Ecological Significance

A person sitting on a rock

Description automatically generated with medium confidence — Herbaceous sensitive ecosystem, with Wallace’s selaginella/reindeer lichens (Selaginella wallacei/ Cladina spp.) blue-listed ecological community of special concern, being inventoried at Blitz Bluff in the Children’s Forest.

The Children's Forest, at the heartland of Cortes Island, contains many sensitive and ecologically significant ecosystems including; riparian, wetland, herbaceous, woodland, and old growth.

Old-growth cedars and the ecosystems they support are increasingly rare in coastal B.C.

This land is home to many rare plant communities, and species listed on both the provincial and federal at-risk lists.

A Blue Dasher dragonfly; blue-listed species at risk in B.C., pausing to rest on foliage in a sensitive wetland at the heart of the Children’s Forest.

The biologically diverse James Creek watershed provides extensive wetland and riparian habitat that supports cutthroat trout and spawning salmon. This heartland represents vital wildlife corridors and protects the beauty and wildness of the northern parts of Cortes Island.

The James Creek creek-bed is ideal for spawning salmon.

The wilds in the northern half of Cortes Island, within which the Children's Forest is centered, form a relatively unfragmented and undeveloped landscape boasting a tapestry of sensitive ecosystems with strong cross-island linkage.

The Children's Forest spans a critical wildlife corridor.

Significantly, in the islands of the Salish Sea, Cortes continues to support healthy, large predator-prey relationships between grey wolf, cougar and Columbia black-tailed deer.

Wolves adeptly avoid human contact, but are a key species for B.C. coastal ecosystems.

We've spent 15+ years working to understand, inventory, and document the ecosystems of the Children's Forest, both to advance our understanding of the natural world, and as a means to protect it.

The value of this land cannot be overstated. Read the full Ecological Significance Report to learn more.