Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) summer programs have long been popular with tourists and summer. This year FOCI wanted to offer something for the year round community. 


“ The inspiration is partly wanting to make sure that more members of the community know about FOCI. We do a lot of projects, but they’re not really shiny and we don’t really advertise them. They're on our website, but if people don't go there and read about them, they don't know that they're happening,” explained Soma Feldmar, the society’s Administrative Assistant.


Executive Director Helen Hall came up with the idea for the ‘Create, Connect and Conserve’ series.

:Yes, we need to” responded Feldmar. “We take so much for granted from the natural world. Especially working at Foci the last couple of years, it's really much more in my face how in trouble the natural world, and therefore us, really is.”

She used a simile to complete that thought, “This is our home. This is like housekeeping, but our house is falling into pieces.”


Soma Feldmar became the project coordinator of ‘Create, Connect and Conserve.’


“I spent most of January planning the series and getting the events set up. There's still one that  I have to do a lot of work on, which won't be happening until June, so there's time.  Once I had the first three events set, I started advertising.” 


CC: Where did you advertise them?   


Soma Feldmar: On social media, in terms of the two Facebook Cortes groups, as well as on Tideline. Then I put the poster with the three events in Whaletown, at the Cortes Natural Food Co-op, at Bertha’s Cortes Market, in the Squirrel Cove General Store and the Klahoose Multipurpose Building. Now I'm talking to you about it, so it's going to get up on Cortes Currents.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - FOCI launched their new ‘Create, Connect Conserve’ series on February 3rd at Linnaea Farm, with workshops on coexisting peacefully with wildlife. Bob Hansen of WildSafeBC explained the effectiveness and correct use of bear spray.

In the course of the presentation, he shared several interesting statistics and exploded a few common misconceptions. Bob showed a WildsafeBC video, and also gave a live demonstration; attendees learned the mechanics of ‘laying down a wall’ of spray to keep wildlife at a distance, or directly targeting the animal’s face. In a brief lecture on bear behaviour, he explained why bears attack, how often this happens, ways to avoid attacks, and what to do if a bear does attack you.

Fortunately, bear attacks are uncommon — the average North American is more likely to be killed by a lightning strike than by a bear. In North America there are fewer than three fatalities due to bears each year (versus 20 due to lightning strikes).

In BC over the last 40 years, there has been one fatality every three years for black bears, and one every five years for grizzlies. Given the number of people out exploring and adventuring in the bush every year, bear attacks are quite rare; our culturally-reinforced fear of bears is somewhat exaggerated.

Nevertheless, a close encounter with a bear can be dangerous — and it’s best to be prepared if you spend time in the bush. Bob explained the benefits and proper use of bear spray.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Cortes Island's wildlife coexistence programs can be traced back to human/wolf conflicts in 2009. Local biologist Sabina Leader Mense reached out to Bob Hansen, then wildlife-human conflict specialist with Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The Cortes Community Wolf Project is modelled on the Wild Coast program that Hansen had been running in the Pacific Rim for more than a decade. Hansen and Conservation Officer Ben York helped Sabina write 'Learning to Live with Wolves on Cortes Island,' a five-point primer which FOCI endorses and posts throughout the community.

Hansen returned to Cortes at Sabina’s invitation, for the first time since 2011, on February 3. He gave a workshop on electric fences and a demonstration on using bear spray at Linnaea Farm. There were also a lot of ‘wolf stories’ and new information. 

Hansen talked about the dynamic lives that wolves lead; lives influenced by prey abundance, distribution, seasonality and where in their breeding cycle they are: mating, denning, rearing pups. There is no predicting when/ where wolves will be at any given time; i.e. no management of wild wolves. We can only manage ourselves!

Bob Hansen: “They're (the wolves) studying us way more than we're studying them. If they're around a lot, they're going to know exactly where you are and exactly where the dogs are at all times that they're anywhere close to you. They spend every day of their lives trying to figure us out and file away our reactions when we encounter them. They've created their own culture of coexistence, they behave the way we teach them to behave. They'll be teaching their pups how to coexist.” 

Sabina Leader Mense: “My real takeaway from what Bob has said just over the last couple of days that he's been here, is the onus is really on us to behave in ways that do not put wolves at risk.”

Bob said “the wolves take their cues from us.” So no interactions with wolves; no gawking to look or take a photograph; keep wolves wary of humans at all times.

The Cortes Wolf Primer states, “when you encounter them (wolves) in a residential area i.e. near your home, your neighbour's, the community halls, stores, schools etc, wave your arms to make yourself look bigger, shout loudly and use noisemakers. Let the wolves know, in no uncertain terms, that they need to respect you and you will not tolerate their presence in this place!! Use your most aggressive body language; take on the alpha role.”

Bob Hansen: “That’s what we call hazing. You're teaching them to stay wary. If they stay wary, they're going to stay alive. If they lose their wariness, then anything could happen.” 

Cortes Currents: Do you have any idea how many wolves there are on Cortes right now.

