7 Year of Eco-Restoration - Mackay Creek/Estuary Restoration

This video shows the work being done to help restore the riparian and estuary areas on Mackay Creek, City/District of North Vancouver .
Please see Echo Ecological's & Wildcoast Ecological's website to learn more about us: www.echoecological.com/
www.wildcoastecological.com/
Also check out our Social Media for pictures and Updates from our project: / echo_ecological
/ echoecologicalecores
See the map of the District of North Vancouver's parks here: www.dnv.org/recreation-and-le...

[@ISawABear]

2021 Update, seems this video is blowing up, be sure to see the company's KZbin page proper! we've got more videos coming, including drone stuff! kzbin.info/door/YT6YvBDetYSFLEYuVihHQQ REGARDING MY COMMENT ABOUT THE BEAVERS: Multiple people have expressed that beavers normally do not impede fish passage and this is true in a natural system, i was simply using shorthand to get the point across in my video. The point here being that in this particular URBAN setup beavers making dams cause several issues: 1) Fish passage does get blocked in shallower sections due to there being very little water to begin with (wish the fish need to gain momentum to jump over falls/blockages), this combined with the unfortunate amount of debris and garbage that floats down (and gets caught in the dam) does really block the creek up. 2) Beaver dams cause flooding on local roads, human infrastructure isn't exactly flexible, so if the creek were to flood its banks in certain sections it could potentially cause damage or block roads. 3) Beavers this past year (2021) did manage to cut off water access to the pond area shown, draining it, nearly killing several amphibian egg masses (had to be rescued). 4) Although the dam itself might not block fish passage on the main creek, any side channel where salmons would normally spawn (many of these side channels were created for spawning) would lose much of their water or completely dry out barring any fish from using them. Again the urbanized nature of this creek is not conducive to normal more natural processes. While we would love to create a fully naturalized ecosystem with beavers and all, sometimes that simply isn't possible. To be clear though, the beaver still lives in the area and has now blocked a portion of the wetlands that we are okay with it blocking. For now, they are very persistent. No beavers were harmed, moved or otherwise displaced. Large trees we needed to be kept alive or who were endangering infrastructure were caged to prevent they're being chewed.

[@Jin-di9zv]

You guys did great work

[@blizzxrd3817]

Brilliant job mate

[@anitagovan66]

@Blizzxrd I think what people miss is different areas need different solutions. A beaver is great for restoring a river or establishing underground water caption but in a high water table area.teh priority's are different and there maybe be better solutions... But post like this really help people understand better the need for these natural echo systems to be restored ... Your doing great work folks

[@geekdivaherself]

Well done! I wish everyone there well.

[@bill8985]

Just found this vid. All amazing work - especially in removing all those invasives. But if your comment, "No beavers were harmed, moved or otherwise displaced" is true - then any beaver dams you removed must have been rebuilt by the beavers in a matter of a week or two. I live along a river that now has a wonderful, restored population of beavers... If anyone fiddles with a dam, they are almost fully repaired by the next morning. Beavers are a part of nature and are so beneficial for a healthy ecosystem. Let them do what they do. And yes, I agree, I also use hardware cloth to protect the important trees near the river on my property. But where I live, there's plenty of other good eatin' available.

[@Flex_Nutts]

Dude this is my neighborhood! Mackay is about 5 min walk from my house! you're doing a great job for the community. Keep up the good work.

[@ISawABear]

:)

[@gavinmckillop8006]

Have you ever taken the 5 minutes to walk there?

[@Freedom-ql2ql]

Congratulations from Brazil. May this Project and others take place for real worldwide so we can get back our environment to pre- industrial standards .

[@taylorsceeles5222]

in all my years i have never seen a solution for spawning areas. You have finally given me hope. God bless you all.

