Did you know there is a population of Cutthroat Trout that resides year round in Shelly Creek up near Corfield Glades in Parksville? In the summer, these fish are confined to a few spring-fed pools. The plants that grow beside the creek are very important to the trout for a number of reasons. Plants provide shade and help keep the water at the cool temperature the trout need to survive the summer. They also provide cover under which fish can hide from predators. The trout get a lot of their food from insects that crawl around on the plants and fall in the water. And, plants help stabilize the stream banks and areas beside the banks that might erode into the water.
On March 30 at 10 am, MVIHES will be planting a few hundred much needed plants beside the section of Shelly Creek where the Cutthroat Trout call home. We need lots of volunteers to help with the planting. If you can help, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Please bring a shovel, and a bucket to give the plants a good soaking. We'll meet beside the mailboxes on Hamilton Ave, east of Corfield St. The trout (and MVIHES) thank you.
You may recall that on June 22 and 23, a group of us met on San Pareil beach for a training session on mapping and documenting spawning grounds for forage fish species (surf smelt and sand lance). Our instructor was Ramona de Graaf, Independent Researcher and Co-ordinator of the Shore Spawner's Alliance, who walked us through the process of collecting samples from the top few centimetres of the beach sand and gravel, within the intertidal zone where forage fish typically spawn. We learned how to isolate the finest sand particles, where the eggs and embryos are found, by running our samples through a series of sieves to remove the coarser materials. This was followed by "winnowing" the sand samples, a process similar to panning for gold, to bring any eggs and embryos to the surface. The top layer of sand in the pan was collected with a spoon, placed in a jar and taken to our CSI (Crazy Scientists In-training) laboratory. We placed small portions of the sand samples under microscopes to search for eggs and embryos. Unfortuately, we didn't find any in our samples.
Not to be discouraged, we decided that we just needed to hone our skills. On December 5, we descended upon San Pareil beach with equipment and data sheets in hand, determined to collect some eggs and embryos to prove to the world the beach is a forage fish spawning ground. And what did we find? Sand lance scattered across the beach, suggesting that sand lance had been spawning there the night before. Well that was easy. Who needs to go through the process of looking for tiny eggs and embryos in the sand when the fish are just going to throw themselves up on the beach for us to prove they were there. And just to make sure the sand lance were there for the purpose of spawning, our CSI guy (Crazy Scientist In-charge), Pete Law, dissected 13 specimens. He found 3 females with ripe eggs, 1 female that was spawned out, and nine males with milt.(For those of you who enjoy that sort of thing, the morbid results of Pete's dissections are in the photo below.)
Why did some of the sand lance die on the beach? Our hypothesis at the moment is that we had very cold temperatures the night before and the fish, being cold-blooded, sucuumbed to the unseasonable temperatures. We are checking with Ramona and other forage fish groups to determine if our hypothesis is correct and if anyone else has experienced this occurence. In the meantime, we will continue to sample the beaches in our area for evidence of forage fish spawning.
LOCAL TIMBER COMPANIES, CONSERVATIONISTS HONOUR FAYE SMITH Nov. 2, 2018 was a significant day for Oceanside conservationists. They gathered at the mouth of Centre Creek, a salmon-bearing tributary of the Englishman River to dedicate a plaque in honor of Faye Smith. Faye, a long time conservationist, died in the spring of 2017, leaving a huge legacy. She was well known for the yellow boots she wore while working on local streams – boots that will be hard to fill.
The memorial plaque was placed on a large boulder near the stream by TimberWest with whom Faye and the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES) partnered on restoration projects to improve salmon production.
Faye’s friends from a number of organizations, including TimberWest, Island Timberlands, MVIHES, Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers, Friends of French Creek and others paid their respects and planted trees in Faye’s honor. Witnessing the event were coho salmon spawners, a bald eagle, a pair of kingfishers and a few dippers. As someone said: “Faye would be pleased with the appearance of some of the wildlife that she so passionately loved and respected”.
MVIHES wishes to thank TimberWest (particularly Molly Hudson), and Island Timberlands for this demonstration of appreciation and respect for a valued conservationist and friend.”
For more information, contact Peter Law, President Mid-Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society 250-468-7737 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
"Digs" - a hipster expression for home.
You may recall that on June 22 and 23, a group of us met on San Pareil beach for a 
The memorial plaque was placed on a large boulder near the stream by TimberWest with whom Faye and the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES) partnered on restoration projects to improve salmon production.