Conserving critical wildlife habitat in Clayoquot Sound

From conifer forests of giant Sitka spruce to eelgrass meadows stretching as far as the eye can see, the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is an integral part of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The forests, streams, shorelines, marshes, meadows and mudflats of the Tofino Mudflats WMA provide an amazingly wide range of important wildlife habitats.

Important Bird Area of Canada

The Tofino Mudflats WMA is one of the ten most critical wetland areas for migratory birds on Canada’s West Coast. It was established in 1997 by the province of British Columbia to conserve critical wildlife habitat, and has been designated an “Important Bird Area of Canada.”

It's no picnic being a shorebird!

For one thing, there's an awful lot of travel involved

Tiny western sandpipers, common on the beaches and mudflats of Clayoquot Sound in early May, may have flown all the way from Ecuador or Peru. Sanderlings and semi-palmated plovers may have spent our winter months in Tierra del Fuego. Other species range even farther. When they pass through the Tofino Mudflats WMA in spring, all are headed for a brief, frantic breeding season in the high Arctic.

And decent accommodation is hard to come by

Every seasoned traveller knows the value of eating well and getting a good night’s rest. Western sandpipers, and many other species that migrate along the Pacific Coast of North America, depend on a series of large estuaries, from San Francisco Bay in California to Kachemak Bay in Alaska. Unfortunately, such estuaries are few and far between along the Pacific Coast. Many are under fierce development pressure. With the loss of estuarine habitat elsewhere, migrating shorebirds are increasingly dependent on the Tofino Mudflats for food and shelter.

Critical Habitats

· Mudflats	· Rock Islands & Reefs	· Marshes
· Eelgrass	· Deep channels	· Forests
· Rocky headlands	· Streams	· Forested Islands

Mudflats

Mud, sand and gravel cover most of Tofino Mudflats. Rich nutrients and organic sediment arrive via salt water, brought in by the tides, and fresh water, running off the land. Algae and bacterial mats grow on the mud surface. Marine worms, clams, crabs and ghost shrimp live in the sediment. At low tide, these invertebrates provide a feast for probing shorebirds.

Eelgrass

The Tofino Mudflats contain the largest eelgrass beds on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Eelgrass roots and stems bind and stabilize the mud, and the plant provides food and habitat for many animals. The structural cover of eelgrass provides a refuge from predators for juvenile fish and moulting crabs. Individual blades of grass are often coated with algae and a wide variety of tiny animals, such as skeleton shrimp, stalked jellyfish and sea slugs.

Gravel beaches and rocky headlands

Outcrops of bedrock and large rocks are scattered along the shoreline. These provide attachment for rockweed, barnacles, mussels, and snails. Black bears are often seen turning over rocks to feed on small crabs and amphipods. Crows and gulls use rocky outcrops to break open mussels and clams, dropped from above.

Bedrock islands and reefs

Bedrock islands and reefs are ideal roosting and loafing sites for waterbirds at high tide. Occasionally a cormorant will perch on the rocks with its wings hung out to dry. Harbour seals use the smooth, flat bedrock reefs as haul-out sites.

Deep channels

Sea lions, porpoises and (occasionally) killer whales and grey whales swim through the deep channels bordering the Tofino Mudflats. Loons, grebes, cormorants and large flocks of diving ducks feed in these waters of plentiful fish.

Streams

MacKenzie Creek, Meares Creek, Close Creek, South Bay Creek, and a few unnamed streams that flow into the Tofino Mudflats support small spawning runs of chum, coho, and pink salmon. Spawning salmon provide food for bears, mink, eagles, gulls and other wildlife. Decomposing salmon carcasses contribute nutrients to the forest and stream. This in turn nourishes the next generation of salmon fry growing up in the stream.

Marshes

Small bands of marsh occur around the edges of the mudflats. Saltwort, seaside arrowgrass, Lyngby’s sedge, Nootka reedgrass, sea plantain and silverweed are adapted to this area where fresh and salt water mix. Marsh plants provide forage for ducks, geese and shorebirds, as well as black bears. Decaying plants contribute nutrients to the food chain used by juvenile salmon.

Forests

Forests of mixed type and age provide a diversity of habitats around the Tofino Mudflats. Dense stands of red alder across from Cox Bay are the youngest, a result of logging in the 1960s. The age of the remaining forest is evident in the large (over 2 metres in diameter) western red cedars, some more than 1,000 years old.

Abundant berry-producing shrubs such as evergreen huckleberry, salal, salmonberry and red huckleberry feed birds and black bears. Slugs and squirrels feast on a variety of mushrooms. Woodpeckers, owls, chickadees and nuthatches nest and feed within the larger snags. Decaying logs provide cover and shelter for mice, mink, river otters, frogs and salamanders. Black bear, black-tailed deer and grey wolves have created well-established wildlife trails in and along the edges of the forest.

Forested islands

A nest in the midst of productive fishing grounds is an ideal place to raise a family. Half a dozen bald eagle nests can be seen in the forks of the largest trees on islands in the Tofino Mudflats WMA. Great blue herons rest in the trees between bouts of fishing. For a belted kingfisher or osprey, a branch reaching over the water is a perfect vantage point to watch for prey. During spring and fall, peregrine falcons can be seen bursting from the cover of trees to catch shorebirds.