[@bradsmith5069]

This is an amazing restoration effort. I love what you've done here. And we need more of this, and I'm grateful for everyone's efforts. I disagree that beavers have a negative impact on the stream, however. They may be destructive in the context of the highly urbanized watershed and localized flooding. But they positively benefit the creek's hydrology and anadromous fishes. Only when the water is lowest during late summer/early fall flows do beaver dams block migration. But their dams increase flows downstream, decrease temperatures downstream, and provide habitat essential for juvenile salmonids, and other species dependent on wetlands. Beaver dams hold water into the landscape and are essential to aquatic species during the low-flow periods of summer. Adult salmonids are adapted to return to creeks and rivers as flows increase. Fish passage of beaver dams isn't an issue after this point. And neither is the downstream migration of juveniles during the high flows of spring. Salmonids have adapted to beaver dams, and the two go hand in hand. I would suggest planting more willows, and other deciduous trees, allowing beavers to continue to improve this habitat restoration project.

[@ISawABear]

Please see the pinned comment

[@ISawABear]

The beavers are now in an areas where everyone is happy with them (mostly) in and off channel wetland as opposed to any problematic areas.

[@StewardsNotes]

As a fellow foxholer and ecological restoration practitioner, I approve this video :)

[@pavolkolesar6835]

Barbed wire is invasive species

[@NDwhITeBoYZ]

Thank you. I wish there were groups like yours in every community

[@randlerobbertson8792]

Just shows you what can be done.❤

[@princemononoke2477]

This is amazing, wicked cool to see just how much yall have accomplished in 7 years, I'm sure it's beyond rewarding lol, keep up the good work!

[@billrobbins5874]

This would be a wonderful project to do by so many other communities too. Really a well thought out project. ❤️👍❤️

[@casienwhey]

Nice work to all involved. I can only imagine how laborious getting rid of all those invasive plant species must have been.

[@vhseudiria3219]

Congrats on the work Bear, its great to see you show some of your work outside the gaming community!

[@jeremiahwilkes2376]

Just beautiful and inspiring! The vines remind me of our Creek blackberries everywhere.

[@clintyoung6851]

Why would someone ever give this a 👎?

[@lag9765]

Thank you.

[@harperwelch5147]

This is such fine and generous work. Thank you all. I live near Seahurst Beach, south of Seattle, and they have done similar work to clarify and maintain a natural stream bed and forest alongside the beach.

[@aleksanderlenartowicz5659]

Nice one! I wish stuff like this would be done in my community and vicinity

[@ISawABear]

Start finding people who want to make a change and start doing research. Maybe make a volunteer group. You gotta start somewhere.

[@jackieradford1516]

Hey Bear , it's Pickled here from Foxhole. This is by far the best Video i have seen you make ! I knew you had something to do with forestry but this is fantastic stuff ! I have so much respect mate , hope you go on making the world a better places Much love Pickled from foxhole

[@ISawABear]

[@user-jv5cu4hz3q]

Great job , thank you

[@mikaelgonzalez2739]

Massive work has been done there, keep it up! This is the way to go!

[@jameswest4819]

Glad to see sensible restoration being done. For the longest time the EPA had a preservation attitude and actually stopped restoration.

[@connerogrady5035]

Absolutely enormous amounts of love and work on display here, I hope more people model themselves off what you’ve done here

[@lyssasletters3232]

Thank you for your service to the planet!

[@williamwoodward670]

Wow that is awesome. Great video

[@geargeekpdx3566]

BRAVO!

[@lag9765]

Thank you

[@jthadcast]

great work kids, now to make it an intergenerational project, no rest for the wicked as consumerism and industrial destruction is relentless.

[@mr.factoid105]

great work never realized Blackberries were non native, things more or less grow wild in Massachusetts

[@tedtansley1523]

I think it is the type of blackberry there. There are native ones to the States.

[@morelslady]

Keep up the awesome work

[@anthonytorres198309]

Awesome 👏

[@bobjob3632]

This is awesome ! People are capable of so much when they put their mind to it!

[@sebastiendelavy5848]

fabulous - nice to see this vidéo

[@Honken]

Bravo bravo! Amazing work. The amount of knowledge, planning and hard work that must have gone into this is inspiring.

[@riceexperiment]

Beautifully done!

[@nandocaetano10]

Great job!

