Category Archives: Rivers & Oceans

Rivers & Oceans

Drift logs are scouring marine life from BC’s rocky shores

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Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

Surging numbers of free-floating logs are scouring BC’s coast, threatening marine creatures from barnacles to seabirds, a new University of Victoria study shows.

Barnacle populations, which play a critical role in ocean ecosystems, suffer declines of up 80 per cent in key rocky areas pounded by drift logs mostly from forestry operations, compared to colonies tucked in crevices protected from wood debris, the research suggests.

It’s a worrisome finding, said UVic biologist Tom Reimchen, one of the study’s authors, stressing that barnacles may be small, but their loss has a big ripple effect. 

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Politics, Rivers & Oceans

Area C Director’s Report: wharves, OCP engagement & more

From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Hello, 
Amid November’s bluster, I hope this finds you cozy and warm. This report invites you to engage in the upcoming Official Community Plan sessions and has an update on wharf happenings in the Outer Discovery Islands.

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Rivers & Oceans

Milking the Chum in Basil Creek

The numbers are not in yet, but there are enough returning Chum in Basil Creek to justify milking them for eggs. A group of nine Klahoose employees and Cortes Island Streamkeepers carried this out on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. 

No one wished to comment at this time.

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History, Rivers & Oceans

Gumboots in the Straits Comes To Gorge Hall

Book #4 of the Gumboot series, ‘Gumboots in the Straits’ is coming to Gorge Hall on Cortes Island on Saturday, September 20.

From 1:00 to 3:00 pm, six Cortes Island authors featured in this volume will give free public readings from their contributions.

Later in the day, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, food and drinks will be available for purchase, followed by an evening of dancing to Cortes Island’s own He Said; She Said. Tickets for the dance are $25 and can be purchased at Marnie’s Bookstore and the Cortes Island Museum.

In this morning’s interview, we’ll be joined by Jane Wilde, the originator of the Gumboots series. She’ll also share short readings from some of the Cortes writers featured in Gumboots in the Straits.

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Rivers & Oceans

DFO ‘legacy of neglect’ leaves North Coast salmon to flounder

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fisheries and Oceans Canada cut the monitoring of salmon streams along BC’s North and Central Coast, leaving critical stocks uncounted at the height of spawning season.

Seasonal “creek walkers” — contractors for the fisheries department (DFO) who trek along streams to record salmon returns — haven’t been hired as stocks return along the coast from Bella Bella to the Alaskan border, including major watersheds like the Skeena, Nass and Kitimat systems, says a coalition of conservation groups. 

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