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Big Bunsby Marine Provincial Park Big Bunsby Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park on the west coast of northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, to the southeast of the Brooks Peninsula in Checleset Bay. It is accessible only by boat. The park is a good spot f ...

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Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

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, ...

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Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

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Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

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bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

on the northwest coast of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located southeast of

Brooks Peninsula ''Parts of this article have been adapted from thBC Parks website'' Mquqʷin/Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park is a provincial park located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. History As a result of land-use plann ...

and northwest of

Kyuquot Sound Kyuquot Sound is a complex of coastal inlets, bays and islands on northwestern Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The sound is named after the Kyuquot people, who are of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples by culture and language ...

. Much of the land around the bay is part of

Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park ''Parts of this article have been adapted from thBC Parks website'' Mquqʷin/Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park is a provincial park located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. History As a result of land-use plann ...

. Checleset Bay has three large inlets, Nasparti Inlet, Ououkinsh Inlet, and Malksope Inlet.

Etymology

Checleset Bay was named in the late 1930s in association with the

Kyuquot/Cheklesahht First Nation The Kyuquot/Cheklesath First Nation or First Nations"Kyuquot/Cheklesath First Nations" which is the form used by Mowachaht/Muchalaht and Tla-o-quiaht governments- (officially Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h' First Nation) is a modern treaty govern ...

of nearby Kyuquot Sound. This

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, today officially spelled Che:k:tles7et'h', was historical spelled in various ways such as Checleset and Cheklesaht. They once occupied the shores of Checleset Bay until moving to Mission Island in the 1950s. Today they live at Houpsitas on Kyuquot Sound.

Geography

Historically, Checleset Bay was the northernmost area of the

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...

First Nations. The land north of Checleset Bay and Brooks Peninsula was Kwakwakaʼwakw territory, with the Klaskino being the southernmost of the Kwakwakaʼwakw people. Today the Klaskino are part of the Quatsino First Nation, whose territory lies just north of Checleset Bay and Brooks Peninsula. The Che:k:tles7et'h' (Cheklesahht) people lived in the Checleset Bay area. Their main winter village was at Upsowis, and the summer village at Acous. Besides these there were at least 34 other village sites, 10 refuges, 8 camps, 7 fish traps, 3 fish weirs, 11 burial caves, and 2 cemeteries on the shores of Checleset Bay. Near the mouth of Nasparti Inlet is Columbia Cove, named for the

maritime fur trade The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ex ...

ship '' Columbia Rediviva'', which under Captain Robert Gray anchored here in June 1791 and July 1792. The name dates back to the 1790s. It was used by Gray's officer

Robert Haswell Robert Haswell (November 24, 1768 – 1801?) was an early American maritime fur trader to the Pacific Northwest of North America. His journals of these voyages are the main records of Captain Robert Gray's circumnavigation of the globe. Later du ...

and several times by

John Boit John Boit Jr (15 October 1774 – 8 March 1829) was one of the first Americans involved in the maritime fur trade. He sailed as fifth mate under Captain Robert Gray on the second voyage of the ''Columbia Rediviva'', 1790–1793. During the voyage ...

in his log of the ''

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

'', which anchored in the cove in 1795. An islet at the entrance of Columbia Cove is known as Boit Rock, after John Boit. Deeper into Nasparti Inlet is Johnson Lagoon, an inlet-like saltwater lake narrowly connected to Nasparti Inlet. Tidal currents are funneled through the narrow opening, resulting in dangerous

tidal rapid Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

s. The Acous Peninsula lies between Nasparti Inlet and Ououkinsh Inlet. Acous was the main Che:k:tles7et'h' (Cheklesahht) summer village, located near the point of Acous Peninsula. Although long abandoned, the village site still contains old carvings and house posts. Just east of Acous Peninsula, at the entrance of Ououkinsh Inlet is Battle Bay. Nearby is the former Cheklesahht village of Mahope. Near the head of Ououkinsh Inlet is the mouth of the Power River, which flows through the Hisnit River Watershed Protected Area and Power Lake before emptying into Ououkinsh Inlet near the former Cheklesahht village of Hisnit. Hisnit was an important

sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...

fishing site. The Ououkinsh River flows into the head of Ououkinsh Inlet. At the river's mouth is another former Cheklesahht village, called Ououkinsh. Between Ououkinsh Inlet and Malksope Inlet lie the Bunsby Islands, named in 1862 by Captain George Henry Richards after a character in the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

novel '' Dombey and Son''. Among the islands is

. Che:k'tles7et'h' Island is one of the southwesternmost Bunsby Islands. This island was once an Indian Reserve but in 2011 was transferred in fee simple to the Kyuquot/Cheklesahht First Nation. Malksope Inlet, whose preferred modern spelling is Maq:cup, is the easternmost inlet of Checleset Bay. Near its entrance is the site of Upsowis, the former main winter village of the Cheklesahht. The Malkscope (Maq:cup) River flows into the head of Malkscope Inlet. Near the river's mouth is the former Cheklesahht village Maq:cup.

Conservation

Most of Checleset Bay is protected as the Checleset Bay Ecological Reserve, which was established in 1981 for the reintroduction of

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...

s, which were once abundant but hunted to

local extinction Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

in British Columbia during the

era. Around 1970 89 sea otters were brought from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

to Checleset Bay. By 1984 there were about 200 in the reserve and about 150 more in the surrounding area. By 2013 their range had expanded over much of the coasts of western and northern Vancouver Island and elsewhere, with a total population of about 5,600. Long designated endangered, today sea otters are designated "Special Concern" under the federal Canadian '' Species at Risk Act''. In addition they are protected by the

Marine Mammal Regulations Marine Mammal Regulations (MMR) is a set of rules that govern the taking (fishing, hunting) and treatment of marine mammals in Canada. The regulations are part of the Fisheries Act. The Marine Mammal Regulations s are divided into nine "parts": *P ...

in the federal Fisheries Act. They are listed as "Threatened" under the British Columbia Wildlife Act. For these reasons motorized watercraft are not allowed in Checleset Bay and there are restrictions or bans on activities like fishing and camping. To land on the shore requires a request for permission. Research and educational activities require special permits.

References

{{British Columbia hydrography Bays of British Columbia Kyuquot Sound region Nature reserves in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1981