2006 news releases

Title: Changing the Channel
Source: Campbell River Mirror
Date: Feb 01 2006
Author: Grant Warkentin

It won't be long before the newly-restored Baikie Island will be better than the original, says Jim Van Tine. Salmon habitat in the Campbell River estuary continues to be restored after years of industrial use and the restoration work will make the island more fish-friendly than ever before.

A man-made backchannel on Baikie Island was opened to the ocean last week after months of preparation. The backchannel, a small bay carved out of the island and connected to the estuary, will become valuable salmon habitat and feeding grounds once it is planted with native vegetation.

"The next phase is to plant all of this - this will be planted with marsh grasses and will provide food (for fish)," said Jim Van Tine, former manager of the Quinsam Hatchery, who is helping supervise the Baikie Island restoration project. "Then the island will look somewhat like it did originally." In fact, once all the rest of the restoration work is finished on the island, it will be in better shape than it ever was. "It didn't have these fisheries features in it, but we decided since the area was so industrialized we might as well maximize the fisheries values here," said Van Tine.

The city, Greenways Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy of Canada have been partnered for several years, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore Baikie Island to its natural state. The island was heavily used as the focus of the forestry industry in the estuary for decades, hosting a mill at one point and also log sorting operations.

Since industrial operations ceased on the island in the early 1990s, environmental organizations and the city have been working to restore the island to its former state. The new backchannel, under construction since last year, will be a major step in restoring salmon habitat and repairing the damage done by years of heavy use.

The backchannel, closed off during construction from the estuary by a small barrier of earth, was opened up by an excavator late Thursday night. The excavator ripped out the barrier during a low tide to prevent rushing water from damaging the sensitive, new habitat. The next day, at high tide, a special filter between the new bay and the river was already working well to control the flow of silt and salt water into the new backchannel. Van Tine said the backchannel will trap food for fish but will also be a new food source for fish in the river. "The fish can come in and as the tide comes and goes it will make the food available to them," he said. "For fish that don't come in here, it will also flush a lot of food out of the slough and into the river."

Van Tine said when the restoration work is completed, the island will be a publicly-accessible nature park. "This is a community project, in contrast to the spit where they're actually physically paying somebody to build a city park. That's a city park, this will be the nature area," he said.

It will take a few more years before all the restoration work is finished, but it will be worth it, Van Tine said. "This one's still a few years from completion, we'll pick away at the upland planting for quite a while. There's lots to do there and the plants are quite expensive, it will take a while to get the money and do the work," he said. "We're doing pretty good on the Campbell, we won't be that far from being completed."

The partnership between the City, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Greenways Land Trust continues to restore Baikie Island to a natural state. Following the Nature Conservancy's guidelines, there is now a new marsh and backchannel on Baikie Island. These provide homes for countless wildlife, from waterfowl to plants. There is also more area to support salmon.

The marsh and backchannel were excavated by project contractor Wacor Holdings Ltd., under the supervision of Van Tine & Associates, with funds from the Nature Conservancy, the City of Campbell River, and additional funding from BC Hydro's Bridge Coastal Restoration Program and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

As the final excavation takes place, the backchannel is transformed into usable habitat for young salmon that need a place of refuge before they head out to sea. The slopes of the backchannel are now being graded and covered with soils for future planting. "The long-term vision for Baikie Island is to be an improved ecological and recreational greenway," said Danielle Cryderman, Greenways Land Trust's operations manager, in a news release. "This estuary island will be excellent wildlife habitat while serving as an area for residents and tourists to walk and see a part of what makes Campbell River unique."

Plans include viewing platforms, trails, and interpretive signs. The island will also be an education source on topics including habitats, life cycles, restoration, and environmental action.

Baikie Island is approximately 49 acres and is 2.5 km north of downtown Campbell River. Many hours of volunteer and discounted work and materials went into this project for the benefit of Campbell River.