That's a Wrap on 2019

2019 was a very successful year for the Wetland Mapping and Monitoring Project! All four of our primary goals were accomplished. First, we completed mapping the wetlands in each of the seven water regions, including the Englishman River Water Region and the Gabriola Island Water Region. Reports that evaluate the mapped wetlands in these water regions were also completed, and can be found in the Document Library section of this webpage. Second, we established six priority sites to monitor in order to get a more holistic idea of how these wetlands function. The six priority sites were spread throughout the RDN: two in the Big Qualicum Water Region; two in the French Creek Water Region; one in the Little Qualicum Water Region; and, one was in the Cedar-Yellow Point Water Region. Each of the six selected sites are to be visited seasonally and within a week of one another, ensuring there is little variation regarding weather between sites. The summer visit occurred in July 2019 and the fall visit occurred in November 2019. The winter visit will occur in January 2020, followed by the spring visit in April 2020. Third, the team installed instrumentation, including piezometers, trail cameras, and a rain gauge at one priority wetland in order to determine if the site is connected to the aquifer below and if it is, is it either recharging or discharging that aquifer. The priority site that was chosen was in the Big Qualicum Water Region, as the site had water present year-round, ensuring data loggers would not be dry and it would be possible to determine variations in the water table throughout the year. Lastly, we conducted a literature review on existing policy, best practices, and ecosystem services with regards to wetlands at the federal, provincial, and local levels. The literature review can also be found in the Document Library section of this webpage. The next step is to meet early this year to determine 2020’s goals.