The Burdwood Group Conservancy is a

conservancy Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

located in the

Broughton Archipelago Broughton Archipelago is a group of islands located at the eastern end of Queen Charlotte Strait in Mount Waddington Regional District, British Columbia. The archipelago is the traditional territory of the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw, Namgis, Ma'amt ...

Mount Waddington Regional District The Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW) is a regional district in British Columbia. It takes in the lower Central Coast region centred on the Queen Charlotte Strait coast of northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining parts of mainland ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. It was established by

BC Parks BC Parks is an agency of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all of the, as of 2020, 1,035 provincial parks and other conservation and historical properties of various title designations within t ...

on 13 March 2009 to protect a unique cluster of forested islands and islets situated at the entrance to

Tribune Channel Tribune Channel is a channel or strait on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, separating Gilford Island on the west and north from the mainland. The channel bends around Gilford Island, with the mouth of Thompson Sound at the elbow of ...

Geography

The Burdwood Group is located between the islands of Broughton and Gillford in the

. The islands are surrounded by Raleigh Channel to the west, Fife Sound to the southwest, Hornet Passage to the southeast, and

to the north.

Ecology

The Burdwood Group is a centre for biodiversity in the region. The forested islands are an important habitat for coastal bird species. The

foreshore The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species of ...

of the islands host productive butter clam and littleneck clam populations. The marine environment around the islands hosts a moderately sized

kelp bed Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Ea ...

frequented by a variety of marine mammals and fish species, most notably

Pacific salmon ''Oncorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “lump, bend”) + ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos, “snout”), in r ...

Culture

The islands feature culturally significant sites and traditional use areas of the Mamalilikulla-Qwe’Qwa’Sot’Em and other

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

in the area. These include culturally significant

shell midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

s and

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of Marine habitat, habitats with var ...

clam garden A clam garden (k’yuu kudhlk’aat’iija in the Haida language, lux̌ʷxiwēys in the Kwakʼwala language) is a traditional Indigenous management system used principally by Coast Salish peoples. Clam gardens are a form of mariculture, where F ...

Access

The islands are accessible via

sea kayak A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the man ...

or boat. Camping on the islands is permitted but no facilities are provided.

References

{{British Columbia parks Conservancies of British Columbia Central Coast of British Columbia 2009 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 2009

Geography

Ecology

Culture

Access

See also

References