The Wetland
The wetland and beach (Click on picture to
enlarge)
When
Sargeant Bay Provincial Park was established in 1990, the wetland
between the bay and Redrooffs Road was a mess. In 1978 the previous
owner had dredged a channel through the beach berm and into the wetland
to create a marina. This allowed the tides to enter the area freely,
causing logging debris to enter and soil to erode. During low tides the
water-saturated soil compacted.
In consultation with BC Parks, the Ministry of Environment and the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Sargeant Bay Society developed
a plan to rehabilitate the wetland. The plan was approved in 1991 and
carried out the same year. Financial support was provided by the
Environmental Partners Fund and the Habitat Conservation Fund.
The channel was filled in and a fish ladder was installed where Colvin
Creek used to discharge into the bay before the dredging. Because the
compacted soil in half of the wetland could not be returned to its
previous spongy state, a little lake with an island was created as a
refuge for birds and wildlife.
The creek was dredged out where it had silted up to provide access for
salmon to the gravel beds below Redrooffs Road. |
The same year the rehabilitation
project was completed, Chum and Coho came to spawn in Colvin Creek.
Also that same year the beavers, that had settled in the wetland in
1998, decided that the lake we had made was not good enough for them.
They started to build a dam in front of the fish ladder as well as in
several other locations along the creek. During the next few years
volunteers removed the dams during the spawning season. This became too
onerous a job and was discontinued in 1996. Only the dam in front of
the fish ladder was removed during the spawning
season. After that year Chum no longer spawned in the creek, although
some
Chum fry has been caught in the lake, upstream of the fish ladder, so
some
must have spawned somewhere in the lake.
The beavers kept expanding their system of dams as shown on the plan
and built seven lodges. We don't know how many of these are occupied.
The biggest lodge can be seen from the beach berm at the location of
the bench.
Eventually, removing the entire dam in front of the fish ladder, also
became too much of a chore and only a channel, wide enough to let the
salmon pass through, was dredged out. The dam has now become a
permanent fixture. It raised the level of the lake by 42 cm, as can be
seen on the drawing.
To view photos of the main beaver dam and lodge, click here.
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Construction,
August 1991
December 2001
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