Living By Water

Healthy shorelines can help filter contaminants from runoff, prevent erosion and provide wildlife habitat. From April 2003 to March 2005 DUC’s Pacific Region ran a successful program, called Living By Water, that helped waterfront homeowners conserve and restore the shoreline habitats on their land.

Living by Water was carried out in the San Jose Watershed and the Chimney Creek Drainage of central interior BC. The project area was chosen because it has one of the highest densities of water bodies in the Intermountain Region.

Through the program DUC provided ideas for restoration, home site and shoreline assessments with expertise from DUC staff; native plants and restoration materials such as rock and logs; and partial payment for the costs of restoration.

Typical Shoreline Restoration Projects included:

establishing riparian buffers
stabilizing eroding shorelines
removing failing retaining walls
softening retaining walls
installing livestock watering projects
installing livestock management fencing along riparian areas

Living by Water was funded by four main agencies:

Ducks Unlimited Canada, Environment Canada’s EcoAction Community Funding Program, The Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia and The Vancouver Foundation.

Although the Living by Water in the San Jose Watershed program was completed last year, DUC staff is available to provide the same kind of expertise to other land owners with an interest in this kind of conservation. Land owners are invited to contact their local DUC office if they have questions on how best to manage their shoreline properties in their community

For more information contact:

Katherine VanSpall
250-398-7028
k_vanspall@ducks.ca