Sometime this summer, one of my favourite walking spots will disappear. Situated on a berm that traverses the ocean on one side and a farmer’s field on the other, it offers stunning views of the Cowichan estuary at low tide, with many species of birds (apparently over 230) drawing birders and their huge cameras. On one visit we saw five bald eagles, all down by the water. I particularly like the blue herons—prehistoric-looking birds that grawk as they fly, only to gracefully set down in a river channel to fish.
I love the smell of the roses along the trail, and the plentiful blackberries that appear in August. There’s a bird-watching platform 2/3 of the way around the trail, and it’s perfect for getting a long view of the estuary—especially when the tide is out. Then it smells like brackish water and rotting sea vegetation, all exposed to the sun by the low tide. But the trail is getting overgrown; in many places we now have to walk single file because of all the bush crowding in from the sides. I suspect that Parks is no longer maintaining it because it will be gone in a few months anyway.
The Nature Trust of BC has been studying estuary environments up and down the BC coast since 2019. Why are estuaries important? They’re a key habitat for species that live in both freshwater and sea water, they mitigate flooding and sea level rise, move nutrients from the land to the sea, and are a food source for many species, from bears to herons to otters.
The Cowichan/Koksilah River estuary is the second largest and most productive of all of these sites, though it’s heavily degraded by industrial activity and farming. Its “resilience rating,” meaning its ability to withstand sea level rise, is moderate to low. It has tidal flats, saltmarsh vegetation, and tidal channels that allow for sediment flow. It’s also important for salmonid species and many species of birds.
The Nature Trust is restoring the Cowichan estuary in partnership with the Quw’utsun First Nation (Cowichan Tribes). They will “enhance the resilience” of the estuary by adding sediment, removing barriers to tidal influence, and increasing connections to freshwater channels. The restoration also includes reintroducing Indigenous food systems.
You can see a before and after image of the estuary here.
This project has not been without controversy. Even though it’s happening on land obtained by the Nature Trust through a combination of land purchases, donations, and covenants, landowners in the region were up in arms about the restoration project. They said there was no public consultation, and that valuable farmland was being flooded just for an estuary project. They forgot that, just like them, a private landowner can do whatever they want on their land, as long as it doesn’t affect neighbours (and even then, in some cases, that doesn’t matter). They also didn’t take into account the marginal nature of the farmland, which partially flooded during the winter months and had standing water in spots during the summer growing season. It’s only separated from sea water by the berm around the edge of the farmer’s field. Also, The Nature Trust is working in consultation with the local First Nation. So there has been a lot of consultation with the people most affected.
An Indigenous plant nursery has already been established and will be used to revegetate many of the features the Nature Trust is putting in place, such as islands of riparian vegetation, channels, and flood mitigation structures.
But the major deconstruction project is the removal of that berm around the farmer’s field. The same berm that forms the trail we walk on. One day we’ll arrive for a walk and it will be gone, an abrupt slope where it has been cut off just past the trailhead.
I’m sad about the loss of a walking spot that’s such a magnet for birds and vegetation. I’ve enjoyed seeing the estuary in all seasons—particularly winter, when it’s moody and dark. In August the blackberries ripen, and there are many bushes to pick from on the first part of the trail. I hope they keep it, just that first section before you get to the berm. Maybe they’ll move the bird-viewing platform to that spot, so that we can still see the estuary in its full, restored glory.