[@christopherropp2167]

Awesome work love seeing this

[@hamsterdaminc]

Amazing work

[@funnywolffarm]

Nice video. More explanation of the pros/cons of beaver activity in an area already populated by humans would be great. It seemed like a theme but was not discussed or detailed.

[@ISawABear]

Please see the pinned comment for more info

[@kaylarosemary936]

I have very little to say other than thank you.

[@masterspin7796]

Very nice work!

[@LureThosePixels]

Looks infinitely better!

[@LovroRavbar]

Bravo! Greets from Slovenia!

[@Mumbamumba]

Nice!

[@EnzoF105]

Very cool

[@ojvojnsojvns]

great work!

[@fletcherwilliams5947]

Awesome work

[@zofiajaworek1882]

Those thumbnail photos look so strikingly different but they are taken during different months ain't they

[@mking3219]

Well done!

[@tommysoliz3064]

Beautiful video

[@markeaton4367]

Wow! Awesome......

[@ikillstupidcomments]

Damn fine work!

[@aitortxarterina6662]

congratulations. good job

[@ISawABear]

Thanks!

[@klevchenkoborskov1783]

Unexpected pop up on my feed. Somehow never thought you would be into the environment, guess I should try to catch twich streams more often.

[@ISawABear]

You can see my other nature video on my channel. Eco restoration is my career path.

[@SmokeMastaP]

Great work. In my opinion, damage that was caused by humans have to be fixed by humans. (This includes also invasive animals, i.e. pets!) We can do a lot to restore natural habitats. Sometimes, it costs a little bit of money. But we need to give something back to the nature, that gave us great opportunities.

[@ISawABear]

100%

[@fernandofierro7958]

Nice 👍

[@littlsuprstr]

Inspiring! I'm trying to do my part to suppress invasives and restore native vegetation and habitat.

[@streettrout855]

I love it!

[@alexandrecaldeira7674]

good work!

[@omgtrojan]

You really should let those beavers dam. There's overwhelming benefits to to the local ecology provided by beaver dams.

[@ISawABear]

Please see the pinned comment on why thats not possible.

[@harenterberge2632]

How is the state of the neighboring plots and buildings. Are they doing well economically well? Or are there abandoned or economically inactive plots that could be bought up and given back to nature to give the creek a bit more space?

[@ISawABear]

Well one side of Mackay is Seaspan which is one of the larger naval contractors in Canada and the other side is the north shore auto mall with endless cars... so i dont see these budging much to be honest, though there's a bit more room to squeeze here and there.

[@PABadger13]

What's your method for removing the scotch broom? It looked like mechanical removal in the video, but I'm guessing there were a few more steps between. It's a huge issue down here in Oregon, and the main methodology I've run across centers around a labor-intensive "painting" application of herbicide.

[@ISawABear]

No that's pretty much it. Broom is fairly easy to rip out of the ground by hand or with a leverage tool once they get large. we just time our pulling when they go to flower but before they drop their seeds. Painting on herbicide would work but our preference is to use it only as a last resort.

[@debrapaulino918]

❤❤❤

[@desertchild3550]

Using a three or four shank ripper attachment on the excavator deals much quicker with the problem of removing invasive plants that got a complex root system. The only tool so far that is successful against removing pragmites.

[@ISawABear]

Are you specifically referring to the pond section towards the end of the video?

[@jceeross6763]

Love it

[@Mackaygolf]

I approve!

[@gup8175]

Think Global, Act Local

[@releventhurt]

That’s a solid team work u got my goodness way to go bro this is American resiliency make creeks habitable again

[@bp51082]

They are Canadian, but North American resiliency for sure

[@WJack97224]

The Wild Blackberry will likely return; it is nearly impossible to eradicate it.

[@ISawABear]

Certainly. But as long at the native species we planted get enough time they will limit the blackberry and provide better structure for the forest

[@brandonmusser3119]

I'm thinking about creating a channel that brings this more mainstream

[@mikeschatz9153]

Amazing!!!! Can you do the Duwamish River in Seattle next?

[@mendax2251]

love your work

[@WanderingSoleTV]

Amazing! I'd love to get involved with projects like this!!

