S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest

S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest is a 13 acre conservation property located on S,DÁYES (Pender Island) , WSÁNEĆ Territory.

Photo by Alex Harris /
Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

The campaign to protect S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest

In November 2020, Raincoast partnered with the Pender Islands Conservancy to co-purchase a conservation property on S,DÁYES. Despite planning for a six-month fundraising campaign, we secured the required purchase amount in less than three months.

Behind the name: S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest

Globally, bird populations are in significant decline.1 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers are among the bird species federally listed as threatened, predominantly due to habitat loss. These birds, in particular, find their homes in the fringes of forests bordering wetlands, and these interface ecosystems on the Gulf Islands are among the few places these birds are thriving. As a species linking forests and wetlands, the Flycatcher was chosen as the land’s namesake. 

Though the Flycatcher was chosen to symbolize the importance of preserving intact habitat, the placename, S,DÁYES, recognizes the WSÁNEĆ people who have known Pender Islands as home since time immemorial. In SENĆOŦEN, S,DÁYES means “wind drying,” which refers to drying salmon.3 This was the name given to what is now widely known as North Pender Island prior to settler arrival in the area.

About the land

S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest is populated by an assemblage of ecosystems characteristic to the Coastal Douglas-fir zone. It is part of the Shingle Creek wildlife corridor, which also includes land protected within Parks Canada’s Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. The forest shows a legacy of logging, as most forests across the Gulf Islands do, with large fir stumps standing as evidence of the mature forest that once occupied this regenerating system.

Today, maturing Western redcedar and coastal Douglas-fir trees dominate the forest’s canopy, while stands of peeling arbutus occupy the higher elevation slopes at the property’s edges. A forested swamp, now colloquially known as Muskrat Pond, at the north-western corner of the property supports populations of riparian plant species including oceanspray, bigleaf maple, and red alder. Over 50 bird, 4 bat, and a number of amphibian species, including iconic Pacific chorus frogs, call S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest home. 

Support restoration work

The future

S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest is the first property purchased by Raincoast with the intention of healing the land and securing its long-term protection with a conservation covenant. Raincoast is working with our property co-owners, the Pender Islands Conservancy,  to develop a management and restoration plan for the land. Once a management plan is established, we will register a covenant on the land title. Active restoration and education projects are often underway at S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest, which to date have included native species planting, removing invasive species (particularly Daphne laurel), and creating a native plant meadow. 

donate towards restoration

This campaign was made possible due to the  support of many individuals and organizations, including:

  • Greater Victoria Savings Credit Union
  • Sitka Foundation
  • McLean Foundation
  • Pollinator Partnership
  • Habitat Conservation Trust Fund

Sponsors & supporters

  • Sitka Foundation logo.
  • The McLean Foundation logo.
  • GVSCU Legacy Foundation logo.
  • Public Conservation Assistance Fund logo.
  • Pollinator Partnership logo.
A woman running in a marathon in front of a crowd.
In the media

Raincoast’s Salmon Run

Raincoast Conservation Foundation and title sponsor Hemp and Company present SALMON RUN 10-10-10. Raincoast is an Official Pledge Charity of the 31st Annual Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon for the second consecutive year…
Fish farms on the BC coast threaten wild salmon.
In the media

Proposed Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard opposed by over 40 North American organizations

Over 40 organizations from across Canada and the U.S., including Raincoast, have submitted a joint letter to the General Standards Board opposing proposed organic standards that allow antibiotic and chemical treatments of farmed fish.
A black bear sitting in the woods.
Scientific literature

Animal-welfare needs to go wild say Raincoast scientists

A new study published in the Journal of Animal Welfare by Raincoast scientists Paul Paquet and Chris Darimont, argues that degrading or destroying habitats and other impacts of human activities on wildlife causes them to suffer.  As such, animal welfare considerations granted to domestic animals need to be expanded to include wild animals. Photo: grizzly…
A black bear sitting in the woods.
In the media

Wildlife should be treated better: study

Animal-welfare rules that apply to animals in captivity like pets and farm animals should also apply to wildlife, says a newly published study by scientists from the Victoria-based Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
A black and white photo of bear cubs in the woods.
Scientific literature

Group says animal welfare rules should apply in the wild – and these images show you why

Remote cameras in the forests near Bella Bella show bears hanging out in a circle. Animal-welfare rules that apply to animals in captivity like pets and farm animals should also apply to wildlife, says a newly published study by scientists from the Victoria -based Raincoast Conservation Foundation. The peer-reviewed paper, published in the British scientific…
A family of wolves on a rocky outcropping.
Scientific literature

Wildlife conservation meets animal welfare

Paquet, P.C., and C.T. Darimont. 2010. Wildlife conservation meets animal welfare: two sides of the same coin? Animal Welfare 19: 177-190.
Fish farms on the BC coast threaten wild salmon.
Raincoast updates

Just say no to “certified organic” farmed salmon

While British Columbia (BC) farmed salmon could carry a certified organic label if the proposal by the Canadian General Standards Board and organic aquaculture working group at Fisheries and Oceans Canada gives the stamp of approval, the practices involved in raising salmon in open net-pens is antithetical to the spirit and intent of certification.
A group of bears in the water.
Raincoast updates

The Grizzlies of August

Last Sunday Raincoast’s Field Station manager Doug Brown took this beautiful photograph of a mother grizzly bear with her three cubs in one of the Great Bear Rainforest’s central coast watersheds.

Notes and references

  1.  BirdLife. (2022). State of the world’s birds 2022: Insights and solutions for the biodiversity crisis. https://www.birdlife.org/papers-reports/state-of-the-worlds-birds-2022/
  2.  Rosenberg, K.V et. al (2019). Decline of the North American avifauna. Science, 366. 120–124. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/
  3. Elliot, D. (1990). Saltwater people: As told by Dave Elliot Sr. School District 63 (Saanich): Victoria, BC.