Goose Harvesting for Estuary Health
Since 2010, Guardians of our Salish Estuaries (GooSE) has been restoring tidal marshes by using habitat exclosures to prevent CAGO herbivory, and transplanting vegetation to actively restore denuded areas. Exclosures protect marshes degraded by CAGO herbivory. CAGO damage is typically highest in marsh communities dominated by Lyngbye’s sedge (Carex lyngbyei), a foundational species critical for juvenile salmonids and the estuarine food web with various additional ecosystem services (e.g. carbon storage, shoreline stability).
Restoring these areas is achieved passively through natural expansion of protected vegetation and actively by transplanting sedge. These components make up the GooSE eco-cultural restoration method that is inspired by Indigenous fish trap designs and uses thin flexible branches (e.g. willow) interwoven between vertical alder wood poles, all of which are sustainably sourced from roadsides with special permits. Eco-cultural restoration is a nature-based solution to habitat-loss and climate change adaptation that has been implemented in over 60,000 m2 of marsh habitat in 8 Vancouver Island estuaries.
Site Visit Options
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Field Trip #1 - Little Qualicum River Estuary Regional Conversation Area (LQRERCA) (large restoration)
Ownership of the LQRERCA is shared by the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), with the RDN responsible for property management. The BC Conservation Foundations Aquatic Research and Restoration Centre leads to LQRERCA Working Group on behalf of the RDN. In 2022, the LQRERCA Working Group was established, comprising of multiple agencies, including property owners and managers, regulatory agencies, knowledge holders, and organizations that have conducted restoration, research, monitoring, and/or stewardship projects within the LQRERCA.
The LQRERCA has received a number of restoration projects in the past 10 years, from large woody debris, increased water depth in the rearing channel, carex plantings, millpond restoration, foreshore planting, Canada Goose mitigation, ecocultural fencing and more.
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Field Trip #2 - Craig Creek Estuary (small restoration)
A large fallen Doug Fir helped protect against the removal of the marsh vegetation, and then the first all-wood exclosure was constructed in 2018. New Carex/marsh were added to the upstream side. The key to the success of the restoring sedge dominated marsh vegetation is the removal of over 800 moulting CAGO from 2016-2023 at the Englishman and Craig Bay.