Sabina Leader Mense: “We have identified 7 adults with their pups of the year. They won't all stick together with the pups anymore. The pups are old enough, they're hunting with groups of adults. There will be four wolves here, two there, three here. Maybe that's what we're seeing with single day sightings coming in from Squirrel Cove, Whaletown, and the south end.” 

Bob Hansen: “What we've seen over the years is that when the prey (even a good sized black tailed deer) tends to be smaller, two wolves can clean it up in a couple of days. Even a single wolf can take down a deer given the right situation. So they don't need to travel as a large pack.” 

"If it wasn't for the cameras, we wouldn't realize that there's a large pack, but they now have cameras in some of the spots where they socialize and rendezvous. They'll go off and hunt and then they'll howl and come back together at a rendezvous site. They'll get reacquainted and then they'll go off in their separate directions again. If they aren't socializing and aren't sleeping, they're traveling and hunting."

Cortes Island Academy/Folk U - What really matters most in the world? How will we help inspire the next generation of truth-seekers and truth-tellers? At the Cortes Island Academy we believe in the passion and skills of the people and wild places of this place and are proud of our youth who learned along side our community and shared their growing skills through journalistic podcasts, Elder Documentaries, Field Guides and unsung hero posters (the one here is by artist Zella Aufochs).

This week on Folk U Radio CKTZ 89.5 FM (1 p.m. Fridays, repeats on folku.ca/cortescurents.ca/cortesradio.ca) youth journalists interview neighbours and regional experts on the issues of the day in our communities in their Audio Series called Desolation Sounds.

Friday February 2nd features:

The Way of the Wolves by Dylan Harvey

Understanding Dyslexia by Zella Aufochs

One Thousand Nine Hundred and Four by Rowan Joiner

And the Cortes Forestry General Partnership by Salix Webb

We hope you will tune in!

You can listen to the CIA youth podcast series, Desolation Sounds, anytime at https://cortesislandacademy.ca/podcasts/

Watch the breathtaking and moving CIA/ReelYouth Elder Films at https://cortesislandacademy.ca/films/

Get your own pocket Biodiversity Field Guide for Cortes (e.g. edible berries, local fungi, marine species, seaweeds, mosses, and more!) at https://cortesislandacademy.ca/biodiversity-project/

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Bob Hansen’s Electric Fencing Workshop was delightful. The ‘talk’ he gave at LInnaea Farm, on February 3, was permeated by stories of animal behaviour as well as visual aids.

“I've been involved in 50 plus electric fencing projects in our region over the last six years. Everywhere that electric fences have gone in, that resolved the conflicts that were occurring,” Hansen explained.  

His environmental career started out in Jasper National Park 40 years ago. He is a specialist when it comes to human wildlife encounters. He has worked for Environment Canada, Adventure Canada, and has just completed his sixth as the WildSafeBC Community Coordinator for the Pacific Rim. While that is on the other side of Vancouver Island, Bob Hansen has a long relationship with Cortes. 

“It is a real pleasure for me to be back on Cortes after so many years. 2009 was the first time Sabina got ahold of me and said, 'you have to come over here.’” (Laughter) 

Aside from the words ‘I do’ and ‘help’ it’s difficult to understand what local biologist Sabina Leader-Mense replied, but Hansen understood.

“I really appreciate having had that connection. It's so cool, all the work that Cortes has done over the years to co-exist and it's clear that that the commitment's there. I use Cortes all the time as an example in the education that I do. Check out Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) and their primers. Check out what's happened here.”

“WildSafeBC used to be called BearAware, but in 2014 it was abundantly clear that there was a lot more wildlife that people were living with than bears. So they reimagined the whole program to include all wildlife. There's around 30 community coordinators working in over 100 communities.  It really is fascinating how various communities have different sets of challenges in terms of coexistence, and the organization is really remarkable in the services it provides across the province. For the most part, all of those services and resources are free.” 

“The real true solution for conflict is  preventing the conflict from happening by managing the attractants. Being aware of how attractive things like bird feeders are.  That little block of suet there has about 6,000 calories. For a bear to get an equivalent amount of calories from salal berries, it would have to eat 15 kilograms of salal berries. Just before hibernation, they're trying to eat 20,000 calories a day.  That's why you need to take down your bird feeders during bear season.” 

The remainder of Hansen’s talk was about electric fencing.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Museum and Archives is collaborating with Folk U to offer two events in honour of Valentine's Day, on the theme of Love Letters. On February 11th (Sunday) from 1-4pm, Jane Newman will host a "love letter writing workshop" featuring both writing and collage art. On February 14th from 7 to 8:30pm, Oriane Lee will host an evening of love letter readings, including some from the Museum archives. Both events are free, though donations are always welcome. People interested in participating in the readings on the 14th should contact [email protected].

Roy Hales interviewed Melanie Boyle (the Museum's Director) and Jemma Hicken (the event organiser) about their collaboration to offer the community a new Valentine's Day event.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Klahoose Wilderness Resort’s 2023 tourist season ended in October. This is the time for refurbishments in preparation for the reopening next May. The need to provide a back-up for the resort’s micro-hydro system became obvious during last summer’s drought, and a propane generator has been installed. Additional storage space has been added.

