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 tiny juvenile Chinook salmon in a viewfinder in the Lower Fraser River.
Scientific literature

Chinook salmon exhibit long-term rearing and early marine growth in the Fraser River, B.C., a large urban estuary

Using tiny salmon ear bones, or otoliths, Raincoast researchers and partners were able to demonstrate that Chinook salmon from Harrison River rely on the Fraser estuary for one to two months while they feed and grow. These findings underscore the critical nature of this habitat for the persistence and recovery of Chinook salmon…
A Coastal Douglas-fir landscape.
Notes from the field

Volunteering with the Big Tree Registry

Taeven Lopatecki volunteering with the Big Tree Registry is a way of quantifiably supporting conservation and awareness for this Island and this coast that she calls home. Raincoast’s scope of work, stretching from coastal landscapes to the waters of the Salish Sea and beyond, satisfies her interest in conservation topics.
Misty MacDuffee and Chris Genovali looking up at a very large cedar tree in a cedar grove.
Conservation updates

The home stretch to permanently protect S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest

It was in late November when we launched our initiative to purchase and permanently protect the S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest. We determined the sale price and set our goal to raise $395,000 by April. Now, less than 2 months into our 6 month fundraising campaign, we are less than $20,000 away from meeting our target…
A hand holding an estuary plant.
Notes from the field

Bringing a stewardship program to my home community

Summer student, Robin Buss, worked with Raincoast Conservation Foundation to bring a stewardship program to her home community, the Tsawwassen First Nation.
Peter Underwood steering Achiever with ocean and blue skies in the background
Notes from the field

W̱SÁNEĆ youth on Achiever explore the Salish Sea

W̱SÁNEĆ youth, Peter Underwood, shares about his trip on Raincoast’s research vessel, Achiever, in the Salish Sea.
Eagle flies high up in the air.
Raincoast updates

Why 2020 was not all bad…

Before 2020 closes, please accept my sincere thanks and gratitude for your support that has enabled our success.
A wolf walks along the beach.
Tracking Raincoast

Tracking Raincoast’s impact through 2020

These conservation efforts and our research have reached millions around the world. Tangible conservation success. 2020 was not all bad – let’s make 2021 even better…
A Flycatcher sits on top of a tree surrounded by snow, wearing a Santa hat.
Conservation updates

All we want for Christmas is an olive-sided flycatcher in a Douglas-fir tree

With the end of 2020 approaching, we need your help in providing BC’s Coastal Douglas-fir forests with a holiday gift that we can all celebrate…

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.