S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest
Together with the Pender Islands Conservancy, Raincoast purchased 13-acres of Coastal Douglas-fir forest and associated habitats on S,DÁYES (North Pender Island), WSÁNEĆ Territory, in early 2021… and this is just the beginning.
Photo by Alex Harris /
Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
The campaign
The best way to ensure land is protected is to own it. In November 2020, Raincoast partnered with the Pender Islands Conservancy to co-purchase a conservation property on S,DÁYES (North Pender Island). Despite planning for a six-month fundraising campaign, we secured the required purchase amount in less than three months.
The property
British Columbia’s Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) biogeoclimatic zone is the smallest and most endangered of 16 such zones in the province. It is also among the least protected, and this protection is mostly made up of small disconnected patches. It covers less than 0.3% of the province. This limited extent makes this property incredibly valuable. This is especially true as it supports a large healthy wetland, which provides essential habitat to at least 46 bird species including olive-sided flycatchers. These birds in particular find their homes in the fringes of forests bordering wetlands, and have been provincially and federally listed as threatened due to habitat loss. Gulf Islands forests are among the few places these birds are thriving. As a species linking forests and wetlands, the Flycatcher has become the namesake of the place. Given North Pender Island is the territory of the WSÁNEĆ people, who know it as S,DÁYES, we have named the forest S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest.
The future
This is the first property Raincoast has purchased with the intent of restoring the land and securing its long-term protection with a conservation covenant. We are in the process of registering a covenant on the land title in partnership with the Islands Trust Conservancy. This will be followed by ongoing restoration (e.g. junk removal, invasive species removal, and native species planting, with a focus on planting culturally significant food and medicine species), ecological monitoring, and education activities, particularly for WSÁNEĆ youth. We are also currently drafting the property management plan in collaboration with local scientists and Traditional Knowledge Holders.
