French Creek Estuary Nature Preserve

What are these boards?

As part of the ongoing efforts to understand and restore the French Creek Nature Preserve (FCENP), Save Estuary Land Society and the Arrowsmith Naturalists Society with support from the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute are conducting a series of amphibian surveys. The coverboards you saw today are specially constructed pieces of wood that create a safe and comfortable place for salamanders to take shelter. These boards are laid across several transects throughout the FCENP and checked at specific intervals to help us establish if there are salamanders present, how many there are, and what species they are.

Why is this important?

Amphibians are highly sensitive to changes within their environment and often serve as crucial indicator species that help us to understand the health of an ecosystem. Coverboards are often used by professionals in the field as a non-invasive method to inventory a specific area over time for the presence or absence of amphibians. Specifically, these boards are designed to help us see if terrestrial salamanders are present in the area, such as the Western Redback Salamander – a yellow listed species in BC. This set of surveys is one of many ongoing biodiversity surveys at the FCENP that will help us to establish a baseline of ecological information and build a holistic understanding of the health and function of the estuary.

For further questions, please contact: recparks@rdn.bc.ca