This ~12 Ha conservation covenant area is a fairly flat depression located on the north end of Denman Island between the toe of the Quadra sands to the east which lead up to the Komas Bluff and a sandstone/conglomerate ridge to the west. The area is surrounded on the east south and west by a road that links Northwest Road to the Point. The area was most recently logged in 1999.
In 2021, the land was donated to Denman Conservancy Association by Henning Nielsen and Bente Pilgaard of Denman Island, as an Ecological Gift. DCA will begin work on a Management Plan for the land in 2022.
The covenant area is a mix of wetland pockets with seepage water from the Quadra sands and areas on slightly higher ground with trees. Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) in open areas. The treed areas contain Western red cedar (Thuja plicata), Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), Shore pine (Pinus contorta), Western white pine (Pinus moniticola) and Red alder (Alnus rubra). Young trees of all these species are present. Marshy pockets dominated by Slough sedge with much Deer fern (Blechnum spicant) and many wetland species. In winter where is much surface water and some channelized flow. In summer, little surface water is present.
This list includes a federally endangered butterfly species that is endemic to Denman Island, or found nowhere else in Canada. Adult Taylor’s checkerspot (Euphydryas editha taylori) butterflies have been observed in the area and the presenceof food plants in the marshy areas indicates likely breeding. This is a federally red listed species whose only known breeding sites in Canada are on Denman Island. As the forest regenerates, breeding sites may be shaded out without active management.
There are no plans for public access to this vulnerable habitat though the Denman Conservancy has the right to monitor and conduct scientific studies under the terms of the conservation covenant.
