Physical:The reserve is located in the Nanaimo Lowlands Ecosection. It has uniform gentle slopes and small wet basins. The soils are developed on a mosaic of colluvial (slopewash) till and marine parent materials.

Biological: The reserve contains a 120 year old forest (in 1993) that established after a fire. A community of Douglas-fir and very vigorous sword fern occupies most of this forest. Local plant indicators of rich sites for Douglas-fir forests including devil’s club, vanilla leaf , trillium, maidenhair fern, lady fern, cut-leaved foamflower, three-leaved foamflower, and Siberian miner’s lettuce occur over most of the area.

Lesser, imperfectly drained portions around a wetland are dominated by grand fir and red alder, with a similar ground cover of sword fern. Poorly drained pockets with impervious subsoils are scattered throughout the reserve and support a swamp forest combination of western redcedar and red alder, with skunk cabbage, giant horsetail and lady fern forming a lush and tall herb layer. On more sloping terrain a Douglas-fir – dull Oregon grape community is common and along a stream a riparian red alder – salmonberry – lady fern combination occurs. Two of the plant associations found within Bowser ER, the grand fir/dull-Oregon grape and the western redcedar / vanilla leaf ecological communities, are ranked as S1 or “Critically Imperilled”. There are also several large mature examples of western white pine that have escaped the blister rust.

In the south-eastern part of the reserve a shallow pond is present which is surrounded by sedge meadows and stands of hardhack.

ER Warden Activities: