emailSea to Sea Green Blue Belt
Management Plan: Ayum Creek, Kapoor, Sea to Sea, Sooke Potholes
CRD Regional Parks has developed a management plan for four key parcels of land within the Sea to Sea Green Blue Belt: Ayum Creek, Kapoor, Sea to Sea, and Sooke Potholes.
The management plan provides the ideas for how these parks will be developed and managed in the future.
It balances the desired and necessary activities of key park attributes: ecological conservation, visitor experience, cultural heritage management and park development and operations. There is a draft plan for each park unit which contains a development concept, specific objectives and actions to guide park management decisions, and an implementation plan.
Planning Process, Public Review
The planning process for these park units has involved extensive input from the public, stakeholders, and a Management Plan Advisory Group.
Public meetings were held to get comments on the plan prior to bringing it back to the CRD Parks Committee and Board for adoption in May 2010.
Park Parcels
(1) Kapoor Regional Park Reserve
With its proximity to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, the Kapoor Reserve has great potential to capitalize on its historical significance through site restoration and interpretation activities.(2) Sooke Potholes Regional Park
The clean, cool water of the Sooke River and its pool-like geological formations known as "potholes" create a unique natural environment, helping to define the region's natural character as well as making it one of the best swimming areas in the Capital Region.(3) Sea to Sea Regional Park Reserve
These densely forested hills embody true "wilderness." The forest and a scattering of wetlands support a wide range of animal and plant species. These lands represent ecological diversity at its best.(4) Ayum Creek Regional Park Reserve
Ayum Creek is an important spawning ground for coho and chum salmon and steelhead and cutthroat trout. The delicate ecosystem of the creek has benefited from recent conservation and restoration efforts.
The Sea to See Green Blue Belt
The Sea to Sea Green Blue Belt is a visionary undertaking that will create a corridor of protected wilderness and parkland stretching from Saanich Inlet in the east to the Sooke Basin in the southwest.
It is defined generally as land
from Saanich and Tod Inlets to Sooke Basin (north to
south), and from the Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park
Reserve to the Sooke River (east to west). The vision
is to create a continuous protected area of
approximately 11,500 hectares, making
it the largest protected area in the
CRD.
To date more than 10,200 hectares of the proposed Sea to Sea Green Blue Belt is provincial, regional and municipal park land, including Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Goldstream Provincial Park, Sooke Mountain Provincial Park, and Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve
These lands, which support a wide range of plant and animal species and provide outstanding visitor experiences, were acquired through an invaluable partnership with local conservation groups and the federal and provincial governments.
Ecology
An area of land sizeable enough to sustain whole ecosystems, these park and reserve lands fall into the Coastal Western Hemlock zone. Douglas fir, western red cedar, western hemlock and grand fir dominate the landscape, a providing habitat for a wide variety of species, including the iconic bald eagle, the elusive black bear, and numerous rare and endangered plants and animals. While much of the land is covered with second growth forest, pockets of old growth persist, and many of the streams and rivers support salmon spawning.
Recreation & Culture
A network of trails testifies to the region’s popularity with walkers, hikers, and equestrians. Rivers and lakes beckon canoeists, swimmers and fishers alike. To pass through the Sea to Sea area is to bear witness to the land that sustained thousands of years of First Nations culture, while exploring the remnants of 20th century logging and mining activities reminds us of the hard work of the early settlers.
Our Partners
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) is a non-profit, charitable land trust working throughout British Columbia. TLC protects important habitat for plants, animals and natural communities as well as properties with historical, cultural, scientific, scenic or compatible recreational value.
Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT) is a non-profit, regional land trust. Their mission is to conserve natural environments on southern Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands through purchase or donation, conservation covenants, education and stewardship.
The Society for the Protection of Ayum Creek. The former SPAC successfully worked to protect Ayum Creek and its estuary. The group worked to restore the creek’s original nature by eliminating non-native species and rebuilding salmon spawning habitat.
The Government of Canada contributed $2 million towards the acquisition of the southernmost portion of the Sea to Sea Reserve Lands, formerly known as the Seraphim Lands.
The Province of British Columbia contributed $200,000 towards the acquisition of the southernmost portion of the Sea to Sea Reserve Lands, formerly known as the Seraphim Lands.
© Image courtesy of Mary Sanseverino
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