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.
Drone photo of an intact second growth forest in the Gulf Islands.
Events

Register for our webinar series about conservation and resilience in the Gulf Islands

more about complex environmental issues and the options for better environmental policy and protection in the Gulf and Howe Sound islands.
Drone image of the Steveston Jetty with a large breach that was apart of our restoration project.
Notes from the field

Our first restoration project is complete!

This project has been the largest connectivity restoration project in the Fraser estuary in decades.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, British Ecological Society logo sitting overtop of a cougar walking up the beach.
Scientific literature

On ensuring animal welfare in research using live capture

A recent journal article, published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution, draws attention to the need for consistent and high standards for animal welfare in research, and the important role that journals have in maintaining ethical standards in published research. The authors, joined by Raincoast scientists Kate Field, Paul Paquet and Chris Darimont, stress that…
Photo looking into our research boat, Achiever, with people inside.
Conservation updates

Unpredictability of spills and how we are addressing them

This capacity will complement – but not replace – the capacity of government agencies and industry, and is intended to deliver expert technical support to First Nations and communities.
Salmon in a glacier blue river.
Notes from the field

Scat, tracks, and spawning salmon: following signs of wolves along the south coast

Notes from the field about a day looking for signs of wolves.
A Southern Resident killer whale swims by Saturna Island and exhales beside the shore and kelp, with logos from the Suzuki Foundation, WWF, and more.
Backgrounders

2021 snapshot review of Southern Resident killer whale protection measures, what’s still needed, ongoing threats, population statistics

Read our backgrounder with information about orca protection measures, what’s still needed, ongoing threats, population statistics, and data.
Birds eye view of a coastline with a bull kelp forest on a sunny day.
Conservation updates

Plastic pollution threatens salmon, whales and people

Plastics from just about every sector can now be found all over the world – from mountain tops to the seafloor, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and from our homes to the ocean. A modern-day scourge that is blighting remote beaches and shorelines, getting mistaken for food by wildlife, and getting into the foods…
Deceased salmon in a river after spawning.
Notes from the field

An autumn spent tracking bald eagles and spawning salmon

Kristen Walters, Raincoast’s Lower Fraser River Salmon Conservation Program Coordinator, shares about her experience in the field.

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.