The estuary of the Campbell River is at the heart of the City. Since the Estuary Management Plan was adopted in 1996 by the City of Campbell River, many positive changes have occurred towards de-industrialization of this important habitat. The updated 2002 Estuary Management Plan report summarizes accomplishments to date, identifies key challenges and activities remaining, and developed a plan to continue the work of restoration of the Campbell River estuary.
View a short video entitled “The Amazing Makeover of Campbell River Estuary”. Produced by the Vancouver Aquarium, the clip features fisheries consultant Jim Van Tine, fisheries biologist Shannon Anderson and Tim Ennis with the Nature Conservancy of Canada describing the extensive process of restoring a portion of the Campbell River estuary by volunteers and consultants. Amid the stunning backdrop of estuarine life and current view-scapes, you’ll see snap shots of the past while the narrators unravel the story, “100 truckloads of dirt a day were removed for 20 days.”
What’s next for our Heritage River? Continued partnerships have seen ongoing restoration of brownfield lands including the daylighting of Woodburn Creek entering into Baikie Slough.The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, The Nature Trust of BC and their conservation partners are also working towards the creation of a provincial Campbell River Estuary Wildlife Management Area as shown on the proposed map. Greenways Land Trust manages the Baikie Island maintenance contract for the City and along with dozens of volunteers tackles everything from invasive plant management, Canada Goose surveys, educational signage and native planting efforts. Invasive plants controlled include Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry, yellow flag-iris and purple loosestrife.