration and two Directors of the Tianjin Paleocoast and Wetland National Nature Reserve. This is one of the protected areas already established for the conservation and rehabilitation of an extensive estuary with a coastline of almost 180 km in length. A second reserve in the same estuary is the Dashentang Oyster Reef National Special Marine Reserve. The two protected areas have a combined total of almost 80 square km.
The answer to the question why this delegation working with a huge estuary in China compared to the eight square km Cowichan Estuary would want to visit our Estuary and learn from CERCA is simple: estuary ecology, problems, issues, challenges, and rehabilitation opportunities are very much alike anywhere in the world. The Tianjin estuary has suffered from industrial and port related impacts for decades. The port of Tianjin is the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing. Several years ago this facility suffered from a devastating explosion with catastrophic consequence from the chemical spill for the estuary and harbor. This triggered not only major clean-up activities but also served as a wake-up call for rehabilitation and restoration of the estuary. There still is a shellfish closure in effect shutting down a centuries old major shellfish industry, similar to the shellfish closure in Cowichan Bay. The Dashentang oyster reserve covering more than 34 square km was established in 2012. It is one of the largest oyster banks in the world and recognized for its great importance for water purification, one of the reasons why The Tianjin State Oceanic Administration signed its first cooperation agreement with the Chesepeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve which protects and manages approximately 30 square km of estuarine lands and waters of the largest estuary in North America.The main reason for signing a second cooperation agreement with CERCA appears to be the interest of the Tianjin Oceanic Administration in CERCA's Blue Carbon Project. It is China's serious concern about global climate change and carbon emissions, air pollution and increasing health hazards plaguing their major cities, which makes them search for mitigation measures.
Swallow population enhancement project: The results of the 2017 swallow nest box monitoring showed a more than 20% increase in box occupancy over the previous year, which already was highly successful. In 2017 almost 85% of the 40 nest boxes placed along the estuary nature trail were taken by tree swallows, with some of them successfully rearing a second clutch. Within this context I would like to thank the CERCA members who volunteered for the 2017 monitoring season providing us with excellent data.
Encouraged by the positive results the CERCA Board approved production of thirty additional boxes. The yellow cedar boards for the new boxes have been donated again by Murray from Dogwood Lumber. Robert Flach volunteered for the construction of the boxes which are now ready to be placed. Twenty boxes are earmarked for the fenceline along Blackly's Farm and ten will be sold to the Cowichan Lawn Tennis Court with proceeds added to the CERCA account.
Trail Lectures: During October 2017 CERCA's Cowichan Estuary Nature Trail serving as an open air classroom enjoyed the visit of two groups of Cowichan Secondary students, two groups of UVIC students and one group of the Cowichan Elder College. All in all more than 100 persons eager to learn about the history of the estuary, its ecological complexity, and socio-cultural, ecological and economic importance made use of CERCA's offer of a guided trail walk in one month alone; several other groups took advantage of our early summer program.
