March 2013

Stream Keepers

Over the past month we have been busy walking our streams looking for Wild Coho to see how far up into the watersheds they are going. All streams walked showed good returns for these fish, which may continue right through the Xmas season. Trees have been planted along some of the stream banks where the riparian has been damaged in the past. Along the foreshore we have seen a large population of Sea Lions (Sea Wolfs) (100 to 200 animals) feeding on a large biomass of Herring, which has been moving along our shores for the past month. Along with the Sea Wolfs there has been a large flock of Mergansers also feeding along the shore. These birds seem to be feeding on Sand Lance (Needle Fish), which bodes well for the salmon next spring as they emerge from the streams to feed along the foreshore. Samples have been taken of the substrate to be sent to the lab for further evaluation as to the presence of their eggs which they bury in the sand between the high - high tide line and the low -high tide line, this is the two lines you see along the beach when one tide reaches all the way up the beach and the next one only comes half way, this tide is not to be confused with the low tide lines. One of the most important areas of the beach we seem to be losing due to the urge to have a view is the riparian trees, which provides very important shade for the foreshore. Without this shade the eggs can dry out before they hatch further depleting this important species of which our young Wild Salmon rely on to grow as they migrate and feed along the shore. One resident asked why do we not replant our beach accesses and provide some natural vegetation for at least that small section of the shoreline; I replied that he should bring his concerns to the council meetings and the Parks committee.

In the past I volunteered to replant the access at Huddleston and spent all winter replanting with native plants only to see them mowed down by the grass cutter. Hopefully over this winter I will be able to replant and next spring hopefully they will not get mowed down. A tree planted at the end of Harper Rd was cut down by the same staff member who later denied cutting it down and when another was planted it too was cut down and the explanation was “I did not know we were planting trees” obviously the tree had been planted so why would anyone cut it down?

May the new year bring you all good luck and happiness and hopefully you will think of what you can do to help our environment and what you as a resident can do to beautify Lantzville, planting the road right of way with flowers and shrubs or trees as long as there are no power lines above and if so only plant low growing trees and shrubs. Lets all work towards a Lantzville we can all be proud of.