Banishing broom from the Denman butterfly reserve to help wetlands
By Chris Junck, Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project Team
BC Parks is continuing to implement the wetland restoration plan that was developed in 2021 for the Denman Island Park and Protected Area butterfly reserve. The primary purpose of the 10-hectare reserve is to sustain suitable habitat for a subpopulation of endangered Taylor’s checkerspot and other butterflies. Ongoing vegetation management within the reserve is required to maintain open meadow and wetland habitat that the butterflies require.
In 2023, the focus was on clearing invasive Scotch broom from the wetlands that were constructed in the southwest corner of the reserve in the fall of 2021. Last spring, four BC Parks student rangers swept through the wetlands to remove dense patches of small broom plants. They then moved to adjacent areas to take out mature Scotch broom. Two Denman Island residents were contracted in the fall to remove any remaining broom from the southwest lobe of the butterfly reserve, and clear large broom that blocked the trail on the west side and near the information kiosk.
“The crews removed an astounding amount of Scotch broom,” said Erica McClaren, BC Parks protected area ecologist and one of the project leads. She added, “when they finished there were nineteen huge piles of broom, and the total area cleared was almost 22,000 m2.” That’s approximately the same area as three soccer fields!
It’s a challenge to keep up with Scotch broom invasions. A mature broom shrub may produce more than 18,000 seeds annually. The seeds can be viable in the soil for decades. Left unchecked, broom will rapidly recolonize cleared areas. The butterfly reserve wetland restoration plan indicates that ongoing work to remove invasive plants, seeding and planting native species, and monitoring the results will be required to ensure the success of the project.
BC Parks and the project team thank the Cowichan Tribes, Halalt, Homalco, K’ómoks, Lake Cowichan, Lyackson, Penelakut, Qualicum, Snaw’Naw’As, Stz’uminus, Tla’amin, We Wai Kai, and We Wai Kum First Nations for allowing us to restore ecosystems in their traditional territories. Several local volunteers also contributed to the success of this wetland project.
The recovery project has benefited from funding and in-kind contributions from the BC Parks Licence Plate Program, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, the Environment Canada Habitat Stewardship Fund, and the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (Ecosystems Branch), and others.
The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project Team includes biological consultants and representatives from the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, BC Parks, Denman Conservancy Association, Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Mosaic Forest Management, Wildlife Preservation Canada, and others.
Learn more about the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly:
https: //goert.ca/activities/taylors-checkerspot/
and
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk/implementation/conservation-projects-partnerships/taylors-checkerspot
Background Information
Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori)
- Also known as Edith’s Checkerspot.
- Historical range was Hornby Island, southeastern Vancouver Island, Puget Trough and to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. In B.C., they were once abundant at 10 sites in the Greater Victoria Area, one site each near Mill Bay and Comox, and sites on Hornby Island (including Helliwell Provincial Park).
- They were thought to have been extirpated (became locally extinct) from Canada by 2000 when no Taylor’s Checkerspots could be found in their last known sites on Hornby Island despite intensive searches. However, new populations were discovered on Denman Island in 2005 and near Campbell River in 2018.
- It is federally listed as Endangered (COSEWIC, SARA Schedule 1), and is on the BC Red list of at-risk species.
- Taylor’s Checkerspot butterflies need open sunny meadows where they can find suitable host plants (food for larvae and nectar producing flowers for adults), such as woolly sunflower, common camas, small-flowered blue-eyed Mary, wild strawberry, sea blush, and yarrow.
- Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are major factors in the species’ decline. For example, the meadows along the coastal bluffs in Helliwell Provincial Park became less suitable for butterflies due to invasions of non-native plants and encroaching forests.
- Habitat enhancement work (weeding, selective limbing +/or removal of conifers, re-planting and seeding with native species) has been ongoing in Helliwell Provincial Park for several years.
The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project
The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project is led by Jennifer Heron of the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship and is guided by the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team’s Invertebrates at Risk Recovery Implementation Group. It is a collaborative effort to restore Taylor’s checkerspot populations in British Columbia through habitat enhancement, captive butterfly rearing and release, monitoring, public outreach, and other activities.
Team Members
Jennifer Heron (Chair), B.C. Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship, Vancouver, B.C.
Erika Bland and Andrew Fyson, Denman Island Conservancy Association, Denman Island, B.C.
Deborah Bishop, Denman Island, B.C.
Menita Prasad, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Aldergrove, B.C.
Eric Gross and Ross Vennesland, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Delta, B.C.
Crispin Guppy, Entomologist, Whitehorse, Y.T.
Molly Hudson and David Vey, Mosaic Forest Management, Nanaimo, B.C.
Chris Junck, Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team and B.C. Conservation Foundation, Victoria, B.C.
Suzie Lavallee, University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry, Vancouver, B.C.
Patrick Lilley, Private Consultant, North Vancouver, B.C.
Erica McClaren and Stephanie Govier, BC Parks, Black Creek, B.C.
Kristen Miskelly, Satinflower Nurseries, Victoria, B.C.
Derek Moore, Area Supervisor Von Donop Area, BC Parks, Black Creek, B.C.
Nick Page, Raincoast Applied Ecology, Vancouver, B.C.
Hazel Wheeler and Andrea Gielens, Wildlife Preservation Canada, Guelph, ON.
Bonnie Zand, B.C. Conservation Foundation, Fanny Bay, B.C.
Supporters
B.C. Conservation Foundation
B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
B.C. Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship
BC Parks
BC Parks License Plate Fund
Conservancy Hornby Island
Denman Conservancy Association
Environment Canada Habitat Stewardship Fund
Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team
Greater Vancouver Zoo
Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
Hornby Island Community School
Hornby Island Co-op
Hornby Island Natural History Centre
Hornby Island Provincial Parks Committee
Mosaic Forest Management
Sea Breeze Lodge
University of British Columbia
Wildlife Preservation Canada
For more information about the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project, visit: www.goert.ca/activities/taylors-checkerspot/
Or contact:
Project Lead/GOERT Invertebrates at Risk RIG Chair
Jennifer Heron
Provincial Invertebrate Conservation Specialist
B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Office: 778-572-2273
Jennifer.Heron@gov.bc.ca
Public Outreach Coordinator
Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project Team
Chris Junck
chris_junck@hotmail.com
* More photos available by request
BC Parks
Erica McClaren
Protected Area Ecologist
Office: 250-331-9922
Erica.mcclaren@gov.bc.ca
