Ecological Evaluation and Issues of Concern for Bowker Creek

Regarding the University of Victoria's Campus Plan

Bowker Creek is vital to the ecological health of the region, as it forms the headwaters of the Bowker Creek watershed. Rich in biodiversity, it is considered the most valuable natural area on campus for wildlife. It has been accorded Sensitive Ecosystem status as part of the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory taken by the CRD, PCC Green, and the Blue Spaces Strategy in 1996. The University of Victoria controls 18.2 acres of the Bowker Creek area, and therefore has a responsibility for proper stewardship of this integral area (Hocking 2000).

Under the draft campus plan, the university has accorded Bowker Creek with “Special Study” status. Special Study Areas are designations to indicate the University has not yet committed to any particular land use plan for the unprotected natural areas on campus. A major problem with the Special Study Areas is that the boundaries have been drawn arbitrarily in the draft campus plan, before the completion of a Terrestrial Ecosystem Map to determine the boundaries of such ecologically sensitive areas as Bowker Creek (Public Consultation meeting 06/06/02).

For example, figure 12 on page 20 of the 2002 draft campus plan maps out the potential academic building sites. New building # 18 is situated adjacent to the Special Study Area of Bowker Creek, behind the Murray and Anne Fraser building, an area currently covered with the forest of the Bowker Creek watershed. The arbitrary delineation of the Special Study Areas allows the university to draw the special study boundaries around wherever they would like to build. In the case of building # 18, the university plans to clear a portion of the Bowker Creek forest which they have not included in the Special Study Area (University of Victoria Draft Campus Plan, 2002). It is erroneous to propose the boundaries of such “special” areas without having completed the ecological studies to determine their spatial extent.

Prior to human development in Victoria, Bowker Creek provided habitat for anadromous salmon (Turner 2000). Today there is a watershed management plan underway, one goal of which is to determine the extent of restoration and enhancement needed for the ecological health of the creek (Rob Miller, phone conservation July 29 2002). The Bowker Creek wetlands contribute greatly to the biodiversity of the region. Dense with vegetation and woody debris, the wetlands provide foraging and breeding sites for many different species (Hocking 2000).

Bowker Creek is considered to be the most valuable wildlife habitat on campus. Cooper’s hawks have been observed breeding in Bowker Creek, and it hosts a large diversity of songbirds and various woodpecker and owl species. There are also several species of native amphibians present in the area, although a complete inventory of these organisms has yet to be completed (Hocking 2000).

Bowker Creek is characterized by a variety of coniferous and deciduous trees. Among these, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Black Cottonwood (the largest and oldest on campus), Trembling Aspen, Red Alder and Bigleaf Maple, Pacific Crabapple, Cascara, and Bitter Cherry are the most common (Turner 2000). There is also a rich diversity of shrub species represented in the understory of Bowker Creek and within its associated wetlands. These include Salmonberry, Thimbleberry, Trailing Blackberry, Snowberry, Red-Osier Dogwood, Saskatoon Berry, and Black Hawthorn (Turner 2000).

The prospect of development in the Bowker Creek watershed raises some issues of concern. First, any development would drastically reduce the habitat available for bird nesting and foraging. Second, the wetland habitat significantly contributes to the biodiversity of the UVic campus and any development would serve to further fragment the ecosystem, thus adversly affecting species diversity. Last, additional building in the area would result in impact to the drainage pattern of the Bowker Creek headwaters. This could result in an increase in erosion downstream of the creek and subject the stream to contamination from buildings and parking lot runoff (Hocking 2000).