Rochelle Baker
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Wildflower families of the Discovery Islands
Forest-related journalism
Ocean-related reporting
Primary forest survey: Quadra Island
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (white-coloured wildflowers)
Loss of forest cover on Quadra Island
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (yellow-coloured wildflowers)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (pink-coloured wildflowers)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Blue-flowered wildflowers)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Red-orange-flowered wildflowers)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (brown-coloured wildflowers)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (purple-coloured wildflowers)
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Marine mammals
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Land mammals
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Marine birds
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Forest birds
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Amphibians
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Reptiles
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Marine Invertebrates
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Fish
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Green-flowered wildflowers)
Logging in the watersheds of Quadra Island
Plant species observed on the Discovery Islands that are endangered, threatened or species of concern
Animal species observed on the Discovery Islands that are endangered, threatened or species of concern
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Trees and Shrubs)
Lichen species of the Discovery Islands
Primary forest survey: Read Island
Primary forest survey: Cortes Island
Primary forest survey: Maurelle Island
Primary forest survey: Sonora Island
Primary forest survey: West Redonda Island
Primary forest survey: smaller islands
Primary forest survey: East Redonda Island
Place names: Quadra Island
Place names: Cortes Island
Place names: Read Island
Place names: Maurelle Island
Place names: Sonora Island
Place names: West Redonda Island
Place names: East Redonda Island
Place names: smaller islands
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Grasses, sedges & rushes)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Aquatics)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Ferns)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Lichens)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Fungi)
Plant species of the Discovery Islands (Mosses and Liverworts)
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Butterflies, Skippers and Moths
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Dragonflies and Damselflies
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Bees, Ants and Wasps
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Beetles
Animal species of the Discovery Islands: Slugs and Snails
Loss of forest cover on Read Island
Loss of forest cover on Cortes Island
Loss of forest cover on Maurelle Island
Loss of forest cover on Sonora Island
Loss of forest cover on West Redonda Island
Loss of forest cover on East Redonda Island
Solutions
Photographic survey
Forest carbon release by logging on the Discovery Islands
Portal: Public subsidization of logging on the Discovery Islands
Loss of forest cover on the Discovery Islands
The cost of the public subsidy of clearcut logging on the Discovery Islands
Impact of clearcut logging on forest-related employment
Loss of forest carbon sequestration capacity due to logging
Forest stewardship plans for area-based forest tenures on the Discovery Islands
History of forest loss on the Discovery Islands
Portal: A paradigm shift in how Discovery Islands forests are managed is urgently needed
Portal: Over-exploitation of BC forests
Portal: Imagining a new relationship with forests
Portal: Loss of primary forest
Portal: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Portal: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Portal: Increase in forest fire hazard
Portal: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Portal: Increase in forest carbon emissions
Portal: Plantation failure
Portal: Use of ecologically damaging practices
Portal: Permanent loss of forest to logging roads, landings and quarries
Portal: Soil loss and damage
Portal: Loss of forest-related employment
Portal: Loss of employment resulting from the export of raw logs
Portal: Costs of floods, fires and clearcutting of community watersheds
Portal: The economic impact on communities of boom and bust cycles
Portal: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Portal: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Portal: Loss of trust in institutions as a result of over-exploitation of forests
Portal: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Portal: Loss of economic potential of other forest-related sectors
Portal: The economic cost of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Portal: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Portal: The need to expedite treaties with First Nations
Portal: The need to get informed, organized and ready for change
Portal: Surveys
Portal: The case for much greater conservation of forests on the Discovery Islands
Portal: Greater conservation of forests is needed to mitigate climate change
Portal: Retention of old and mature forest is necessary to protect biodiversity
Portal: Compared with old and mature forest, logged areas have a higher fire hazard
Portal: The extraordinary beauty of the Discovery Islands needs to be protected
