A Baikie Island trail will be closed March 27 and 28 for maintenance.
The Raven Trail in the Baikie Island Nature reserve will be closed this week, as Greenways Land Trust is starting the initial stages of a large-scale restoration project in the area.
section of the Raven Trail between the footbridges and the Baikie Island parking lot will be closed for most of the day on Monday, March 27 and Tuesday, March 28 as we install a temporary bridge to the restoration site. Access will then be intermittently closed as machines enter and leave the worksite for the following two weeks, ending on Friday, April 7, 2023.
The work to be done this spring will include the removal of red alder trees and invasive Himalayan blackberry bushes to prepare for more extensive machine work that will take place this summer, when it can be done with the least impact to fish. Re-vegetation and monitoring work will continue for a several years as Greenways transplants eelgrass, and plants native marsh and shoreline vegetation.
The purpose of the project is to return the Mill Pond area of the Campbell River Estuary to closer to pre-industry conditions to increase rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids with a goal of restoring approximately 20,000 square metres of habitat. The Mill Pond was dredged in 1980 for log boom storage and the current underwater elevations are not suitable for the eelgrass and marsh habitat that is so vital for juvenile salmon to grow in a safe, productive environment with adequate cover from predators and ample food sources, before they migrate out to the Salish Sea for the next phase of their life cycle.
This project has been made possible by a wide range of donors, partners, and experts, including but not limited to the City of Campbell River, Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Wei Wai Kum First Nation, Mosaic Forest Management, Raven Forest Products, Northwest Hydraulics Consulting, A Wood Bulldozing, Pacific Wood Waste, Fernhill Consulting, Mainstream Biological Consultants, and Windsor Mill Sales; as well as consultation with many more local specialists and biologists.
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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