Learn more:
Friends of Tribune Bay Ecosystem formed in May 2024 in response to BC Park’s plan to develop ~5 acres* of the Coastal Douglas Fir Ecosystem in Tribune Bay Provincial Park.
Ecological and hydrological assessments conducted by BC Parks are preliminary & insufficient.
We have reviewed their plans and are unwilling to allow this important forest and wetland to be compromised.
This ecosystem deserves protection for future generations.
*in addition to the ~8 acre legacy campground.
Friends of Tribune Bay Ecosystem
Our goal: to work with BC Parks to ensure that visitors can camp without doing lasting ecological harm or depleting the precarious water supply on our small island.
Find maps here.
Find an ecological timeline of this proposed campsite development here.
Timeline
This Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem is maturing & regenerating. Part of the Coastal Douglas-fir Biogeoclimatic Zone (the smallest and most at-risk zone in BC) this forest & wetland stores water year-round for Hornby.
Our Initiatives
If you have 3 minutes to spare, sign our online petition.
If you have more time & energy to help us protect this ecosystem, check out a complete list of our initiatives.
Eco-Camping
Hornby’s visitors don’t want to destroy forest ecosystems…
they want to camp sustainably, support the health of wild places & enjoy the beauty of the natural world.
Ecology
Hornby Island was logged extensively in the early 20th century & the forests have been regenerating ever since.
Diverse species are returning to the forest in the park, including rare ferns, Pileated Woodpeckers, cavity-nesting owls that live in dead trees, and Northern red-legged frogs.
Geology & Hydrology
Hornby Island is rock, surrounded by seawater & covered in a thin skin of soil. All living creatures are 100% dependent on water from rainfall to survive. After years of drought, our aquifers are depleted: wells across the island run dry in the summer. The well in the Tribune Bay campsite has been decommissioned due to seawater incursion, so in 2023, BC Parks drilled 3 new wells for this campground development, without completing hydrological assessments…
Ecological Grief
Many of us are experiencing ecological grief & Solastalgia (homesickness for a place that has been irrevocably damaged due to climate change &/or human interference). None of us are alone:
A 21st-centry vision for sustainable & eco-friendly camping on Hornby
We welcome visitors to our island & know that they value the health of the forests and wetlands on the island. There are many ways to ensure that we can all enjoy the beauty of Hornby without negatively impacting the animals, plants, soils, water and people…
Friends of Tribune Bay Ecosystem 