[@ISawABear]

If you're local to Vancouver join us at www.wildcoastecological.com/ Otherwise look for a stream keepers or ecological society near where you live.

[@kayhagmann7837]

great work! but what are the coffee bags for? and were you able to control the invasives? Since you worked from the end of the stream upwards, didn't them existing invasives upstream act as a seed reservoir and directly invaded the newly created open patches downstream?

[@ISawABear]

The upstream invasives are still an issue. But unfortunately our reach and ability to work is beyond our control. The coffe bags were used to suppress invasives but more importantly give a ground cover so the newly excavated ground didnt melt back into the pond with rain erosion. On rhe whole invasives will always be present but no nearly as blocking as before. The pond 2 years later is about 95% clear of iris and we go back every year to rip out any we missed.

[@yummyiop2]

@1:50 you can see jade cove,Apollo’s landing, husk hollow and pleading wharf. This is not a joke

[@ISawABear]

woah...

[@lucaspardo1407]

Great work. At the start of the video, it is mentioned oil spills and unfiltered run off from the road. I'm interested to know how you've dealt with those?

[@ISawABear]

Unfortunately they're little an independent start up company can do to stop the inflow sources. However other local grounds started putting in raingardens at the inflows to filter out pollutants with great success. (See the capilano rain garden project) However any enforcement or larger scale cleaning is up to the city.

[@marcuslarch5395]

How did you deal with the Japanese knotweed close to the creek? I work with invasives and it's my understanding that it can regenerate a stand from a plant fragment of less than a gram, so you can't treat it manually. And if it's too close to water you can't treat it chemically either. Around here (Kootenays), we mostly just leave it untouched and tell people not to cut it.

[@ISawABear]

We actually weren't the ones to deal with that. Normally you can't spray pesticides next to a creek but exceptions are made when critical infrastructure is threatened. With a road and train bridge nearby, the city was able to deal with it (though many spots pop back up and are still an ongoing battle). So short of it; city got it with pesticides

[@allanturpin2023]

Now you just need funding to buy out adjoining properties on both sides to widen the natural area.

[@thebeautifulones5436]

Damn beavers!

[@STScott-qo4pw]

i'd like to see something similar done to omand's creek and about six other watercourses inside winnipeg.

[@ISawABear]

Bit far for us to travel haha, but hey maybe there's a local environmental or stream keepers group you can talk to, or write a proposal to your local council (i realize that might be a lot of work).

[@grakkerful]

Why in the hell is there a driving beat going on in the background?

[@ISawABear]

Because that's how i like to edit my videos?

[@alanmarks4861]

Would love to learn more but to my understanding I thought in the pacific northwest beavers and dams were beneficial to salmonids

[@ISawABear]

Please see the pinned comment

[@alanmarks4861]

@@ISawABear thank you

[@brucebertrammcleroth4037]

How did you stop the invasive from returning?

[@ISawABear]

We return to do maintenance periodically until the native trees and shrubs can shade them out on their own. Of course some amount of invasives will always be present but the point here is to re-establish a functional native plant system which can then maintain itself. Unlike before where the ecosystem was bulldozed and never re-established before invasives were introduced.

[@Maroke21]

took me a while to realise this was I saw a bear I watch his foxhole videos but I never knew he was also in to stream restoration

[@RichardColwell1]

Hey Bear, do you update this part of your KZbin?

[@ISawABear]

In what way like up date on this particular work site or just eco work stuff in general?

[@RichardColwell1]

@@ISawABear eco stuff

[@ISawABear]

@@RichardColwell1 it really depends on if and when we go back to certain sites. I will keep uploading eco videos as i have time but you can also check out my companies instagram for some pics of our projects: instagram.com/echo_ecological? My discord also has an Eco channel in it where i sometimes post: discord.gg/qRfvjDWW Echo also has its own youtube channel which will see another video within a month or two: kzbin.info/door/YT6YvBDetYSFLEYuVihHQQ

[@ethanmcdonald8278]

How can I sign up to volunteer?

