The French Creek estuary is known as a cheerished place for those who study eagles. (Melanie Leeson Photography)

By Jordan Davidson

eagle-eyed donors

Donors raise nearly $5M to protect eagle habitat in French Creek

Feb 25, 2022 | 4:48 PM

NANAIMO — Following a long journey, Vancouver Island’s first eagle reserve is within striking range of taking flight.

Years of fundraising dwindled the required funds to purchase 18 acres of land in the prized French Creek Estuary to $300,000.

Andy Day, CEO of the BC Parks Foundation, said conservation efforts for the site north of Parksville goes back to the 1990’s when encroaching development sparked locals to raise money to preserve the land.

“They’ve been able to raise about $200,000 locally to try to protect it, but that was still a long way from the $5 plus million needed. Since we came on board in the last couple of months and negotiated something with the landlords, things have taken a huge leap forward.”

Landowner French Creek House Ltd. recently agreed to gift $3,280,000 of the property’s value toward the independently appraised property valued at $5.18M.

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Local groups Save Estuary Land Society and Friends of French Creek Conservation Society worked for years to raise the initial funding.

Combine that with the land gift, a substantial shortfall of roughly $1.7M stood in the way.

That’s when a successful B.C. entrepreneur stepped up.

Dax Dasilva injected a one-million-dollar donation. Dasilva, founder of the global commerce solution company Lightspeed, pledged to donate $40 million towards conservation efforts around the globe.

The Regional District of Nanaimo also contributed $400,000 towards purchasing the estuary lands.

Day said along with being the habitat for local eagles, the ecologically rich site sustains an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 of the eagles in western North America for six months or more each year.

Prized bald eagles on the South Coast could soon have a more favourable enviornment to flourish in. (Melanie Leeson photography)

“Every year there’s an annual migration of eagles from Alaska and northern Canada that come through this area for a really neat event in the Salish Sea right off the front of the estuary. Winds and currents cause gaper claims to surface, and that’s what causes this massive gathering, like a convention, of hundreds of eagles coming to feed.”

He said when those eagles come, the estuary’s trees provide an important area to roost without harassment.

Being at the top of their respective food chain, eagles also play a pivotal role in balancing the ecosystem in the French Creek area, Day said.

“That’s going to help the foreshore stay healthy because the estuary is filtering the water and allowing the natural process to occur. And it’s also producing nutrients for the 180 odd species who are also there, that also contribute to the health of the overall system.”

The BC parks Foundation will continue to work with all its partners on a crowdfunding effort to raise the remaining $300,000 by the deadline of April 10, 2022.

For more information, you can go to bcparksfoundation.ca/french-creek-estuary.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow