Walk with us through the Englishman River Estuary complex, tracing the slow-moving river as it winds through the forest. Hear a Pileated Woodpecker knocking on a western redcedar. See a Bald Eagle soaring overhead.
The river opens into a large salt marsh and you come to the edge of the intertidal mudflats which deepen into shallow water with kelp and eelgrass beds.
Throughout the area are hundreds of species of birds, feeding and flying about. You spot the internationally important Brant Sea Goose. In the waterways that connect to the river, Pacific salmon and trout head upstream to spawn.
The estuary is full of life, protected for the future through restoration and conservation.
Facts
- The Englishman River Estuary was acquired between 1981 and 1992 to conserve a critical estuary, which has now become a model for successful conservation and restoration. It encompasses 312 hectares.
- Species at risk which are known to use the Englishman River habitats include: Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Northern Goshawk, Townsend Big-eared Bat, Red-legged Frog, Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Steelhead, Coho and Chinook salmon.
- Millions of Pacific Herring spawn along the intertidal foreshore area each spring. The estuaries and foreshore zones also provide vital rearing habitat to Pacific salmonid species, while the river systems provide crucial habitat to spawning salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout.
