Happy Holidays!

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Happy Holidays from the Crew at Cascade.

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Responsible Ecosystem- Based Solutions

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Click here to download this PowerPoint Presentation.

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Edgar Flew The Coop!

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Edgar, the Goshawk Brian and I rescued a couple of months ago, was in rehabilitation at the O.W.L. center in Delta. Edgar has now grown to adult size so it was time to release him back to the wild. A volunteer from O.W.L. brought Edgar along with his friend, a Cooper’s hawk, to Whistler on September 11.
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As Edgar was found at the north end of the comfortably numb trail, we decided to release him near Wedgemount. The volunteer from O.W.L. put the cage down advising everyone not to stand too close to the front of the cage.
As soon as the cage was opened Edgar flew off and perched in the nearest tree. Edgar hung around there for a while then starting moving from tree to tree until it was no longer possible for us to see him. The Cooper’s hawk was released in Bayshore where it was originally rescued.
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Unexpected goshawk rescue mission by Cascade Biologist Adrien Baudouin

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Brian (RMOW fish and Wildlife Technician) and I were completing a Pileated woodpecker survey alongthe Comfortably Numb trail when Brian brought something unusual to my attention. There was a baby raptor perched on a stump just two meters away from the trail.

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After taking a few pictures, we noticed that the bird was not flying away and we thought that something might be wrong it. After a few phone calls to the conservation officer, we got redirected to O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society), who confirmed that the bird was a baby northern goshawk.

Given that there were no signs of the nest or the mother, O.W.L. advised us to rescue the bird and they would come and pick it up in Whistler. Brian and I were not sure how to proceed with capturing the bird so after asking a few questions they told us: “just wrap it in a shirt if you can… and watch out for the talons…”. Brian sacrificed his shirt and as we moved closer the bird started to flap his wings but couldn’t fly. A few seconds later the bird was wrapped in the shirt and stayed completely still. The capture was easy after all!

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We then walked for about an hour to our pick up location with the bird still wrapped in Brian’s shirt. The bird, named Edgar by that point, was then placed in a box and stayed with Brian at his house until a volunteer from O.W.L could pick it up and drive it to Delta. Brian later told me that Edgar got a ride to Delta with another baby hawk friend and that Edgar was doing well and should be released back in Whistler in about three months.

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Old Forest Focus Project

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Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Whistler Cascade is currently working with the Cheakamus Community Forest and its other partners, Bob Brett, B.A. Blackwell and Associates and Ecotrust, to identify, map and create a plan for protecting stands of old growth trees in the Whistler area.  Traditionally, logging companies have been bound to identifying 19% of a landscape unit as Old Growth Management Area (OGMA).  These are often identified in parks or protected areas, allowing the logging company to meet its OGMA requirements without losing any available timber for harvest.  The goal of the Old Forest Focus Project is to rethink this practice by identifying and protecting the stands of old trees most important to Whistler’s residents, businesses and visitors.  The Community Forest is currently leading a public consultation effort that seeks your input on this project, with the next information gathering session scheduled for early December.  For more information on the Community Forest, visit http://www.cheakamuscommunityforest.com/ and keep an eye on the local papers and our twitter feed for final event date, time and location information.

Britannia South

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Cascade is currently working as the environmental consultant to the Britannia South development in Britannia Beach, BC. This proposed community will bring several thousand new residents to the Sea to Sky corridor along with plans for new infrastructure that currently includes a town centre, marina, and school. Cascade was recently profiled on South Britannia’s blog, follow the link below to learn more about this unique development and to read about two locals’ take on the landscape from Cascade Principals Mike Nelson and Dave Williamson.

www.southbritannia.com/Journal.php#Meet the Team: Cascade Environmental