[@ISawABear]

Check the wildcoast website (link in video description) there should be a volunteer tab where you can sigh up for event notifications.

[@111day1]

What did all this cost?

[@byronleatham1183]

And promote your beaver

[@lovewenwin]

Any updates?

[@ISawABear]

Well many of the trees and shrubs we've planted are doing well and growing fine. Many of the invasives have crept back in which was expected but arent hindering the trees and shrubs which are starting to shade them out in spots. So more or less going as expected (if imperfectly which was never possible anyways) Volunteers still turn up to our events which help to maintain the area but more are always needed.

[@lovewenwin]

@@ISawABear You should do another video. I would appreciate it.

[@loyddussaultsr4181]

They should have rented a herd of goats to clear out the invasive plants

[@ISawABear]

Alright whats the budget for that? XD

[@Andre-hz8yx]

This is great what you all have done. BUT !!! The wild life along 1000 Roosevelt Cr. is being killed by cars speeding through. I have been friends with a black squirrel for the last year and I just buried him last week. The skunk was killed and about 4 other squirrels. I called the road works about putting down speed bumps nothing was done.

[@ISawABear]

Thats terrible. Well i dont manage communications but maybe i get get a way to mention it. We just gotta keep at it until they change it.

[@brucebertrammcleroth4037]

The invasive need to be removed chemically. Well done for your determination and care

[@ISawABear]

Some maybe but most can be mannually removed as shown. The other advantage is there is very little collateral damage on native plants.

[@lag9765]

And here in California Gavin Newsom is turning the Central California Delta into a waist land...

[@vice.nor.virtue]

Thumbnail is the wrong way around. 2020 should be the second tile, not the first.

[@ISawABear]

I 100% agree but if i recall the rightside of the 2020 video was blocked out by something and i really wanted that bridge in the shot

[@bigears4426]

Everyone is happy except the beavers

[@alanbrooke144]

Mackay is pronounced “Mac-eye” - rhymes with sky.

[@MATTdotBranc]

I like this. As someone who wants to do this in the future, I am curious about the dangers of humans playing god. Yes I don’t like invasive and nonnative species either but those species are playing a role in the ecosystem they inhabit. In particular from this video I thought about the still water pond, which is sure to soak up a lot of toxins. Did the ponds invasive species do a good job as a filter? I wonder if the water quality improved or decreased due to human intervention? This is definitely something that should be monitored and published, so we can better understand the role that invasives and non natives play in the ecosystem. Maybe they’re there to develop the soil/ water so that other species are able to return once the mediums are in good condition. Something worth looking into unbiasedly.

[@ISawABear]

Lets not kid ourselves, the invasive species are here because we "played god". Mackay as stated in the video is about 10% of what it used to be. We are simply trying to undo some of that disturbance with our work. The plants we chose were primarily for wildlife, but do also absorb some of the metals that flow into the pond. (Salmon berry stems have a high copper absorption rate (copper coming mainly from brake pads off street run off) A connecting inflow recently was filter through a raingarden: www.nsnews.com/in-the-community/north-shore-rain-garden-project-demonstrates-natural-technology-3107572 I can't find the study at this very moment but we know this raingarden alone is filtering a huge % of the metals passing through its connected inflow into Mackay Creek.

[@skipeveryday7282]

The thumbnail is bugging me so much 😂

[@brucemackinnon6707]

Can't the fish jump the beaver dams? Bet some do.

[@ISawABear]

It depends on several factors 2 of the main ones being: 1) the flow of water present (and also if the flow is simply passing under the dam) 2) the depth of the water pool prior to the obstruction. With all that said the primary concern with beavers on a newly restored site is damage to planted trees.

[@ISawABear]

Depends on where and how the dams are built. the fish need a deep enough pool before the damn to gain speed. see the pinned comment for more.

[@wrightgregson9761]

the story is interesting and note worthy. But the music is ear pollution and does not contribute to the story.

[@madhijz6846]

Different continent same problem, man I hate knotweed.

[@jacquescousteau4592]

Great story and great visuals, however the choice of music is terrible in my opinion. It was really stressing me out while watching this video