For Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), 2013 marks the 75th year this great conservation organization has been active in Canada. The picture (above) on the cover of the book – The Marsh Keepers Journey – tells in first-hand eloquence a small part of the rich history of DUC.
Their initial conservation projects were on the prairies – one their first projects in British Columbia was in the Creston Valley Wetlands in the late 1960s where they opened an office in Creston in 1970. Their first provincial office was in in Vancouver in 1969; it was moved to Kamloops in 1973 so that the office could be closer to the growing number of regional projects and offices.
Over the 75 years DUC has been active, an excess of 9,000 conservation projects have been completed involving more than 6.3 million acres of prime waterfowl habitat (source Calgary Herald, February, 2013) which is also prime habitat for a multitude of other creatures – including us – that depend on clean reliable sources of water. DUC is a major force in teaching youth about the environment and how it affects their lives.
When you examine the broad conservation record of DUC the name can be misleading. DUC is, in my opinion, one of the major environmental and ecologically based organizations on this continent and their primary goals of restoring and enhancing watersheds (including ponds, swamps and lakes) is of prime importance to society’s environmental health in the present and near future.
It should come as no surprise that the Comox Valley Chapter of DUC has accomplished some amazing projects. They are annually among the top fundraisers for DUC in the province. For purposes of this column I include the Fanny Bay area on the south and up to the Oyster River on the north plus the drainage basins of the Beaufort Range on the west and all marine estuaries on the east.
In this area DUC has invested over $6 million, having a positive effect on more than 3,400 acres of important wildlife habitat along with other ecologically motivated groups. There are two local directors, Len Everett and Greg Sawchuck, on the national board.
If you are dazzled by large projects such as the acquisition of the Farquharson Farm which is located on the fields of the Courtenay Estuary you might overlook a host of smaller, less visible projects.
I like to think of small projects as the important bricks in the base of a pyramid that supports a huge structure of interrelated life forms that make up the ecological system.
A clear example of this type of project is the 83-acre property on the Chef Creek and Cook Creek estuary that has been donated by the Warren Cook family as a nature sanctuary dedicated to the fish and wildlife of this special wetland and associated forest.
Ducks Unlimited Canada proudly awarded Warren Cook with the Wildlife Habitat Canada Award for 2013. Congratulations to Warren Cook and his family for this timely recognition. These are the ecological building blocks that will add much to the sensitive, natural systems in our coastal and forested regions of the Valley.
There must be something about the make-up of the natural systems in the Comox Valley that produces an astounding array of people, dedicated to all types of conservation of natural systems. The Valley is riddled with a broad array of conservation groups dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of this wonderful place.
DUC, with its willingness to partner with individual landowners, industry and other groups such as the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association, The Nature Trust of BC, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation to pool funds and resources for conservation projects throughout the Valley is making great headway in rebuilding our damaged ecosystems.
Climate change and global warming are two huge planetary forces that are changing natural systems upon which our civilization is based. The changing distribution of rain and snow will radically change the life systems upon which we depend.
DUC is a national organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of our wetlands, rivers and coastal estuaries. They started out as a group of hunters who wanted to save wetlands so they could have good hunting. They have evolved into one of the greatest ecologically sensitive forces in Canada dedicated to revitalizing our national water resources for all life. Congratulations to them on their 75th anniversary.
Ralph Shaw is a master fly fisherman who was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984 for his conservation efforts. In 20 years of writing a column in the Comox Valley Record it has won several awards.
