News/Reports
Nitinat Lake Purpose Statement
Adapted from the BC Parks website:
See full PDF here:nitinat_ps
Purpose Statement
Ecological reserves are areas selected to preserve representative and special natural
ecosystems, plant and animal species, features and phenomena.
The key goal of ecological reserves is to contribute to the maintenance of biological diversity and the protection of genetic materials.
All consumptive resource uses and the use of motorized vehicles are prohib ited.
Research and educational activities may be carried out but only under permit.
Primary Role
The primary role of Nitinat Lake Ecological Reserve is to preserve Douglas fir trees near their westernmost limit of distribution on southern Vancouver Island.
The ecological reserve is located in the heart of the Nitinat triangle that extends out to the West Coast Trail unit of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
.
It extends for about 2.5 kilometres along the Nitinat Lake shoreline and 300 metres inland, and comprises a mix of steep slopes, rocky outcrops, bluffs and talus.
This largely inaccessible 79 hectare ecological reserve protects sensitive lakeshore habitat and
steep rocky cliffs with nesting habitat for ducks and songbirds.
The co-occurrence of Douglas fir and Sitka spruce on very steep slopes makes this habitat unique.
The Douglas fir and Sitka spruce tress are scattered among broken rocks and bluffs, where competition for other trees is reduced. Western hemlock is the dominant tree over most of the area on representative sites, and plant communities displayed in the ecological reserve are typical of hemlock and fir communities. Nitinat Lake Ecological Reserve protects a very small
representative portion of the Windward Island Mountains.
See the rest of the full PDF here:nitinat_ps for Management .