We live in a beautiful and truly unique place – one that is globally rare! Denman Island is at the northern end of the Coast Douglas Fir (CDF) ecological zone that covers only 0.3% of BC’s total area; it is by far smallest and rarest of the 16 ecological zones in BC. The CDF contains more species at risk than any other ecological zone in BC ( >225 species that are provincially rare), yet only 8% of the CDF is protected, making it the least-protected ecological zone in BC. We are losing the forest to human land use such as development (CDF has the highest road density of any ecological zone in BC), and logging (1% of old-growth forest remains). The forest is also having a hard time regenerating because of the presence of invasive species, overabundant deer and the effects of climate change. So how can we help? There are more than 150 invasive species in the CDF and on Denman we have a number of invasive plants, such as English holly and Scotch broom that are interfering with the ability of the forest to regrow. Proper removal of these plants without using pesticides will allow native plants to grow and flourish.
Everyone can join in by removing the plants from their property and participating in invasive pulls in Protected Areas. Deer can also cause the forests to change forests by preferentially browsing seedlings such as red cedar, so that the forest and its understory do not regrow with the same structure and diversity. This has many “knock on” effects as the forest lacks many of the understory shrubs that birds and other wildlife species rely on for nesting and food. This is the UN Decade of Ecological Restoration, and by planting trees and other native plants, we can help our forests recover and flourish into the future.
Please join the DCA and the Pesticide Free Committee for a walk in Lindsay Dickson Nature Reserve on Saturday November 6, 2021 at 1 pm to talk about forests. Please meet at the top of Mallard Way off Owl Crescent near the Nature Reserve entrance kiosk.