Gorge Harbour Marina has been upgrading for the past year, and hopes to have a grand reopening this coming spring. 

These are some of QXMC’s physical improvements but, in a recent interview with Cortes Currents, the conversation quickly turned to an overview of the Klahoose development company’s personnel goals for 2024.  

“ Like in every business, we want to generate revenue and we want to keep our costs low, so that at the end of the day we can generate a profit. That profit is obviously used to extend our businesses and to make sure that they last in the long run,” explained Marco Bedetti, General Manager of QXMC.

“On the other hand, a very important focus is to generate employment.  We are trying to prioritize Klahoose First Nation members, to give them the possibility to work here. But we would also like to extend this and be able to provide as much training as possible so that they can grow in these companies and they can start to manage, say the Gorge Harbor Marina or the sawmill or any other LP that we're running nowadays.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) has been helping BC Parks maintain Mansons Landing Provincial Park since 2016. 


“ We've been doing various improvements over time. That included removing broom from the Spit, signage to help interpret what's down there and also fencing to prevent erosion. We've just finished two new sections of fencing,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI.


"One is at the end of the Spit to stop further erosion. The banks are very fragile and the existing fencing wasn't enough to stop people climbing down the banks. There has been a long history of First Nations usage of what is now the park, and my understanding is that a large part of the Spit is actually midden. It has archaeological interest. You can see all  the shells  in the sand on the banks very clearly when you walk along the beach. We want to keep the Spit intact. I'd say a significant portion of the erosion is caused by people climbing down onto the banks."


"The other piece was some fencing next to the parking lot. That's been put in largely to try and protect what's called coastal sand ecosystem.  If you go onto the beach, you'll notice this grassy looking plant community, which is actually quite rare in BC and it's also very fragile. The plant you see all year round, which looks very grassy, is called Dune Wild Rye. There's also Beech Pea,  Silver Burr Weed, and Gumweed. We're just hoping that people  stay out of that area and stick to the trails."


"Around 2017 or 2018, we put up a sign explaining about the coastal sand ecosystems. In the summer BC Parks will be putting up a little bit more signage about the plants , to try and encourage people to stay out of those areas."


"We've been working with BC parks to protect that area now for six years."


"When we started in 2016, it was heavily shaded by Scotch Broom. Our very first task was to remove the Broom, and we go back every winter.  We've got one coming up now in March. We do a Broom Bash with the community to cut back any regrowth.”

"I should just add all of the work we're doing there is funded by a grant we get from BC Parks."

Roy L Hale/ Cortes Currents - After a year of extensive renovations, QXMC hopes to fully reopen Gorge Harbour Marina Resort this Spring.

“We are getting closer to hopefully a grand opening on May 31st,  where we can provide a resort that is worthy of its name,” explained Marco Bedetti, General Manager of the Klahoose First Nation management corporation.  

“The majority of septic issues have been dealt with. We're still working on the AX100 system, which separates the treatment of the laundry facility and the guest toilets versus the rest of the property.” 

“Regarding the water systems: We are  very close to receiving a GARP assessment from VIHA, which will then allow us to set up the new well to our main distribution and allow us to use the new well. The reason for this big project was just due to high salinity in the old wells, which were overused over the years.”

“The pool and hot tub are going to be open as soon as we can. When I say ‘can,’ it really involves our homework, which is now to provide a pool safety data sheet that is comprehensive, but also for Island Health to come by and finally give us the operating permits to run it.”

“The store is running as always. We are actually going to be hiring more people, not only because of the summer months, but because we are opening a new store in Squirrel Cove. What better than to train them here at the Gorge and have them ready to go when the doors open over there.”

“Up at the main roads, where Trude’s Cafe used to be, we had to clean up.  The buildings were very old, the area fairly swampy, so in the first phase of the project we made sure that we could see the land and make decisions upon that.”

“We are putting in 21 RV sites down below, but we still want to guarantee staff to have a place to stay. We decided to move the staff trailers on that upper part of the property. We flattened the land out. We're putting in electric, water and sewer services. We will have 8 RVs that are available for staff.”  

“The domes are a new feature. The geodesic domes are where we will allow guests to have a glamping experience. They have arrived. We have them in storage. The pads are poured. We're just waiting for a little bit of drier weather to be able to pull the cables and then the water lines to the domes themselves.  Then we're going to start setting them up and furnishing them. So we'll have them ready to go by May.”

“There's  a lot of things to make sure that are complete by the season start, but I'm very positive that we'll get there.”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/Folk U - On January 26, Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined by artists and organizers Bianca (art gallery), Melanie (museum), Rex (love fest + coffeehouses), and Meinsje (art gallery). This was a lovely conversation about personal practice, the role of arts and culture in remote communities, the importance of everyday art, and upcoming events + opportunities for greater collaboration.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.