Facilitating research and action for the protection and recovery of species and ecosystems at risk in the Islands Trust Area.
British Columbia is the second most biologically diverse province in Canada, with a majority of species occurring in coastal regions. The south coast of the province is one of eleven places in Canada designated as high priority for action to support the protection and recovery of species at risk. Learn about the Priority Places Program.
More than 300 species that occur in the Trust Area are at risk of extirpation or extinction. This represents almost 25% of all species at risk in British Columbia.
There are more than 450 islands within the Islands Trust Area, resulting in a high number of rare and endangered sub-species that are not found anywhere else. This diversity includes a huge number of wildflowers, tiny mosses, lichens, native bees, and bird species in Garry oak meadows, and the towering coastal Douglas-fir forests ecosystems alive with calls from frogs, songbirds, bats, and owls. While these islands are home to incredible biodiversity, they are also where people like to live. This has resulted in increased human pressures and impacts on these species and ecosystems.
Protecting habitat is one of the best ways to prevent species from becoming extinct and aids in the recovery of those species currently at risk. As a land trust, we focus on protecting and restoring land and voluntary conservation actions.
We aim to build an understanding of the status of species and ecosystems at risk (SEAR) in this region. Funding from Environment and Climate Change – Canada Nature Fund’s Priority Places grants helped launch the Islands Trust Conservancy’s Species at Risk (SAR) Program. This program aims to address knowledge gaps and enhance recovery efforts.
Our focus is on enhancing collaboration to protect and restore ecological communities and the species at risk that rely on them. We do this by:
- Improving collective knowledge of the distribution of species at risk through field surveys, monitoring, and mapping
- Protecting, conserving, and restoring ecological communities that species at risk rely on
- Assisting private landholders and conservation partners in voluntary actions
- Developing and distributing education and outreach materials
- Working with First Nations and Indigenous Knowledge Holders to identify and manage threatened species and ecosystems of cultural significance
Protecting the habitats that species need to thrive and to reproduce is the best way to prevent species from becoming at risk and is fundamental to the recovery of species already at risk. Islands Trust Conservancy focuses on protecting and restoring habitat through the voluntary participation of private landholders through the creation of nature reserves and placement of conservation covenants. Learn about protecting nature with Islands Trust Conservancy. Protect nature.
Program Highlights
Hosting gatherings for SAR professionals
Hosting gatherings for SAR professionals
Hosting a SAR Gathering in March 2022 for more than 60 professionals, researchers, and volunteers working to protect species and ecosystems at risk from extinction in the Salish Sea.
Garry Oak Ecosystem Habitat Enhancement Project for pollinators and SAR
Garry Oak Ecosystem Habitat Enhancement Project
Planting more than 20,000 native plants and 2 million native seeds in 2021 as a part of the Garry Oak Ecosystem Habitat Enhancement Project for pollinators and SAR in the Mt Tuam conservation covenant on Salt Spring island.
- Acoustic surveys revealed 8 species of bats visiting the restoration site, including the federally threatened Little Brown Myotis bat and vulnerable Townsend’s, Hoary, and Yuma bats.
- 90 new threatened yellow montane violet plants were found in 2022. These plants provide essential food to the only known population of threatened Zerene Fritillary butterflies in Canada.
Confirming the presence of threatened species
Confirming the presence of threatened species
This work has included tracking threatened plants and insects on Mt Tuam, common Sharp-tailed Snake surveys on five ITC protected properties, and forage fish e-DNA research on beaches.
The Sharp-tailed Snake surveys led to the discovery of two new areas being used by these federally threatened snakes on Salt Spring Island.
Removal of invasive species
Removal of invasive species
Reducing impacts on native plants through the removal of invasive and exotic species on Salt Spring, Bowen, Gambier, Mayne, Thetis, Lasqueti, Denman, Galiano, Sidney, and Gabriola islands. This included over 6,400 lbs. (approx. 3 tonnes) of invasive English holly on Bowen and Gambier islands alone in 2022.
More Information
For more program highlights check out our 2021-22 Impact Report and Annual Report. Program updates are also provided in the Heron Newsletter.
You can also email our Species-At-Risk Program Coordinator.