Paul Horgen - Special for Keeping it Living Awareness Campaign

So what’s the big deal about our estuary? Project Watershed, a local environmental stewardship organization, has been mounting an awareness campaign called “Keeping It Living.” Our local media has published articles, letters to the editor, editorials, and paid information pages in hope of making our community more knowledgeable about our estuary. Local artists have provided workshops and have created works of art in honor of the Estuary and a Gala Event will be held on May 29th.

So…….Are there problems? Perhaps the estuary is taken for granted by the average resident as he/she drives along its shores. The Field Saw Mill is gone, so is the LeFarge Cement Tower and there is virtually no major industry along its shores. What is the big deal? There seems to be little pollution or environmental disturbance; no sewage lagoon, no logs in the water, no dumping bark and land fill anymore, no yearly dredging.... What does it need to be saved from?

If we examine maps of our estuary from the early part of the 20th century, we can immediately see that huge portions of natural shore lines and riparian zones (50% or more) have been impacted by human development. A riparian zone or riparian area is the transition zone between a wetland and the surrounding upland. The riparian zone is often referred to as the ribbon of life as it has many functions including: wildlife habitat, water filtration and erosion control. With the major industry gone along our estuary, we can facilitate the restoration of these natural zones. Land owners with property along the estuary shores can work with biologists from Project Watershed and other stewardship organizations to improve and restore their shoreline. This could protect and increase the value of their property. With community effort we could restore a significant percentage of the shoreline which will help to allow the estuary to return to the abundance it once possessed..

Another problem is shoreline development which in part is due to zoning. Over the years we have learned much about the function and value of shoreline habitat. Some uses are incompatible with estuarine health. Unfortunately much of the zoning is antiquated and does not reflect this new information. There are land parcels along the estuary and Courtenay River that are zoned commercial and industrial without any requirement for environmental setbacks. The Comox Valley Regional District has frozen all development on their portion of the estuary until a plan has been produced with recommendations for rezoning.

Most of the water, whether it be rainwater or stream water, passing through the Valley drains into the estuary. This water carries pollution from vehicles, houses and people.

So the big deal is that our estuary is still a pretty special place, but with some community effort and pride, we can go a long way to making it even more special and move towards recovering a major portion of the restorable shorelines.

Estuaries have been called the “nurseries of the oceans. Many aquatic species spawn there and many other species, such as migrating birds, spend portions of their lives in estuaries. All five species of salmon as well as sea-run trout (steelhead and cutthroat) have been found using the estuary. As noted in an article in the Comox Valley Echo, December 22nd, 2009, our estuary used to produce huge Tyee salmon. Maybe it could again?

The Courtenay River Estuary is internationally recognized as a crucial staging area for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. In springtime, spawning herring provide a paradise of food for ospreys, eagles, loons and various other marine birds. The estuary is also a nesting and over-wintering habitat for thousands of birds, including over 10% of the North American trumpeter swans.

Estuaries are the meeting places of the rivers and the sea, and are characterized by the interaction between the two. Conditions in an estuary are always changing, and this instability or variability is one of the most important features of estuaries. Estuaries are usually calm, sheltered and shallow, and vary greatly in temperature, salinity and turbidity. As a result they are specialized environments.

Coastal estuaries generally have moderate species diversity. But estuaries are typically dominated by strong physical forces (e.g. salinity changes due to freshwater inflows, storm events) and tidal changes. An estuary is under constant flux. The general hypothesis is that the biodiversity achievable in a system is a function of the predictability and scales of its physical environment. Since the Courtenay River Estuary is constantly changing, one can never predict what one may find in the estuarine waters on any given day.

I am sure that many of you reading this have wonderful stories to tell about your finds of interesting living critters in our estuary.

A Fisheries and Oceans biologist recently told me a story... She was sampling the estuary and Baynes Sound. A young community member was helping with the beach seining and asked her if she wanted to see a "honk fish". She watched as he reached under a shelf of rock and pulled out a fish that he said made a honking sound. The fish was a male Plainfin Midshipman. Guarding a nest of eggs (see photograph). The occurrence of these nests had never been reported from this area before. This species can be found at depths as great as 1200 feet and utilizes area the shores in the estuary and Baynes Sound to lay its eggs and rear its young. It was found at five sites on both sides of the Sound and at one site by the Comox Marina in the estuary. The adult can breathe air when out of water and the males make a series of mating calls ranging from a low hum to a series of grunts. This species can be identified by the specialized light
emitting organs, or photophores, on its underside.

There are many other mysteries and surprises in our estuary just waiting to be discovered. So, indeed our estuary is a very “big deal.” The Courtenay River Estuary which bounds Baynes Sound on the north, is one of the largest low gradient deltaic deposits on the east coast of Vancouver Island? Together these protected waters and their many freshwater inputs function as a single estuary which, in British Columbia, is second only to the Fraser River Estuary.

Estuaries are truly the “cradles of the sea” and one of the most fragile areas. Due to political and public readiness and support the time is right to protect and restore the Courtenay River Estuary. This Earth Day 2010 let all citizens of the Comox Valley become more aware and support the concept of “Keeping It Living”.

Paul Horgen is a retired biologist and Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. He is a Board member of Project Watershed, and teaches courses at Elder College.