ABOUT CREEKSIDE RAINFOREST

A rare, damp, mossy, forested valley stretching along both sides of Cusheon Creek, one of Salt Spring’s largest salmon-bearing streams is about to be LOST FOREVER to subdivision and development if we don’t act now to save it.

If we lose this KEY RIPARIAN AREA, the productive interface between land and water, we destroy not only the many plant and animal communities that live there but also the eighty percent of land animals and birds that are also dependent for life upon riparian ecosystems. Red-legged frogs, blue-listed and of special concern due to habitat loss, live along this creek. Owls hunt there. A full biological assessment has not been done so at present we are not aware of all values that will be lost.

A Riparian zone itself is known to be a KEY AREA that supports a much greater quantity of diverse life than a piece of dry land of equal size. Almost all land creatures depend on riparian areas. Therefore we can only save Salt Spring if we focus on preserving our riparian land. Western Red Cedars are dying of drought everywhere but continue to live where there’s water and shade.

Cusheon Creek, a SALMON-BEARING STREAM will be AT RISK if this land is developed. Now mature trees and shrubs shade the creek and keep the water temperature low enough for salmon that spawn here. Newly hatched Coho stay almost a year in this creek. Fed by the outflow from Cusheon Lake, strong winter streams rush down the south bank of the valley into the creek. These have not been assessed or even mapped yet these may be crucial for fish habitat. A WILDLIFE CORRIDOR will be FRAGMENTED if this land is developed. Now it is part of a wildlife pathway formed by a chain of three lakes and streams the edges of which are given
legal protection (10 metres) by Islands Trust. The bottom lake is Cusheon, which provides drinking water for over 200 households, and its outflow travels along Cusheon Creek to the sea, an interface that’s crucially productive for water birds. This corridor allows creatures and plants access to water and forms a ribbon of life. The creekside land to be saved is near the bottom of this 8 KM corridor.

This green valley’s moss-festooned rainforest is stunningly beautiful on an island where land is being destroyed bit by bit. Our children and grandchildren need and deserve to inherit beauty and mature trees that absorb carbon dioxide and support life. We want to buy, covenant and preserve this and forever.