The "land-based learning program" of Cowichan Secondary is a new approach by the School to provide Grade 10-12 students with the opportunity of "place-based, experimental learning" to develop connections to our community and natural world and further cultural understanding.CERCA's Estuary Nature Trail provides a unique educational opportunity to touch, see, smell, hear, or taste nature. Meanwhile CERCA continues to receive inquiries from trail users mostly regarding the lack of trail maintenance. It is true that blackberries and other vegetation are successfully trying to reclaim the trail after CERCA was asked by the Lessee of the area (Tidal Harmony Holdings/Western Stevedoring) in October 2016 to stop all work on the trail including maintenance. Unfortunately only one third of the trail had been completed at the time although all twenty interpretive trail signs designed jointly by CERCA and the Royal BC Museum are still waiting to be placed along the trail. We are still hopeful to get the permission to complete the trail which has become increasingly more popular amongst people from the Cowichan Valley and beyond.7.CERCA's 5th Anniversary: In August 2017 CERCA celebrated its fifth anniversary using the Maple Grove Park as a fitting venue for this exciting event. It feels only like yesterday that a handful of estuary afficionados got together to re-vitalize the former "Cowichan Estuary Society" dormant at the time for a number of years. And equally surprising that CERCA's founding group of five by now has grown into a charitable society with more than 110 members. To recapitulate CERCA's evolvement and achievements:Guided by a participatory SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the Cowichan Estuary) implemented by a group of our founding members and invited stakeholders in 2012 we jointly decided on CERCA's name, vision, mission and long-term activity program. Until current we have been following this program, tailoring our annual operational and activity plans to ever changing framework conditions and arising priorities.Following CERCA's registration as a non-profit Society in 2012 CERCA in cooperation with the Royal BC Museum in Victoria developed a comprehensive generic mobile estuary exhibition in an effort to raise public awareness of estuaries as Key ecosystems and to draw attention to issues related to the Cowichan/Koksilah Estuary. The exhibition has since been displayed at venues such as the Duncan Mall, the Cowichan Valley Regional Library, and the Duncan Forest Museum. In order to assess whether CERCA's vision for the estuary and the long-term goals and objectives identified through the SWOT analysis are in line with overall perceptions of Cowichan Bay residents CERCA jointly with UVIC's Department of Geography implemented a perception poll covering most residents of Cowichan Bay. The results of the poll clearly indicate that CERCA's ultimate objective "to restore the ecological integrity of the estuary to be managed for conservation values in support of an economy based on nature tourism" is shared by the vast majority of the 250 households covered. The poll results encouraged CERCA to boldly pursue its long-term plan until today.Two additional major restoration projects have been completed since:
Breaching the Westcan access road to re-connect the two parts of the estuary which had been separated for decades by the artificial causeway created through infilling in the early 1920s. This major project made possible through grants provided by the Pacific Salmon Commission, the DFO, Federal Wetland Fund, and contributions by Sidney Anglers found broad support by all major stakeholders. However it took CERCA a full year to get the approval of the Lessee of this Crownland: Western Stevedoring/Tidal Harmony Holdings. A prolonged and frustrating process indeed!
Restoring Mariners Island salt-marsh was another highly successful restoration project. It involved the removal of almost 10 000 logs and large woody debris washed onto the island over decades. This project proceeded in good cooperation with Western Forest Products and Ducks Unlimited. The recovery of the almost 30 ha salt marsh has been remarkable.
Other big CERCA achievements are the construction of the Estuary Educational Nature Trail financially supported by Island Savings, and the two Symposia related to climate change already reported on above. Also worth mentioning are our herring spawning habitat improvement project in Cowichan Bay implemented in partnership with Sidney Anglers Association. And not to forget CERCA's tireless efforts lobbying for a healthy estuary and promoting a sustainable nature-based tourism industry as economic driver of Cowichan Bay.Looking back at the past five years we can be proud of our work and achievements. However a lot still remains to be done in pursuance of our Vision of the estuary. No doubt the estuary will never be the same as it was prior to arrival of white men in the 1860s. How the estuary eventually will look like in the light of rising sea levels, increasing droughts and urban sprawl is difficult to predict.CERCA's biggest challenge remains the still undecided re-zoning application of the six Crown Leases by Tidal Harmony Holdings. A political decision in favour of an industrial future in the centre of this estuary by allowing heavy manufacturing industry would constitute an ecological crime. It is apparent that consequences of unwise land use decisions today are the burden of our children and grandchildren tomorrow.Ending this letter on a more positive note: our membership increased substantially in 2017 in support of a worthy cause and partly due to our relentless efforts fighting harmful industry in the estuary.Let me close this letter by wishing you all a festive Christmas season with family and friends and all the best for the New Year. For CERCA I wish that the re-zoning issue will be resolved soon in compliance with the long-term goals of the Official Community Plan and the Estuary Environmental Management Plan aiming at phasing out industry in the estuary in favour of conservation management. Let our hope for a more peaceful world in these difficult times not be in vain.Last not least I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the CERCA Board members for their work and unwaivering support. It was my pleasure and honor to work with you. Also special Thanks to all CERCA volunteers who donated their time and energy to our projects. Without you and all other supporting members CERCA would not have achieved what has been achieved until today!A Merry Christmas to all of you fromGoetz SchuerholzChair CERCARestoring Mariner Island Salt Marsh ( before and after)