Bowen Island truly is a special place to live, and not just for humans.

At a presentation on expanding our world through a national park, a crowd of about 60 learned that recent off-shore construction has nothing to do with local real estate prices but is a reflection of a recovering ecosystem.

As Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark put it, “What is happening here almost defies belief. A system that has been hammered for 100 years is bouncing back. In Howe Sound, the marine food web is reborn. The porpoises are back. They eat ten kilo of fish a day. They’re here because something is happening. We had grey whales come up in the last two years. There has been a discovery of sponge reefs and bioherms, and a very recent discovery of gorgonian corals which haven’t been seen around here. And there has been the return of herring spawn and sixgill sharks. And of course, we have the Pacific white sided dolphins.”

Harvey-Clark is the UBC director of animal care centre and the vice-president of the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society of BC. He joined Dr. Faisal Moola, program director of terrestrial conservation at the Suzuki Foundation, and Dr. Jeff Marliave, vice-president of marine science of the Vancouver Aquarium, on April 29, at Cates Hill Chapel. The event was organized by Stephen Foster.

Harvey-Clark presented a film about the underwater world around Bowen. He said, “The density of life is enormous. These are things you never expect to see from the surface.” The camera captured an amazing wealth of creatures such as giant sea slugs, starfishes, hermit crabs, sea pens, sponges and octopi. The nine-minute video was an instant hit. A member of the younger audience said, “I like the movie. I like it a lot.”

Responding to a question about the vulnerability of the ecosystem, Harvey-Clark said, “The hand of man is lying heavily on the sound. But it is surprising that the cleanup of the pulp mill in Britannia made huge changes. But there’s still immense pressure so close to a huge urban area.”

Harvey-Clark said he observed “10 times the biodiversity that you see on the other coast.”

The second speaker, Dr. Faisal Moola, backed this theory. He said, “I did most of my research on the Atlantic coast and made a similar observation. In BC the ecosystem is incredibly rich both in numbers and in biodiversity.”

Moola is a professor at the University of Toronto’s faculty of forestry. He said, “The forests are so critical because they sequester and store billions of tons of carbon dioxide and our situation would be a lot worse if we didn’t have them. Our true wealth is not found in our pocket books but in the remarkable natural richness. As biological creatures, we depend on nature to sustain our families and communities, but the value of the ecosystems is often taken for granted, especially when it comes to zoning. For instance, the lower mainland lost half of its wetland cover from 1986-2006. No wonder, it is a hotspot for endangered species.”

Moola said, “We treat nature as if it had no value. That is extremely short-sighted. Without healthy ecosystems, we can’t have healthy economies.” Moola and his colleagues have been working to change that thinking and even put a dollar value on nature. They dubbed bees as “flying fifty dollar bills.” Moola added that there is a financial to benefit of establishing a national park reserve on Bowen.

Harvey-Clark agreed, “This is an opportunity to have a massive park on the boundary of a large city. Wouldn’t it be great to preserve it not just for locals but for everyone? As for marine protected areas, we only have one in Western Canada. And how it works is, basically, you leave it alone. You can do non-consumptive things like look, sail, kayak, snorkel or swim, but you can’t kill. New Zealand protects 10 per cent of its coastline and the lobster and fish populations there are 15 times higher versus outside the reserve. The lobster fishermen enjoyed good catches adjacent to the protected area even in times when catches in other areas failed.”

Harvey-Clark said “Here we have a cold water ecosystem. Species are slow-growing, have low reproductive potential, don’t move around a lot. They fish out and are very difficult to replace. Unharvested reserves seed surrounding areas. If we protect even 10 per cent of the ocean adjacent to Bowen that will help to ensure that our kids have fish to catch.” He also suggested the idea about voluntary reserves until real protection can be in place.

One of Marliave’s roles is to supervise the biological and video imaging at ecological index sites and develop monitoring methods for marine protected areas. He said, “I started working in Bowen Bay in 1981. What we are finding is that the biodiversity is very stable in Howe Sound. It has more nutrients than any other place in the Georgia Strait. What is bad is that we didn’t realize how effectively we fished out rockfish. Rockfish give life birth to a quarter million babies but they all crash and burn until conditions are just right. They live for a century to ensure continued existence. Yellow-eyed rockfish used to be abundant around Bowen and in fact there is one reef in Howe Sound that has a big stock. It is very important that we protect these areas. If you see a boat with rods off Bowen, chances are that it is illegal.” Marliave urged islanders to report illegal fishing. Even though a timely response is unlikely, the activity is entered into a log and sometimes perpetrators can be identified and fined.

A member of the audience cautioned that transportation might be an issue for visitors. Marliave said, “The interpretive centre could be close to the seashore and visitors could park in Horseshoe Bay. Islanders will have to decide if they can deal with more people. Some of the most successful national parks are trying to find ways to keep the cars out.”

Moola also argued that federal regulation would protect Bowen’s extensive Crown lands. He said, “I also feel that it is important that kids have access to a national park. I am worried that Canadians are increasingly disconnected from nature. Parks Canada is suffering from reduced attendance, in the Maritimes, visitors have dropped by 18 per cent, in Ontario by 12 per cent. This is a sign that we are progressively urbanized. There are social implications and we need to reach young people. Once they are connected to nature, they’re much less likely to be apathetic.”