Community Notice

For information purposes please be advised that we will be undertaking maintenance work on our existing Dinsdale Farm access road (access off of Cowichan Bay Road). The work is being done in accordance with ALR Land Use Regulation 35 (d) and the ALC has been notified. Equipment will be mobilized to the site March 22nd with maintenance work commencing March 25th. Work will continue for 3 days. The work entails regrading and resurfacing the access road to maintain/enable access for regular land management activities as well as access for consultants, Cowichan Tribes etc. The trail accessed from the Maple Grove Community Park will not be impacted and will be open for the duration of the work.

 

The work will be done by Khowutzun Development Corporation.

Phase 1

August 2023: Phase 1 of the Cowichan Estuary Restoration Project is complete. This phase focused on the removal of remnant agricultural berms bordering the Koksilah Marsh, adjacent to Westcan Terminal Road (Figure 1) as the first step towards restoring crucial estuary habitat. 

 

Working with the Khowutzun Development Corporation (KDC), NTBC removed remnant agricultural berms bordering the Koksilah Marsh, adjacent to Westcan Terminal Road (Figure 1). The berms were constructed in the late 1800s to block tidal influence and convert the estuary’s tidal marsh to agricultural/pasture land. Previous ecological restoration efforts in the 1990’s focused on breaching the berms in two locations, on the west and east side of the marsh, to allow for tidal inundation from the east, and freshwater influence from the Koksilah River from the west. While these efforts were successful in reintroducing tides to the marsh and influencing saltmarsh vegetation to recolonize, the restrictions of the narrow breaches caused undesirable elevated water velocities during tidal exchange, and restricted habitat access for juvenile salmonids. 

This phase consisted of: 

 

  • The removal of approximately 900 linear meters of remnant agricultural berms, by redistributing the berm soils on site to a depth of approximately 30 centimeters (Photo 1).
  • A total of six tidal exchange openings were excavated through the berm fill along its length, connecting to existing tidal channels in the marsh surface (Photo 2). The improved tidal flushing and habitat access will benefit juvenile salmonids who use estuaries to feed and grow rapidly while adapting to saltwater environments. 
  • In addition to the berm removal, a derelict dock that the tide deposited onto Koksilah Marsh was removed and disposed of offsite (Photo 3). Approximately 500 pounds of garbage, including tires, float Styrofoam, bottles and shotgun shells were also removed from the marsh as a part of the restoration.

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