News/Reports

Trout Creek Ecological Reserve Warden’s Report August 2017

Posted August 13, 2017 | Categories : 7,BC Parks,Human Disturbance,Warden Reports |

Trout Creek Ecological Reserve Warden’s Report August , 2017 by Keegan Hoffman


I visited the ecological reserve on Wednesday, August 2nd. The temperature at 11:20am was 28 degrees Celsius with a pleasant breeze. Unfortunately, smoke from the wildfires blanketed the Okanagan Valley. The ER was extremely dry as there had been no measurable rainfall since June 29th.

The purpose of my visit was two-fold: to repair the fence line from the entrance of the ER to Hole 12 of the Summerland Golf Course and to prepare a report for BC Parks in preparation for the fence line repair and gate installation next to Hole 12.

Repairs along the fence line included: replacing missing fencing staples, straightening the fence, and re-stapling much of the barbed wire portion of the fence line. I was very pleased with the end result.

Once I reached the section of fence next to Hole 12, I ceased repairs and focused on preparing a report. I made notes on distances, signage, and damages. I also made a rough sketch of the area and took pictures. After a full assessment of the area I hiked back to my vehicle and departed at 2:40pm.

Later, I prepared the final report and included helpful images and a detailed sketch of the area. The report was sent to BC Parks staff for review. After review, we arranged to meet at the ER on August 13th.

On August 13th, I met with two BC Parks Rangers at the ER. The temperature at 8:00am was a pleasant 18 degrees Celsius and cloudy. It was the first day of rain in the Okanagan Valley in 44 days but in the two hours that we were at the reserve we didn’t feel a drop.

We headed to the section of the ER next to Hole 12 of the golf course. After a final assessment, the decision was made to install a gate beside the green of Hole 12. This was a logical location for the gate as there were several fence posts located close to one another. We removed one of the posts as it had rotted and pounded a new post in its place. We pounded one more post further back on an angle to create a chicane-like gate. We then added new fencing to complete the installation. We tested the new gate and were very pleased with the result. We also removed the downed gate located further up the fence line and fenced off the area completely. Finally, we walked the fence line and straightened it as best as we could. It was a pleasure working with the Rangers.

Our hope is that golfers will now use the gate to retrieve any stray golf balls and avoid causing further damage to the fence. Continued communication with the Summerland Golf Course staff and golfers will help to preserve the Trout Creek Ecological Reserve.

Editor’s Note: Keegan has recently moved to Nanaimo to start school at VIU! He is very excited to be taking the RMOT (Resource Management Officer Technology) program.  We hope to have him involved in assisting  at another ER while he is on the island.
He went on to say “I will miss Trout Creek but I am glad that Kathryn McCourt will resume monitoring the ER.”

Thanks Keegan from the Board of Friends of Ecological Reserves.