Stewardship Group InformationFor further contact information about these and other local groups, go to the Stewardship Directory. Beaver Lodge Trust Committee
Mission/Purpose: To follow the Beaver Lodge Forest Land Resource Use Plan incorporating the needs of the community. To negotiate a new management structure for the BLFL by working with interested parties and stakeholders. The group was a major contributor to the formation of Bill 52, Beaver Lodge Forest Trust Renewal Act (1993). Since then, bridges, trails, numerous walks and other projects have been completed. Anyone interested in the BLFL is welcome to be involved. Haig-Brown Institute
Mission/Purpose: Promoting watershed conservation and the links between ecology and economy through literature and conservation. The group is well established. The watershed has forest and rural housing including the Haig-Brown heritage home along the shores of the Campbell River. Roderick Haig-Brown was a pioneering conservationist, noted author, magistrate and fly fisher. For a map of the area and more historical information, go to the watershed walk brochure (HB KF brochure). Presently, the trails are not recommended until restoration work is done. We will keep you posted. Kingfisher Creek is a small tributary to the Campbell River. It flows through the Haig-Brown property and is important Coho habitat. Enhancement projects include channel development, riparian planting and stock assessment. The group's goal is to maintain and enhance the fish and wildlife resources, natural setting, and social values of the watershed. Nunns Creek Stewards
Mission/Purpose: To work with local residents, non-profit organisations, and local government to help restore the ecological integrity of Nunns Creek. To act as a collective voice for homeowners on issues of development in the watershed. Formed in 1999, the group continues to address the needs of the watershed. The stream's estuary is Native Reserve and joins up with the Campbell River's mouth. Compared to the other community watersheds, Nunns has the largest section of industrial and commercial lands. A city owned Nature Park helps to break up the development but the stream has been irreversibly affected. The upper watershed's rural development has been designated for higher density housing. The group takes an active role in city planning and has done numerous field projects including stream enhancement, fish stock assessment and invasive plant control. Oyster Bay Streamkeepers
Mission/Purpose: To preserve, enhance and protect the nine small streams within the Oyster Bay area. For a number of years, the Streamkeepers have actively worked on extensive restoration and enhancement projects. The nine streams and many wetlands of the Oyster Bay area are important contributors to Campbell River's fish and wildlife habitat. Issues surrounding this coastal area include loss of wetlands, streams and coastal ecosystems. Oyster Bay GroupThe group was formed to address the needs of the area. Their focus has been on protecting sensitive areas in Oyster Bay and its shoreline park including a large block of timbered land (640 acres). Concerns include protection of the bay, a strip of sensitive dune ecotype and preservation of rare plants and animals and wetlands. The Oyster Bay Group intends to protect as much of the land as possible by purchasing lots with more sensitive habitat, securing park designation through local government and negotiating protective covenants with the landowner.
Oyster Bay Park AssociationMission/Purpose: To promote the preservation and conservation of wildlife and natural vegetation at Oyster Bay Park, the foreshore, and the Oyster Bay Wetlands. The OBPA was formed in 1988 and immediately took the lead in pushing for the formation of the Regional District's Oyster Bay Shoreline Park. They now assist the district in maintenance projects including interpretive signage, trails upkeep, the removal of invasive species, and the restoration of native plants. Recently, the future of the Oyster Bay Wetlands with their unique eco-systems and streams has been a prime concern to the OBPA. Biological assessments and mapping have been completed for the area. OBPA works closely with the other Oyster Bay groups to achieve their goals. Oyster River Salmon Enhancement Society
Mission/Purpose: To enhance, restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat on the Oyster River. The Society was was formed in 1983 by a small group of concerned citizens in an attempt to revitalize the decimated river. They operate a strategic enhancement hatchery, raising Pink, Coho, Chinook, and Chum salmon producing up to 2.5 million fry annually. The society's ultimate goal is to close the hatchery down when the river will become self-sustained. To achieve this goal, the society is working on habitat restoration projects for natural spawning, rearing and overwintering of salmonids. Preservation and restoration of wild salmonids is of upmost importance. Simms Creek Stewardship SocietyMission/ Purpose: To work with local residents and businesses, other non-profit organizations and all levels of government to maintain and restore the existing ecological integrity of Simms Creek, its tributaries and associated wetlands. The group has been active for a few years but gained official non-profit status in 2003. The watershed is a blunt division of forest and urban sectors that require a wide mix of stewardship activities. The group has addressed key needs like controlling invasive species, counting fish, augmenting water supplies and testing water quality. The recreational trails in the Beaver Lodge Forest Lands require constant attention to invasive species, garbage and trail deactivation.
Roy Myers in the Beaver Lodge Lands -
Public Education is a primary goal of all Stewards. Storie/Woods Creek Streamkeepers
Mission/Purpose: To work with local residents, other non-profit organisations, and local government to help restore the ecological integrity of small creeks on the east coast of Vancouver Island from the Oyster River north to the Salmon River. Active since 1995, this group shares its expertise between other groups and continues to take an interest in other streams throughout Campbell River. The directors take on specific projects to reach enhancement and educational goals. They have managed to work closely with their large landowners (Storie Creek Golf and Country Club and Timberwest Forest Company) and rural residents to achieve their goals. A number of projects of note are: nine weirs to augment low summer flows and maintenance of fish fences for stock assessment. Their funding comes primarily through the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Fisheries & Oceans Canada.
Photo: Grant Erikson in Casey Creek, north of the pulp mill.
Willow Creek Watershed Society
Mission/Purpose: This group is committed to the stewardship of all natural resources within the Willow Creek watershed. Established in 1995, the group works on projects like stock assessment, habitat enhancement, watershed research and planning, and stewarding the Willow Creek Nature Trust. Watershed features are the Trust lands sandwiched between urban development, the Campbell River airport, and the privately owned forest lands at the headwaters. Willow Creek has never been stocked with hatcher-raised salmonids so it is an indicator stream for other urban small streams on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
Photo: Manmade pool in the Willow Creek estuary provides refuge for salmonids. In 2004, a new highway bridge was constructed.
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