|
Sechelt Peninsula: California and Steller's sea
lions and harbour seals gather
during winter months at the mouth of Chapman Creek south of Sechelt.
Walk out onto Mission Point for the best views. The best approach
to the point is from the beach at Davis Bay.
The marshland around Sargeant Bay Provincial
Park is an important stopover for waterfowl such as harlequin
ducks, Canada geese, and trumpeter swans, as is the upland area
for a host of migratory songbirds. Local volunteers have undertaken
an ambitious project to restore wildlife habitat around the bay.
To reach the park, follow Redroofs Road west of Hwy 101, about 6
km north of Sechelt. You'll have to watch carefully for the road
sign as it is not prominent. Follow Redroofs to Sargeant Bay Park
Road a short distance to the undeveloped shingle and sand beach,
and begin stalking from here.
The
Marbled Murrelet's dependence on mature forests for nesting
puts it squarely at odds with clearcut logging - and at the
mercy of timber companies |
Some of the
oldest yellow cedar and western hemlock in western Canada grow in
the Caren Range, the backbone of the Sechelt Peninsula. Home
to the marbled murrelet, a drab, starling-size seabird whose numbers
are in as precipitous a decline as the old-growth western hemlock
on which it depends. Although most murrelets nest in cliffs and
rock walls, the marbled murrelet, having evolved beside the majestic,
ramrod-straight, temperate old-growth forest, lay their eggs on
the hemlock's broad, moss-draped limbs.
A bittersweet victory was gained here when the last of the great
Caren forest was recently protected as Caren Provincial Park, but
not before some of the oldest trees in Canada - in excess of 2,000
years old - were cut, then left to waste!
You'll have to drive a long way through open hillsides before you
reach the shade of the park, but the tranquillity you'll experience
there will be a grand reward. Look for a paved road that begins
13 km north of Sechelt on the east side of Hwy 101, marked by a
Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre sign. Drive a father 13 km up what
soon turns into the Caren Mainline Forest Rd. Parts of this road
are deteriorating, and those with a four-wheel-drive vehicle will
have the easier go of it. At the three-way fork in the road, take
whichever direction seems best suited to your vehicle. Each leads
to the forest, still some distance above.
Malaspina Peninsula: Come fall, many of the streams that
feed into Malaspina Strait team with spawning salmon. Depending
on the year and the spawning cycle, Lang Creek Hatchery and Spawning
Channels, about 22 km north of Saltery
Bay, will be thick with returning salmon. The best viewing is
right next to the well-marked pullout on Hwy 101.
As sure as salmon return to spawn in late summer, so too do raptors
and bears follow. Although black bears in the Powell
River region tend to frequent the backwoods logging roads, osprey
and eagles, otters and pine marten have no fear of approaching the
coastline around Sliammon Creek in search of carrion.
Black
Bear cub |
Occasionally,
even a black bear will put in an appearance. One particularly good
viewing spot of both predator and prey is near the Sliammon fish
hatchery, about 5 km north of the Powell River bridge.
Sliammon is the site of
a native village that has been in continuous habitation for the
past two millennia. To reach the hatchery, follow Klahanie Rd, which
begins beside the Native handicrafts store of the same name on the
south side of Hwy 101. Watch for an enormous eagle's nest in one
of the trees as you near the strait.
|
Web
Design by Sage
Internet Solutions.
