GOERT: Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

Restoration for Species at Risk, Somenos Style
-from a PowerPoint presentation by Dave Polster

Biologist Tracy Fleming conducts a plant survey at Somenos Garry Oak Protected Area

Garry oak ecosystem restoration is a relatively new field and we are gradually figuring out what works. This is a project I have been involved with for about 15 years – mostly trying to keep this rare deep soil Garry oak site in Duncan, BC from becoming a housing development. After a lot of effort, eventually BC Parks forged a deal with the owner and the site became protected parkland. We didn’t want it to become an ecological reserve because we knew that we would need to do some experimenting to develop effective restoration strategies for this and other Garry oak sites, so it remains ‘Somenos Garry Oak Protected Area’.

When we began to consider restoration, the first thing that was obvious was that the non-native shrubs Scotch broom and English hawthorn had invaded the site. Over the first few years literally tonnes of invading woody plants were removed.

Biologist Carrina Maslovat conducts a survey

Experimental Plots
We then divided the area into four large experimental treatment blocks, one which served as a control, one where we would mow once per year only, one where we would mow and burn once, and the final block were we would mow and burn twice. Instead of creating square plots, we designed the plots to mimic the irregular shapes that might be created if the area were burned. First Nations burning has been recognized as a critical part of the natural disturbance regime that has sustained Garry oak ecosystems historically, along with camas harvest. However, although we had everything lined up for burning in the summer of 2003, it was not to be. Because of the raging fires in Kelowna that summer, we were not able to gain permission to burn and we have still not burned the plots but have used mowing as a surrogate.

Endangered yellow montane violet

Monitoring Species at Risk
There have been up to eight species at risk at the Somenos site and the impacts of our restoration treatments on these species have been subject of much study. Somenos is the home of one of the largest populations of endangered yellow montane violet (Viola praemorsa) in Canada. Its population at Somenos has fluctuated over the years. The population of endangered Howell’s triteleia (Triteleia howellii) has increased, but blue-listed Howell’s violet (Viola howellii) seems to have declined. It may be due to the nature of this species. We don’t know. At this point we are continuing with the assumption that if we re-establish the ecosystem that operated here in pre-contact times we will probably benefit the rare species and other native species of the ecosystem. We have been monitoring the rare plant populations in detail as well as conducting detailed assessments of the vegetation over the years.

Re-establishment of large herbivores is another thought we have had for the Somenos site, but it is surrounded by urban areas and the Island Highway so this is not likely to happen. Blue-listed Roosevelt elk were seen at Somenos in September 2006.

Biologists Matt Fairbarns and Hans Roemer survey rare plants

Complexity
The yellow montane violet population has varied so much, it is clear that we need to know more about the ecology of this species. For example, how does its relationship with ants influence its population? Ants are attracted to a sweet part of the seed. And the relationship of the violets to the rest of the ecosystem is equally dynamic. Of course, one of the issues of being out on the edge of restoration ecology is that the ideas we are working with have not been fully tested. We are learning as we go. We continue counting and measuring and planting of common native species. Over the years more than 60,000 native grasses and forbs have been planted in an effort to re-stitch the fabric of the ecosystem.

Planting native grasses to re-stitch the fabric of the ecosystem

Are we doing the right thing? It is clear that the more we know about these complex ecosystems the less we understand, but we are hopeful that we are making a difference, at least in terms of increasing awareness of these wonderful ecosystems with the knowledge we are gaining in the face of continued urban threats.

Results of the detailed vegetation studies of this site are available through GOERT.

Sea blush, arbutus and Garry oak at Mill Hill Regional Park (photos courtesy of CRD Regional Parks)

Come and see the wildflowers in spring!
The Capital Regional District is in its eighth year of a project to restore the Garry oak ecosystems at Mill Hill Regional Park. Up on the hill above the conifer forest are about 20 hectares of Garry oak ecosystems. If you’ve climbed Mill Hill in spring you’ve seen the fabulous display of wildflowers under Garry oak and arbutus trees – camas, spring-gold, shootingstar and satin-flower, just to name a few. Now that much of the Scotch broom has been removed, this lovely hilltop has become even more spectacular. (read more…)

Kings Road Native Plant Garden: an urban restoration project
Corner of Kings Road and Roseberry Avenue, Victoria, BC, Canada

Kings Road Native Plant Garden in Victoria

Over a period of four years, Pat Johnston and seven friends from Victoria’s Native Plant Study Group met consistently two hours per week to transform her city lot into a thriving native plant demonstration garden. Although Pat has recently sold the property, it remains a native plant garden and can be viewed from the sidewalk in the Oaklands neighbourhood of Victoria. The project has spawned several other native plant gardens in the region. To begin with, the front yard was home to a rock outcrop, lawn and two Garry oak trees. Over the years, the crew transformed the yard by: (read more…)

Anticipation of Spring on Eagle Island
by Fran Spencer, Parks Canada Agency

As I sit here listening to the wind and rain rattling my window I dream of bright spring days on Eagle Island. I can almost feel the sun warming my shoulders and see the bright spring flowers carpeting the ground beneath the oaks. Could there be a better picture of paradise?

Eagle Island, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, cradled in the Hook Spit of Sidney Island (photo © Parks Canada/Nick Irving)

But this is a dream of spring to come, not a reminiscence of springs recently past. To bring this vision back to life, this once lush and idyllic island is in need of help, for its spring meadows and fragile ecosystems are threatened by invasive plant and animal species. Parks Canada has taken up this challenge and in 2007 began restoring the ecological integrity of Eagle Island. (read more…)

Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site of Canada, located 14 km west of downtown Victoria, BC, is a restoration site for Garry oak ecosystems. The following is an article by Alison Clark, Eric Hertz, Lindsay Kwasnicia and Cain Van Cadsand. Photos by Lindsay Kwasnicia and Conan Webb/Parks Canada.

Students enjoying their restoration work at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site

Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site Invaded!
The historic walls that surround Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site (NHS) served to protect Victoria and area for many years throughout times of war. But now that the guns lie silent and the guards have long since gone home, there is a new danger that exists.

Foreign invaders
Foreign invaders are silently creeping over the walls at Fort Rodd Hill NHS. They carry neither guns nor swords, and do not travel by foot or car. They are invasive plants. Initially overlooked, many of these foreign invaders have persisted and flourished at this historic site, their impacts on the native ecosystems now becoming clear. Scotch broom, daphne, English ivy and English holly are but a few of the invaders currently being fought within the walls of Fort Rodd Hill NHS, but there are many others. They show no mercy when spreading across the land, and can alter the sensitive ecosystem that supports some of the most rare and endangered species found on Vancouver Island. (read more…)

Irvin Banman, CGOP site manager (photo by Trudy Chatwin)

The Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve (CGOP) is situated 6 km east of Duncan, BC and has been the focus of intensive restoration since its purchase by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in the late 1990s.

Garry oak woodland meadow at CGOP (photo by Andrew MacDougall)

The site was owned by the Elkington pioneer family and had been used for agriculture since the 1860s. Fortunately, the Elkingtons had the foresight to keep a large portion of their land relatively undisturbed, leaving a legacy of one of the largest, most intact Garry oak woodland meadows on Vancouver Island. Because of the relative abundance of native plant species and the presence of rare species, the site is an excellent candidate for restoration.

NCC’s Garry oak restoration program focuses on invasive species control (particularly exotic grasses), native species propagation, research, extension, and socio-cultural restoration with local First Nations. NCC is also involved in Garry oak habitat conservation and restoration in Greater Victoria (Matson Conservation Area) and Campbell River (Tyee Spit). (read more…)