Letter to the editor
Autumn brings a season of change and preparation for winter, but for much of nature, it’s also a busy, active time.
We are fortunate to live right in the path of the Pacific Flyway, a major migratory route for waterfowl travelling along the western coast of North America. Even more amazing, the Columbia River Wetlands play a crucial role in supporting this migration. These wetlands offer migrating birds food, shelter, and resting spots, making it a biodiversity hotspot.
The Pacific Flyway stretches from nesting sites in Alaska all the way to wintering grounds in Patagonia, covering 15,000 kilometres.
Along this lengthy route, reliable and safe stopover sites are essential, especially for young birds making their first journey. A flyway is only as strong as the rest stops along it, and the Columbia Wetlands are one of those vital locations.
Wetlands are some of the most valuable and biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. They provide essential services like flood control, groundwater recharge, irrigation, water purification, and carbon storage — entirely through natural processes. Wetlands also serve as homes, rest stops, and vital support systems for countless species.
So, who’s stopping by the Columbia Wetlands this fall? Among hundreds of species, you can spot great blue herons, ospreys, kingfishers, bald and golden eagles, geese, great gray owls, western tanagers, western sandpipers, and tundra swans.
A five-year Columbia Wetland Waterbird Survey (2015-2019) recorded over 200 bird species, including 35 at-risk species. Notably, the highest one-day count was an impressive 20,575 birds, recorded in October.
The Columbia Wetlands are one of North America’s longest intact wetland systems and home to the only undammed section of the 2,000 kilometre-long Columbia River.
This free-flowing stretch, from Canal Flats to Mica Dam north of Golden, allows for seasonal flooding, providing the crucial ‘pulse’ that sustains the ecosystem. However, the area is under pressure from downstream damming, climate change, land-use changes, and numerous other threats. In response, initiatives such as the Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative, the Columbia Wetland Conservation Action Framework, and the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework are being implemented to protect and restore the region.
Protecting this pristine floodplain is crucial in slowing the drying rate of trends – a troubling effect of climate change – and the resulting ecological shifts. The surrounding wetlands have been drying up for decades, with evidence of a 50-year drying spell. One natural solution involves a rather nifty, paddle-tailed friend: the beaver. They create dams, quite ironically, that help trap water during floods, allowing the landscape to retain water, rather than lose it.
As we begin to turn to human-made beaver dams in efforts to replicate their handy work, it becomes increasingly clear just how irreplaceable these incredible habitats and animals are to our ecosystem and lives.
Marie-Jeanne Reid
Lake Windermere Ambassadors
