Newsletter March 2012

PURPLE MARTINS

DCA has taken the western purple martin nest box project on Denman Island under its wings. A fund raiser “All for the Birds” on December 17th raised funds which have been earmarked for species conservation work by the DCA. (see page 3). A bird house building workshop was held on February 25th, which was attended by about 20 adults and kids who built nest boxes for native birds and purple martins. Eight martin boxes will be mounted on pipe extensions welded to each of the four steel pilings at the Community Dock in March. The Purple martins return form their wintering grounds in Brazil to our area around the end of March. We anticipate that scouts of the nearby colonies will discover the boxes and with luck may occupy one or more of them this spring.

Sketches by Peter Karsten

We are working with the BC Purple Martin Stewardship & Recovery program which has succeeded in bringing the BC Western purple martin population from less than six pairs in 1985 to some 600 pairs by placing man-made boxes along the southern coast line of the Strait of Georgia. DCA extends its gratitude to those who contributed at the fundraiser and those who supplied materials and time to build the boxes and for the Dock Committee’s support.

See also March 22nd  Bruce Cousens Page 3 for Purple martin presentation.

DCA Newsletter March 2012

AGM BUSINESS

Monday 26 March 2012

Membership

A current membership is required in order to vote on DCA Society matters. The membership year ends December 31. Volunteers will be available before the meeting commencement to accept a minimum $10 donation from those who wish to renew their membership.

Feature Presentation

A special feature  ‘Images of Nature – Denman Island’, 12 minutes long, accompanied by The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi will be shown at the AGM.

Special Resolution (the fine print explanation)

The Federal Government now requires an extra layer of security for lands protected under the Ecological Gifts Program (EGP). They have decided that qualified recipients must have a clause inserted into their constitutions that deals specifically with interests in land that are held under the program. This clause would provide that in the event of the dissolution of a society any such interests must be transferred to other entities (government bodies or charities) that are qualified recipients under the EGP. These requirements affect DCA since we hold one such gift under the program and we hope to receive others in the future.

The conundrum is that we already have a provision in our constitution that deals with the transfer of assets on dissolution, and that provision is stated to be “unalterable”. That provision of unalterability is binding, and the Registrar of Companies (which regulates societies as well) will not allow any change to that clause.

As it turns out, many conservancies and land trusts have the same constitutional constraint. One of them is the Habitat Acquisition Trust in Victoria. They have pioneered a way through the legal maze and have had their method approved by the various bureaucracies involved, namely, the Registrar of Companies, the EGP and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. We propose to adopt their method in satisfying the new requirements.

The essence of the proposed modification is to insert a clause into the bylaws (rather than the “constitution”) that will make clear that any interests held under the EGP can only be transferred to other recipients who are qualified to hold gifts under the EGP and also to impose an obligation on the directors to transfer all EGP gifts to qualified recipients in the event the dissolution of the Society appears to be imminent.

The membership will be asked to pass a special resolution at the AGM to accomplish this and thus ensure that we can continue to receive gifts of ecologically sensitive land under the EGP for protection in perpetuity. The EGP can create valuable tax benefits to donors and therefore provides an important added incentive to people who are thinking of making a donation of land or placing a perpetual conservation covenant on their land.

BEAUFORT VIEW MEMORIAL BENCH

We are pleased to announce the recent installation of a memorial bench in Central Park, along Beaufort View Path with a lovely view to the Vancouver Island mountains.

This bench, created by Peter Karsten, is placed in loving memory of David Cotter (November 2011) and his son Deane (1988). David’s wife Nettie Pasieczka, son Ralph Cotter and daughter Crystal Rasmussen and their families wish to thank Peter and all those involved who made this a joyful experience.

The bench back is shaped like outspread eagle wings with a carved eagle head. It was installed by the Cotter family and friends in late February.  A plaque will be added to the bench later. We hope you enjoy sitting on this bench when you walk along Beaufort View Path. Central Park has provision in its Plan to place other memorial benches in the park.

Contributors to this Newsletter:

Andrew Fyson, Annie Corddry, David Critchley, J Thornton, Jenny Balke, Juan Barker, John Millen Patrick Fawkes, Peter Karsten.

CHECKERSPOT ACTION PLAN EVENTS

Under the relatively new Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), government representatives have designed a Federal Recovery Strategy for Checkerspot butterflies (and other ‘maritime meadow’ species) and they now have a draft Action Plan. The law (SARA) requires that the government consult with landowners where the Checkerspots are found i.e. Denman Island.

Several government and Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team people will be coming to the Island for the following two events:

March 22-24, final date and times TBA.

1. Evening Talk and slides on Garry Oak species and the terms of SARA. A general interest talk to be held on either Thursday or Friday evening.

2. Landowner Workshop: a 1/2 day Action Plan Review Workshop for landowners to find out more and to contribute ideas on land management for Checkerspot butterflies will be held the day after the evening talk. For more info contact Jenny Balke.
The public is welcome at both events. There will be refreshments and door prizes.

“ALL FOR THE BIRDS”

Those who didn’t visit Peter Karsten’s fundraising event last December 17 missed a great event.  Peter had determined that some of his aviary needed extensive repairs and decided to hold a combined educational experience and art sale fundraiser. Galen Malthouse gave tours and expert explanations about the several species that Peter has managed to breed where others have been far less successful. There was an excellent presentation on Purple Martins by Jenny Balke. The Growers and Producers (GPA) was in attendance, reminding attendees of the Seedy Saturday event held in late January. DCA volunteers handled the sales of Peter’s truly wonderful artwork. Peter had created over 200 pieces for the event, including watercolours, carvings and some sculpture. It was very successful enabling Peter to donate $1200 to the Conservancy coffers, to promote wildlife sustainability. (Perhaps with birds being the highest priority).

The 15 or so volunteers were fed delicious hot dogs – European style – by Margrit and her able helpers. Thanks to the parking crew, coffee crew and all the other volunteers.

See also the March 22^nd

presentation on the Purple martin, part of the Scientific Speaker Program.

SCIENTIFIC SPEAKER PROGRAM

DCA is organizing a series of presentations by scientists and naturalists on topics of interest to the community. These will be held at the Back Hall at 7:30 pm.

March 22nd   Bruce Cousens

Senior Biologist, BC Purple Martin Stewardship & Recovery Program Coordinator to speak on the B.C. Purple Martin Stewardship and Recovery Program.

April 12th   Valerius Geist

Prof. emeritus U of C, Faculty of Environmental Design to speak on predators and ungulate ecology and coexisting with cougars, wolves and bears.

May 17th    Kim Brunt

Senior Biologist, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources to speak on wildlife population monitoring, hunting as a population management tool and related subjects.

June 14th Jennifer Balke

Jenny Balke, River otter biologist, will be giving a Thursday ecology talk: “River otters – linking islands” to be followed by a shoreline otter habitat walk on Saturday June 16 at 10:00 am.

SATURDAY A.M. NATURE WALKS AND WORKSHOPS

Following John Tayless’ popular talk on Plankton, Herring and Sealions on March 3, the walks and talks program will continue through spring and summer. Events will include: Spring walk to Tree Island to see flowers and birds; Workshops on Drawing from nature, Nature Photography and Nature note-taking; Wildflower walks; Birdsong walk; Second Tree Island trip; Medicinal plants walk; Low Tide exploration; and walks in Conservancy properties.

Watch for notices and ads in the Grapevine, the “DCA events” sandwich board at the big tree and posters at Abraxas, the General Store and the Community School.

DCA REORGANIZATION

DCA has become increasingly aware that our management structure needs to be more formal. We are in the throes of simplifying our Board structure so that a minimum of duplication of effort occurs and that the duties of the various sub-committees are co-ordinated and in some cases merged.  We are now considering a Board with only 3 committees, Administration, Lands, and Outreach, with the current 12 (or so) sub-groups included within the larger structure. This should mean simpler reporting and a little more oversight in each of the 3 committees as well as a smaller workload for individual Board members.

DCA Newsletter March 2012

LANDKEEPERS

Although the Landkeepers Program grant component will be officially over at the end of March, Environment Canada, who has provided half of the costs, recognizes that this was the training and planning phase of what is a long term project. To date the Program has been well received by the community. The trainees (12 or so) who have staunchly attended the many workshop sessions and field exercises will be helping DCA in the ongoing management of properties under its care. They will also be assisting in the training of future custodians of DCA’s protected lands.

Many folks have asked “What do Landkeepers do?”  The response is, “Well, they help the Denman Conservancy Association manage and care for the lands they are responsible for.”  This does not really remove the quizzical look from the face of the person who posed the question.  After all it is hard to imagine “managing” a growing forest and all its flora and fauna.

The truth is nature takes care of itself quite nicely without human intervention.  In fact the complex integrated ecosystem of a forest still remains pretty much a mystery to humans, far more intricate and astounding than the gardens that we plant and tend.  So what do Landkeepers do?  In a sense they monitor human use of the conservation lands and then try to get out of the way of Nature.   On occasion there is a need to clear a culvert that has stopped up and is threatening to dry out a small bog, clear a trail that has storm blown trees across it or remove interloping Daphne that threatens to choke out the native species.

Some Landkeepers have organized themselves into a management committee known as the Friends of Lindsay Dickson and have established a short list of tasks for immediate action.

Work has already started on establishing a monitoring scheme and preparing to build a long-awaited walking trail loop in theLindsay-Dickson Reserve. Headed by Bill Peters and Shirley Ward, the group wants to compile a list of those who would like to receive notices of work parties, activities and the like. Please contact them directly or ask Juan Barker or J Thornton for more information or to add your name to the list.

There is more to being a Landkeeper than the array of tasks that come from conserving lands.  The true reward is being out in nature, surrounded by the mystery, feeling its energy and power, observing the diversity of the earth and marveling at life in its many forms.  Anyone can join, If you are interested contact Juan.

RAILWAY GRADE MARSH

The Railway Grade Marsh is within the new Provincial Park, lying along its northern boundary. DCA holds a conservation covenant over the wetlands and the Railway Grade itself, which is the walking trail through the area. On February 4 a work party cleared the trail.

Under the terms of the covenant DCA is entitled to manage the covenant area. The Management Plan must be approved by BC Parks. A small group is drafting a Management Plan for the covenant area. The draft plan will be available for review and for discussion at a public meeting which we anticipate will be held in May.

DCA’S COMING OF AGE

Traditionally 21 was the age of majority when youths and maids were recognized as men and women, able to sign contracts, to vote and to drink in bars. Many jurisdictions have now lowered that age to 18 or 19 but the old coming of age term still has meaning, especially to those who had a memorable 21st Birthday Party.

We therefore note with interest that Denman Conservancy Association will ‘come of age’ this May, having been registered as a Society on 8th May 1991.

Perhaps the members of the DCA Board who have been grappling with structure and governance issues this past year (see page 3) will also see the appropriateness of celebrating DCA’s having reached a new level of maturity.

Page 4 DCA Newsletter March 2012