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.
dummy-img
In the media

The cry of the wolf

Globe and Mail December 19, 2008 by Chris Darimont and Chris Genovali With dismay we read Mark Hume’s article (B.C.’s Quiet War On Wolves – Dec.15). Emboldened by the forest industry and hunting groups, the province has demonized and made scapegoats of wolves for the decline of everything from marmots to mountain caribou.
dummy-img
Notes from the fieldRaincoast updates

In and out of Africa

By Chris Darimont Research Scientist, Rainforest Wolf Program Tanzania, December 2008 Guttural roars and the cracking of bone drown out any sound of the river, which by this time of year has slowed to a mere trickle. On its banks, blood-soaked muzzles plunge into fallen prey as if it were their final meal.
dummy-img
In the media

War on wolves fails test of reason, efficacy and morality

The real culprit in the decline of the caribou is human activity The Vancouver Sun December 18, 2008 By Chris Darimont and Chris Genovali With dismay we read Larry Pynn’s article (Wolves killed to protect caribou, Dec. 15) regarding the B.C. government’s clandestine war on wolves. What an astounding folly-in-the-making, and on several grounds.
dummy-img
In the media

Silent Fall and Ghost Runs

ISLAND TIDES Dec 11, 2008 By Chris Genovali The silence along the river was almost deafening. No birds, bears or wolves appeared along the banks. The reason soon became obvious: not a single salmon was to be seen in the glacial-fed water. Not a single salmon carcass lay on the ground, not in the estuary…
dummy-img
Raincoast updates

SALMON POPULATIONS: Watch more streams

GLOBE AND MAIL Editorial December 8, 2008 The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is not monitoring enough rivers to be able to accurately assess the state of the Pacific salmon fishery, according to a new study. Since the preservation of salmon stocks depends on knowing how few are left, it appears the fishery…
dummy-img
Raincoast updates

Monitoring gaps endanger salmon runs: study

Lack of accurate stock information leads to overfishing, scientists say BY JUDITH LAVOIE Times Colonist DECEMBER 4, 2008 Salmon runs are collapsing because inadequate and inaccurate monitoring by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is leading to overfishing, says a study published yesterday in the National Research Council’s Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science….
dummy-img
In the media

Overfishing pushing salmon stocks near collapse, study warns

MARK HUME Globe and Mail December 3, 2008 VANCOUVER – Salmon stocks in British Columbia are on the brink of collapse largely because the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has consistently allowed too many fish to be killed in commercial and recreational fisheries, according to a new research paper.
Two salmon swimming near the rocky bottom of Fraser River.
Scientific literature

Ghost Runs: Management and status assessment of Pacific salmon returning to British Columbia’s central and north coasts

Price, M.H.H., C.T. Darimont, N.F. Temple, and S.M. MacDuffee. 2008. Ghost Runs: Management and status assessment of Pacific salmon returning to British Columbia’s central and north coasts. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65:2712-2718 https://doi.org/10.1139/F08-174 Ghost Runs in pdf

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.