Victoria Harbour rewilding effort a 'huge, untold success,' says wildlife expert

Elephant seals, sea lionsand even a peregrine falcon have reappeared on the West Coast thanks toa massiverewildingeffort that has madeVictoria and Esquimalt Harbourscleaner than at any time in the past 50 years.

The $135-million Rock Bay Phase 3 cleanup project has just concluded in the Victoria Upper Harbour. It was one of the last major steps in what will be a four-decades-long, $500-million effort to remove toxic sediment left byan old power plant.

"It's ahuge, untoldsuccessstory;something that needs to be celebrated," said BrianKeating, wildlife columnist forCBC'sThe Homestretch and Radio Active.

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Orcas, elephant seals, beavers, Olympia oysters,marbledmurrelet, rhinoceros auklets, herring, bay pipefishandcoho salmon all have been seen in the area.

It's especially remarkable considering the Victoria Harbour is the busiestfloatplaneairfield in Canada, Keatingsaid.

This resurgence in wildlifehas brought relevance back to theVictoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, said Keating.

Thatsanctuary was one of three established in the 1920s to protect the Brant goose and other waterfowl from market hunting.

In1916, the Migratory Birds Convention Act was signed between the United States andCanadato protect these animals fromillegal trafficking and commercialization after thepassenger pigeon had been driven to extinction by market hunters just two years prior, Keating said.

"The passengerpigeon was one of the most abundant birds on the planet, and yet we wiped it out completely. It looked like the same thing was going to happen to the Brantgoose."

The conservation initiative has so far managed to prevent that outcome.

Jacques Sirois, chairman of theFriends of Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, hopes tosee a U.N. Biosphere Reserve established in the area.

"He thinks that would make the 100 year celebration since the migratory treaty absolutely perfect," Keating said.