Watch the Amazing Black Oystercatcher Video - Tidecatchers

January 14, 2010 -  The Pacific WildLife Foundation video Eagle Among the Swarm airs on Knowledge Network starting this month and we will be teaming up with PWLF Associate Mike McKinlay Productions to make a series of short videos for Knowledge in the coming months.  

PACIFIC WILDLIFE FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 30 YEARS!

In 1980, a small group of people interested in the plight of whales 
joined Dr. Jim Darling, one of the world’s eminent whale research 
scientists, to establish the West Coast Whale Research Foundation 
(WCWRF). At that time, WCWRF was among the first organizations devoted 
to researching and educating the public about wild whales. With 
generous public support, WCWRF achieved many successes including 
pioneering research of gray whales, humpback whales and killer whales, 
television documentaries, expeditions, and stories in the 
international media. WCWRF also attracted the attention of biologists 
working in marine disciplines who supported the WCWRF’s approach to 
objective scientific research, public education and coastal wildlife 
conservation. In 2003, WCWRF transitioned into the Pacific WildLife 
Foundation (PWLF), a charitable organization operating with the same 
credo as WCWRF but with vastly expanded fields of study that 
potentially include all Pacific marine and coastal wildlife. Led now 
by prominent British Columbia biologist Dr. Rob Butler and with an 
expanded group of scientists, including Dr. Darling, PWLF has grown in 
size and scope as well as in the public support for its work for which 
it is profoundly grateful. The Pacific WildLife Foundation is proud of 
its heritage and its mandate of “objective science for conservation”. 
We are confident that it remains the key to public education about the 
important role that conservation must play in a rapidly expanding 
human world.

 

Swallow-tailed Gull Creagus furcatus added

November 4, 2009 -  The Pacific Wildlife Foundation is pleased to have been selected by the Celebrity Infinity of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. as their environmental partner for the Innovative Ship Award. The award includes a generous donation to the Pacific Wildlife Foundation.  

September 25, 2009 -  Proceedings from the Salish Sea Ecosystem Symposium are available on line. The Salish Sea refers to the combined waters of Puget Sound, Washington and the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia.

September 2009 - PWLF sponsored an expedition to Bute Inlet led by Ron Ydenberg to investigate the role of deer browsing on vegetation along salmon bearing streams. Accompanying Ron were Rod MacVicar and Rob Butler from PWLF and Herbert Prins and 6 colleagues and students from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The expedition included three days at the Orford River where we were generously hosted by the Homalco First Nations on their reserve. The Band is making improvements to their hatchery and guiding bear tours.

Blue Whale Photos Added

August 2009 – The first World Seabird Conference will be held in Victoria, Canada September 7-11, 2010. For more information go to their web site

Aug 2009 - Large numbers of American wigeon rely upon agricultural land in the Fraser delta to sustain them through the winter. The delta has been shaped by people to create rich farmland and living spaces and is a major thoroughfare for people and our goods. We have intensified our land use creating berry fields, busy roads, greenhouses and housing often next to wigeon habitat. The presence of these land use types may alter wigeon behaviour. If wigeon perceive these land use types as a danger it may cause them to avoid areas close to the land use types altering the amount of habitat available to them.

PWLF is supporting this research led by PWLF Board member Ron Ydenberg and conducted by Research Associate and SFU PhD candidate Holly Middleton. The study will aim to understand the response of wigeon to these land use types and model the amount of habitat that remains for wigeon under a number of possible land use scenarios in the region. The study will run for two winters and conclude at the end of 2011.

July 25, 2009 -  A fin whale arrived in Vancouver harbour last night on the bow of a cruise ship. Fin whales are uncommon in BC waters and spend most of the time in the open ocean. The cruise ship had travelled to Vancouver from Alaska and likely carried the whale a long distance. This is the second occurrence of a fin whale on the bow a cruise ship in Vancouver. Ten years ago a fin whale that arrived on the bow of a ship was taken to Telegraph Cove  where the bones are now on display at the Whale Museum

July 14, 2009 -  Dan Scanlan reported seeing a basking shark on June 13 in Nootka Sound. This sighting is important since so few records of this once numerous shark have been made in BC waters in recent years.

July 9, 2009 -  Our eelgrass transplant has taken root. Several hundred shoots transplanted to Port Moody by our volunteers last May are healthy and attracting fish. The project has taught us much about transplanting eelgrass and we intend to follow the ecological changes brought on as the bed grows. Our success is dampened by the findings published in the June Proceedings of the National Academy of Science indicating widespread loss of seagrass beds around the world.  

June 13, 2009 -  One of PWLF's longest running projects is documenting the Return of the Humpback to the coast of British Columbia. Today we saw a lone humpback about 2 nautical miles northwest of Mitlenatch Island in northern Strait of Georgia. Humpbacks are regularly seen in Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound near the southern entrance of the Strait of Georgia, and to the north in Queen Charlotte Strait but sightings in the Strait of Georgia are less common. These sightings suggest the recovery of the humpback whale to the Strait is continuing. A century ago, an estimated 300 humpbacks used the Strait of Georgia each year.   

Eelgrass Inventory Field Report by Seachange Marine Conservation Society for the Pacific WildLife Foundation

September 2008 -  Jane Russell, Amyn Jessa and David Guzzo from TD 
Bank presented a cheque to Rob Butler and Rod MacVicar towards PWLF's 
eelgrass restoration project as part of the opening celebration of TD 
Bank's new branch in Port Moody. Corporate support of our activities 
is greatly appreciated.

Lingcod Ophiodon elongatus added

Bay Pipefish (Sygnathus leptorhynchus) added

Black-footed Albatross Photos Added