Portal: We support Indigenous title and rights on the Discovery Islands
Portal: Logging on the Discovery Islands is heavily subsidized by the public
Species at risk on the Discovery Islands
Historical record of forest fires on the Discovery Islands
Lakes and wetlands of the Discovery Islands
Recreation Resources: Morte Lake-Chinese Mountain area
Recreation Resources: Nugedzi Lake-Mount Seymour area
Recreation Resources: Newton Lake-Small Inlet-Waiatt Bay area
Recreation Resources: Mud Lake-Nighthawk Lake area
Recreation Resources: Eagle Ridge-Blindman's Bluff area
Recreation Resources: Heriot Ridge area
Recreation Resources: Shellalligan Pass area
Recreation Resources: Two-Mile Lake-Clear Lake-Hummingbird Lake area
Recreation Resources: Maud Island-Saltwater Lagoon
Recreation Resources: Hyacinthe Point area
Recreation Resources: Raven Lake-Raven Ridge area
Recreation Resources: Main Lake Provincial Park
Recreation Resources: Octopus Islands Provincial Park
Recreation Resources: Darkwater Lake-Darkwater Mountain
Salmon bearing streams
Portal map: Salmon bearing streams of the Discovery Islands
Library: Logging and plantations create higher forest fire hazard
Libary: Conservation of forests needed to protect biodiversity
Library: Conservation of forests is needed to mitigate climate change
Library: Supporting Indigenous title and rights
Central library
Portal: Discovery Islands' place names
Export of raw logs from the Discovery Islands
Log exports from the Discovery Islands
Discovery Islands forest tenures and logging plans
Discovery Islands Protected Areas
Place names of the Discovery Islands
Portal: Calculation of direct local employment
Watersheds of Quadra Island
Watersheds of Read Island
Watersheds of Cortes Island
Watersheds of Maurelle Island
Watersheds of Sonora Island
Portal: Watersheds of the Discovery Islands
Engaging the mindustry
Species at risk of local extirpation
Artistic Expression
Volunteer
Discussion
Project calculations
Definitions
Fisheries surveys of Discovery Islands creeks
Portal: Resolution of forest-use conflicts
Vancouver Island Land Use Plan
About the Discovery Islands Conservation Project
Recent satellite imagery of forest cover loss on the Discovery Islands
Forest planning documents
Sources for April 2023 complaint to Forest Practices Board
Woodlot 2031 (Okisollo Resources)
Herbicide use
DI Forest Bulletin
Sources for 2024 submission on TFL 47 Johnstone Strait FSP
Comments on proposed cutblocks and roads
Blogs
Events
Downloads
Everything posted by Rochelle Baker
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Quadra Island’s Copper Bluffs community worries about the fate of prized wetlands (above) in the Missing Links watershed after Mosaic recently logged around a nearby lake. A Quadra Island community is increasingly frustrated by its inability to protect vital watersheds from being clear-cut despite the increasing risks of climate change. Many residents in the Copper Bluffs community and elsewhere on the island have been urging Mosaic Forest Management to reconsider logging remnants of mature forests, particularly in stream sheds and wetlands. Despite long-standing opposition from residents, Mosaic has harvested six parcels totalling five hectares from tree farm licence 47 (TFL 47), which spans most of the island north of Gowlland Harbour and Hyacinthe Bay. The logging removed much of the remaining mature forest circling a small lake in a watershed already degraded by logging, said longtime resident Jim Leishman. Known as Swan Lake, the pond is often frequented by trumpeter swans when they come south for the winter. After last week’s logging took place, Leishman surveyed the largest parcel and found a number of small streams feeding the lake damaged and buried under debris. He also noted the tree buffer between the clear-cut and the pond’s edge was scanty with mostly poor-quality trees remaining. “They’ve removed the mature growth, which acted as one of the last [forest] sponges left on the lake,” Leishman said, noting the surrounding watershed’s ability to absorb rainwater has already been compromised by extensive logging. Mosaic did not respond to Canada’s National Observer’s requests for an interview. However, in an emailed statement, Mosaic said it remains committed to ongoing collaboration with Quadra Island communities and residents. Mosaic originally planned to log the parcels adjacent to Swan Lake in fall 2023 but delayed operations to allow for further community engagement, the email said. The company also contracted an independent report to see if logging on the cutblocks would endanger drinking water quality for residents. “Our professional foresters, biologists, and area planners carefully considered safety, recreation, water quality, fish, visual quality, wildlife, and other values when planning the area,” the email said. However, island resident Kailea Rendle is cynical about the company’s good faith when it comes to community engagement. The company logged the Swan Lake area against residents’ wishes with no significant alterations to its plans, particularly for the largest block above the lake. The logging company has ignored residents’ concerns about the significant climate impacts of logging the sensitive areas in the watershed and aggravating the danger of drought and wildfires, Rendle said. The Swan Lake parcels may be small, but the resulting environmental impacts will be compounded by numerous other recent clear-cuts near the pond and throughout the watershed, Leishman stressed. Mature forests are critical to slowing winter rains, allowing water to filter into aquifers that feed residents’ wells. They also help dampen increasingly dry conditions that threaten fish and wildlife and set the stage for severe wildfires during summer. Severe drought on Quadra Island is no longer an isolated event. The island is part of the eastern Vancouver Island water basin, which has suffered Level 5 droughts (the most extreme rating) for the past three summers. An exceedingly low snowpack and record-high temperatures this winter are setting the stage for another province-wide drought and savage wildfire season. Like many communities across B.C., Quadra Island fought to contain a wildfire last year. Residents have even greater concerns about Mosaic’s future logging plans for a cutblock bordering critical beaver wetlands and three popular hiking trails in the Missing Links watershed that traverses the Copper Bluffs community, said resident Rolf Erdmann. Residents say they have been pushing Mosaic to respond to their concerns since 2020. Aside from preserving the views from the bluffs at the top of the trails, maintaining the ecological integrity of the Missing Links watershed is vital to buffer the risks of fire, particularly for Copper Bluffs residents, who are outside the Quadra Island Fire Department’s response zone, Erdmann said. Mosaic has not responded in a transparent manner or to community concerns, Erdmann said, adding they still don’t know what the forestry company’s plans are for the parcel. The community’s trust in Mosaic has eroded further after getting an email from the company suggesting it has no interest in logging the Missing Links watershed, he said, yet the forestry giant has still secured a cutting permit for the area. In its email statement to Canada’s National Observer, Mosaic acknowledged plans to log in the Missing Links watershed have been in the works for several years. “We are listening to the community’s feedback on the harvest plan and have deferred this block until at least 2025 to allow for further engagement.” The province’s long-standing promise to transform the logging industry to prioritize ecological, community and cultural values over timber extraction when managing forests isn’t playing out on the ground, Rendle said. By the time any shift actually occurs, the opportunity to preserve the island’s most valuable mature forests so they can transition into much-needed old-growth areas to boost communities’ resilience to climate change will likely be long gone. “It really feels hopeless,” Rendle said, noting families choose to live in the small remote island community because they appreciate and want to protect its natural beauty and environmental values. “We gathered in every way we knew how to voice our concerns and protect our community and it made no difference. “It’s so clear to me that they couldn’t care less about our well-being.” Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
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Crews work through the night to dampen out-of-control Quadra Island wildfire Forest fire near Village Bay Lake on August 17 (photo by BC Wildfire Service) BC WILDFIRE SERVICE’s specialized attack crews worked through the night to tame an out-of-control wildfire that broke out in a populated area of Quadra Island Thursday afternoon. Three first-response attack crews, a helicopter and two tree-fallers continue to fight the blaze east of Village Bay Lake near Bold Point Road and it has shrunk from four hectares to 1.5 hectares in size, BC Wildfire Service information officer Sam Bellion told Canada’s National Observer early Friday. The wildfire service’s latest alert at 11 a.m. said the fire is being held. It broke out in the island’s Village Bay Lake area, a popular summer destination with numerous recreational properties and homes. Rapid attack crews, an air tanker dropping fire retardant and two helicopters with water buckets were initially dispatched when the fire was reported about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. “They did great work last night,” Bellion said. “They dropped a lot of retardant on the eastern flank of the fire, and worked through the night on the western flank to get that down.” Friday morning, crews reported the western flank of the blaze was limited to a creeping, smoldering ground fire, she said. Firefighters will now focus on the southern edge of the blaze. “They’re not expecting any significant growth there,” Bellion said. “So, today, they’re just going to be working for containment and doing what they can.” Islanders work to quench fire Residents from Village Bay Lake and Bold Point were reportedly first on the scene to quench the blaze with hoses and pump equipment before being rapidly replaced by professional wildfire service crews and seven members of the Quadra Island Volunteer Fire Department who worked until nightfall. No structures have been officially reported as lost or damaged and no evacuations took place, Bellion said. The fire is deemed as human-caused, but any specifics won’t be known until a full investigation takes place after the blaze is out, she added. Reports on Quadra’s social media sites suggested at least part of the fire was caused by a tree breaking a hydro line after falling in heavy wind. The Quadra Island Volunteer Fire Department appealed to people to stay clear of the area. A fire advisory remains in place and the BC Wildfire Service and Quadra Island Volunteer Fire Department are reminding people to follow the directions of local authorities. The best source of updates is the BC Wildfire Service app or its website. Or people can sign up or check for alerts at alertable. Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
