• Cluxewe River
• Quatse River
• Salmon River
• Zeballos River

• Birds
• Fish & Marine
• Mammals

• Forest
• Shrubland
• Grassland
• Marshland

Estuary Habitat click on images to view

Estuarine areas, being located at the interface between salt and fresh water environments and almost invariably in relatively sheltered locations are extremely productive ecosystems and are also characterized by very high biodiversity, a function of the occurrence of numerous different sets of growing conditions within relatively circumscribed geographical areas. Vegetation growing here, especially the emergent sedges and associates will die each year and decompose in situ, contributing a very significant amount of biomass to the nutrient mix resulting from the mingling of salt and fresh waters.  

Geese Feeding At The Cluxewe Estuary

On Vancouver Island, estuarine areas are of vital importance to migrating and wintering waterfowl owing to their location on the "Pacific Flyway" and the fact that the areas normally remain unfrozen during extreme winter conditions. They are also critical for rearing salmon, again as a consequence of their extremely high productivity and also as they provide an important buffer between fresh and salt water environments. Predators, such as bears and cougars, also use the areas extensively as do elk and deer.

Unfortunately, many of the qualities that render estuaries extremely important biologically have also contributed to the very high rate of human occupation and destruction of these habitats over the past 150 years.
Owing to their gentle gradients and sheltered conditions and location at the land - water interface, they have been extensively used both for settlement and both commercial and industrial use. The result of the concentration of human activities in the areas has been the loss of more than 65% of the estuarine portion of the Puget Sound - Gulf of Georgia over this time and the fragmentation of much of the remaining area.