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 black bear turns their head a little while sitting down comfortably.
Investigate and inform

Problem humans and the ecology of bear-human conflict

Last month, in Penticton, BC a group of five black bears – three males and two younger females – had been spotted feasting on residents’ garbage. Conservation authorities were called in, and the five bears were shot dead. This came just a week after six bears were shot in over a three day period near…
Chris Genovali looks out over the water and land with binoculors.
Tracking Raincoast

Tracking Raincoast, past, present, and future

As this decade closes, it’s timely to celebrate what we have collectively achieved for BC’s coast.  Raincoast’s past in the Kitlope takes us back three decades to 1990, when Brian Falconer first visited at the invitation of the Haisla and Xenaksiala. The Nations were working to save the Kitlope from clearcut logging, which they ultimately…
A wolf trots across the eel grass in the estuary.
Investigate and inform

A gift to end commercial trophy hunting of coastal carnivores

#GivingTuesday is a global movement of generosity that has a huge impact on smaller charitable organizations like Raincoast. Raincoast is funded by donations from people like you and those donations allow us to continue our work of protecting the wildlife of BC’s coast, the Salish Sea, Great Bear Rainforest and beyond. 100% of your donations…
Bob McDonald sits on stage with Briony Penn, Brian Falconer, and
Investigate and inform

Stories from the Magic Canoe – An Update on the Kitlope Tenure

Last Thursday, Raincoast hosted a sold out event in Victoria about the legacy of the Kitlope and Xenaxiala elder, Cecil Paul. Cecil was the last person born in the Kitlope and led the efforts to protect the Kitlope from extractive industries. Although Cecil could not join us, we were privileged to be joined by three…
Four wolves walk up a hill following a narrow path, research maps superimposed on top.
Scientific literature

Ecology and Evolution: Functional response of wolves to human development across boreal North America

Previous research on how wolves are affected by human development have been limited in scope and location and the results were mixed. Wolves adapted in a range of ways depending on contextual factors like road or cutblock density. Research undertaken by a team of conservation scientists, including Paul Paquet of Raincoast Conservation Foundation, endeavoured to…
Tyler Jessen helps some young Salish Sea Emerging Stewards on campus to examine a remote sensing device.
Investigate and inform

Collaborating with the next generation

As I walk onto campus at the University of Victoria, I am surrounded by the hustle and bustle of students scurrying off to their classes. For the students, their familiarity with the area makes their travel effortless as they weave and bob through the buildings and walkways. As a visitor, the school is a giant…
Southern Resident killer whales on the surface of the blue Salish Sea.
Conservation updates

We are headed to the Supreme Court for Southern Resident killer whales

Today, Raincoast takes our work to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Working with Living Oceans Society and our legal team at Ecojustice, we have filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. We are arguing that the…
J50 and J42, Southern Resident Killer Whales swim in the Salish Sea.
Backgrounders

Trans Mountain Expansion & Southern Resident killer whales: Project timeline

Raincoast Conservation Foundation represented by Ecojustice have worked through the courts to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the threats posed by the Trans Mountain Expansion project.  Timeline 2013 – Raincoast and Living Oceans, legally represented by Ecojustice, file as formal intervenors in the National Energy Board’s review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX)….

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.