Get Involved!

Here are a few ways you can get involved:

• Make a donation to WiTS to support this important initiative.

• Become a Wildlife Tree Monitor in your area (contact us for your local coordinator).

• Help us to identify areas of land that have wildlife tree value.
  Consider placing protective stewardship/conservation agreements, or covenants, on identified wildlife tree habitat on your land.

• Provide hands-on help to enhance valuable habitat (tree planting, constructing nest boxes, etc.) with WiTS.

• Encourage your local government to incorporate wildlife tree protection into bylaws, zoning, Neighborhood and Official Community Plans.

• Learn about wildlife trees. Contact us if you are interested.

Volunteers

Currently, the initiative has around 200 volunteer wildlife tree stewards monitoring in over 35 communities covering southeast Vancouver Island from Campbell River to Sooke. The majority of the stewards are FBCN members, some are landowners with wildlife trees, and others are interested observers. While monitoring wildlife trees, the stewards have seen and noticed evidence of some of the 80 species that utilize wildlife trees including owl nests, peregrine falcons, golden eagles, marbeled murrelet activity, hawk nests, passerine activity, and even a honey bee colony!

The stewards from each area have their own Wildlife Tree Coordinator. The coordinator keeps track of stewards and their trees, provides advice to the stewards, and collects forms at the end of the monitoring season. In order to aid the coordinators in their duties, workshops are provided and have included topics such as landowner contact, covenants, wildlife tree species, tree condition, and recording data. Volunteer stewards are WiTS link to landowners. Prior to entering a property to monitor a wildlife tree, the steward must obtain landowner permission. Often, the steward develops a rapport with the landowner and can provide information on the value of wildlife trees. Stewards also can inform WiTS which landowners may be interested in a stewardship or conservation covenant.

WiTS would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteer wildlife tree stewards and the cooperative landowners who allow the stewards onto their property to monitor wildlife trees.