EcoLogic Monthly #76
March 2026
While those down south enjoy early spring blooms, the PG team will enjoy Jamie’s photo of pressed plants. Read about Jamie’s time at the Annual CDC Review below!
Welcome to the 76th EcoLogic staff newsletter. This edition of EcoLogic Monthly features a new team member and the launch of a fancy new website!
Health & Safety
Update from Safety Officer Wade:
Hello and Welcome to March.
On March 3, Metro Vancouver witnessed a meteor’s light and sonic boom and Canada was in the path of the total lunar eclipse. A exciting start to the month!
24 out of 34 people completed February’s Safety Drill on Steep Terrain. If you missed completing previous drills, please click the link here to access them!
The March Safety Drill is on Fatigue! You can access the drill in the link below. Please complete by March 27th!
March Safety & Security Drill - Fatigue
As part of the drill, please review the following documents:
In 2026, projects over fourteen days must add a Fatigue Management Plan to the ERP&JHA
February Safety Drill Winner is Rachel Kruger!
First Aid Certification
Recently JOHS did a review of First Aid Certifications. There were four expired, three about to expire, 11 nothing on record, four exempt, and 12 active certifications.
If you are required to have First Aid, please register for a First Aid course (check with your supervisor if you qualify). You are free to select any provider you like.
Please let Nasrin know and she can purchase on your behalf. Once you complete the course, please update the safety training records database with the new information or email a copy of your new certification to safety@ecologicconsultants.com
Joint Occupational Health and Safety Membership
The composition of the committee is changing to better reflect the range of work and locations.
Monitoring Team x1 - held by Michael M: Active
Prince George Team x1: New Vacancy
JOHS Nasrin M - Active
JOHS Martin R. - Term expiring end of March: Vacancy
JOHS Kyla W term expiring end of March - this posting will be closing to make way for the PG Representative
Thank you to all committee members. And to Co-Chairs Martin & Kyla for your participation, insight and commitment over the last two years.
TWO Vacancies will be required on the JOHS. It is a two year term. If interested, ask a committee member and put forward your name to the safety@ecologicconsultants.com.
Incident Report Updates
Incident Report and Investigation_2026.01.28.MA Fort St James. Knee injury. Our team member has made the return to work
The Corrective Action was > In training exercises, create a step progression of difficulty and allow students time to practice before increasing to the next step of difficulty. Administrative Control.
Thank you,
-Wade
Celebrations!
Happy Company Anniversary to…
Jamie Fenneman - 7 year (March 10)
Danielle Mai - 4 year (March 14)
New Employee Announcement!
Please give a warm welcome to Bruna! She will be working out of the North Vancouver office :)
News in Ecology
Annual CDC Review for BC Flora
Jamie reuniting with his own kind…
Jamie writes:
I participated in the annual CDC review of the BC flora on Feb.18, where we discussed and voted on 55 changes to the current list of plants in British Columbia.
This is an annual meeting that I have been participating in since 2009, and I have worked closely with the CDC to design the process by which the meeting is structured and the different changes are assessed.
It typically involves approximately a dozen people, including academics, government representatives, consultants, and amateur experts, and in recent years we have begun including several newer biologists at each meeting who are just starting their careers and are able to participate in the discussions as non-voting observers. We have specimens, microscopes, recent papers, and photographs to review and discuss in order to allow the participants to understand each item that is discussed before a vote is submitted.
We usually meet at the Royal BC Museum (as we did this year), and it is always great to see many of my provincial botanist friends to catch up and discuss the newest discoveries. It is through this process that the annual updates to the provincial list of plants are developed, including their ranking as potential species of concern which prompts their inclusion in the baseline surveys we do for many different projects. It is one way in which the work that we do at EcoLogic is able to directly contribute to knowledge and decision-making at the governmental level, ultimately influencing how we do our work as biologists on the land.
New nature sanctuary on Vancouver Island will serve as research centre and bird observatory homebase
Jamie writes:
The Rocky Point Bird Observatory has purchased a large chunk of land in Metchosin, BC for protection and for incorporation into their bird research programs (banding, censuses, academic research, etc.). Rocky Point is a really important bird monitoring station along the west coast of North America, so it’s great to see them expanding their reach!
The second is some information related to the Kus-Kus-Sum project in Courtenay here, which is a major ecological restoration project that has been going on for at least a decade and has now finally reached its final stages. It’s an estuarine restoration at the location of an old industrial site, and was a collaboration between the City of Courtenay, the K’omoks First Nation (who had a village on the site), and our largest local ecological stewardship organization, Project Watershed. It’s a huge deal for people in the Comox Valley, as the project had major support from the community and we have all been watching it unfold next to one of our major commuting routes for quite a few years now. It’s also an amazing example of cooperation between First Nations, local councils, ecologists, and community organizations. I’ve included a link to a summary of the where the project started out and what the vision was (https://projectwatershed.ca/2020/03/02/history-of-the-field-sawmill-site/), and a second article that celebrates the project reaching its final phase (https://comoxvalleyrecord.com/2026/01/22/kus-kus-sum-project-reaches-major-milestone-with-retaining-wall-removal/).
In the Field
Monitoring
Matt bring us another tale from the Environmental Monitoring world! He writes:
After eight long years, the BC Hydro Cheakamus Penstock Recoating (interior and exterior) Project has come to a close. The original estimate to complete the work was two years!
Issues that resulted in such a long delay came down to water management and poor construction practices. The steep penstock right-of-way acted as a giant conduit accumlating more and more water moving downhill.
Sandblasting material and highly toxic paint had to be managed to avoid any accidental releases to the environment: the Squamish River watershed. The contractor chose a weak plastic material for the base of work areas that constantly ripped.
One Water Sustainability Act contravention resulted in a 3-month delay to the work schedule. See below for before and after photos of the twin, 2.6 m penstocks.
Brian George and I started on this project in 2017, working with Onsite Engineering to lay out access roads and drainage routes to the penstock right-of-way. Since then I have seen BC Hydro construction managers and safety officers come and go, resulting in me being the longest lasting site person!
One lowlight was a landslide in January 2020 due to the land being oversaturated. The access roads and their associated ditches accumulated too much water in one area. An oversight from the original road building from more than half a century ago.
One highlight was the use of helicopters in November 2020 to remove old train tracks, the original method to build the penstock 60+ years ago. BC Hydro insisted that I watch for any bird strikes while taking three days to lift old track pieces off the hill. Oh, ok, I’ll sit down and watch helicopters work in an absolutely beautiful location. Twist my rubber arm!
Weird and Wonderful iNaturalist Observation of the Month
This slime mould observation from Ryan is unique, not in terms of species, but how it was found!
Ryan writes:
We responded to a grass fire yesterday, and while checking to make sure it was out, I collected a myxo. Pretty sure it is the first ever collected from a fire and transported in a fire truck. My happy science nerd moment.
