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If you have any questions on the information presented, or require additional report data or attachments, please contact the Report Contact
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The following report is an Ecosystem Based Plan (EBP) for Helliwell Provincial Park. Helliwell is located on Hornby Island in British Columbia. Helliwell Provincial Park has outstanding ecological values nationally, provincially, regionally and locally. This report includes a detailed ecosystem description of Helliwell; Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping; Marine Ecosystem mapping; Wildlife Inventory and Ecology; Natural and Human Disturbance Processes; and Management.
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Author: Ecofocus Environmental Consultants; Jacqueline Booth and Associates; Penn and Gunn Associates; Dunster Consulting
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Date Published: Mar 2001
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Report ID: 17734
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Audience: Government and Public
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Helliwell Provincial Park is located on Hornby Island in the Georgia Strait. The upland portion of the park consists of 69 hectares on the southeast side of Hornby. The marine portion is 2,803 hectares of foreshore and the park also includes Flora Islet. Helliwell Provincial Park has outstanding ecological values nationally, provincially, regionally and locally. It is also a highly cherished park for its scenic, cultural and recreational values. Its increasingly high profile as a tourist destination with estimated 60,000 visits a year, is causing Helliwell to be loved to death.
National significance of Helliwell Provincial Park includes the last extant population of Taylors Checkerspot-officially declared an endangered species on the COSEWIC list as of November 30, 2000. Provincial significance of Helliwell Provincial Park includes five Red-listed (endangered or threatened) and nine Blue-listed (vulnerable) vascular plants documented within the park and one Red-listed plant association, Douglas-fir/ Garry Oak / Alaska Oniongrass, (Pseudotsuga menziesii/ Quercus garryana / Melica subulata). The park also provides habitat for five rare mammals, twenty rare birds and two rare invertebrates; seventeen of these are confirmed within the Park. Eight species are Red-listed, six of these are confirmed; sixteen are Blue-listed, nine of these are confirmed; and three are S3 (vulnerable) species noted by the BC Conservation Data Centre, two of these are confirmed.
The marine component provides significant habitat for six-gill sharks, Harlequin ducks, Harbour seals and Steller and California sea lions. Over 175 marine faunal species have been recorded in the park waters. The marine area is a popular recreational dive and fishing area, and a significant area for commercial fishing. The coastal areas around Hornby Island have one of the largest herring spawns on the BC coast.
The approach to the EBP was multidisciplinary in an attempt to fill out the ecological picture of the park spatially and temporally. It included a literature review of palaeoecological research and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM), Marine Ecosystem Mapping (MEM), public consultations and management literature reviews.
Seventeen Terrestrial Ecosystem types over 75 distinct areas (polygons) were mapped. Nine of the Ecosystem types are forested site series; three are previously undescribed non-forested units including wetlands and forb dominated communities, the remaining five Ecosystems are sparsely vegetated, non-vegetated, or anthropogenic. One of these Ecosystems is a seral community, maintained at the seral stage by disturbance. Of the 75 polygons, 54 were mapped as pure units (i.e. only one ecosystem), the rest were complexes of two or three units. The most frequent complex was the Douglas-fir / Lodgepole pine /Arbutus (DAO) with Fescue / Camas. These were found on exposed gentle or hummocky slopes and crest positions. Common also were complexes of Beach and Dunegrass / Beach Pea units that occupy narrow shoreline margins that cannot be subdivided at 1: 5,000.
The Park has been divided into nine vegetation management zones based on TEM ecosystem units. These zones are: Grassland/Garry Oak Core Conservation Area- West; Grassland/Garry Oak Core Conservation Area-East; Grassland/ Garry Oak to Douglas-fir transition Area; Second-growth Douglas-fir Forest restoration Area; Older growth Douglas-fir Core Conservation Area; Wetlands; Orchard; beach and Cliff Conservation Area; and Rocky Headlands and Islets.
This Ecosystem Based Plan is written for anyone with an interest in Helliwell Park, whether they are a manager, a scientist or a member of the public interested in stewardship. Although scientific data will be presented in this report, every attempt will be made to make it clear to the readers. When a new concept is introduced, a definition will be either close by in the text or in the glossary at the end.
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Report Type
Subject
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Birds - Barred Owl: Strix varia |
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Birds - Blue Grouse: Dendragapus obscurus |
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Birds - Bufflehead: Bucephala albeola |
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Birds - Common Goldeneye: Bucephala clangula |
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Birds - European Starling: Sturnus vulgaris |
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Birds - Great Blue Heron: Ardea herodias |
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Birds - Harlequin Duck: Histrionicus histrionicus |
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Birds - Hutton's Vireo: Vireo huttoni |
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Birds - Northern Pygmy Owl: Glaucidium gnoma |
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Birds - Northern Saw-Whet Owl: Aegolius acadius |
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Birds - Pelagic Cormorant: Phalacrocorax pelagicus |
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Birds - Ruffed Grouse: Bonasa umbellus |
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Birds - Turkey Vulture: Cathartes aura |
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Biogeoclimatic Zone - CDF Coastal Douglas-fir Zone |
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Fish Species - Perch (General) |
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Fish Species - Salmon (General) - Oncorhynchus spp. |
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Fish Species - Sculpins (General) |
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Invertebrates - Aquatic |
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Invertebrates - Terrestrial |
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Mammals - Bats |
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Mammals - Keen's Long-eared Myotis: Myotis keenii |
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Mammals - River Otter: Lontra canadensis |
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Region - Vancouver Island |
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Terrestrial Information - Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) |
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