British Columbia

Project Location

BC Coastal Located on the east coast of northern Vancouver Island in southwest British Columbia, 10km west of Port McNeill.

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Common Wildlife

Trumpeter Swans
Northern Pintail
American Wigeon
Bald Eagle
Black Bear
Herring
Steelhead
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Harlequin Duck
Bufflehead
Scoters

In This Section

Cluxewe River Estuary

Highlights

The Cluxewe Estuary project complex consists of 137 hectares of intertidal flats, marshes and lowland forests of the Cluxewe estuary, all of which were designated a provincial Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in April 2001.

This estuary is small, but has a scenic configuration, with extensive salt marshes lying to the west of the main channel of the river and isolated from both freshwater flows and major tidal action by a series of sand spits, dunes and small treed islets. This complex ecosystem has attracted both people and wildlife for centuries with its rich assortment of shellfish, wintering waterfowl, all BC species of salmon, herring and marsh plants.

It is a Pacific Estuary Conservation Program (PECP) project area and illustrates the value of government and non-government agencies working together to consolidate land holdings to provide long-term habitat security in the form of WMA’s and other tenures.

Background

The Cluxewe River drains a relatively small but vital salmon-rearing watershed in northern Vancouver Island. Teal, Wigeon, Scoters, Mallards and Trumpeters swans all winter in the salt marsh, and the outer spit dune formations support a variety of marine shoreline birds such as Black Turnstones and Harlequin Ducks. Herring spawn in the nearby shallows, and the mudflats are popular clam-digging spots for the residents of nearby Port McNeill and the Klikseewy Indian Reserve.

Since the early 1990’s Ducks Unlimited Canada and the other Pacific Estuary Conservation Program partners have cost-shared staff to manage Vancouver Island acquisitions and ensure that WMA applications were submitted to protect the crown land associated with them.

Cluxewe conservation holdings date back to 1981 when the Nature Trust of BC purchased the majority of the salt marsh, and a provincial wildlife reserve was set up over the nearby forested crown lands. These parcels are managed by BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (MWLAP). An additional reserve was established over the intertidal mudflats and marshes of the estuary. In April 2001, a provincial Wildlife Management Area was designated over the total acreage.