Ducks Unlimited worried by pollution from Swan Lake homeless camps

Photo: BX-Swan Lake FD

A "crown jewel" of the North Okanagan ecology is under threat from ongoing homeless camps beside the Swan Lake Nature Reserve.

Bruce Harrison, a provincial biologist and Ducks Unlimited spokesperson says repeated fires at the camps are posing a danger not just to the camp residents, but also to the wildlife that calls the lake home.

Eight recent fires sparked the dander of BX-Swan Lake Fire Chief Bill Wacey, who recently called the camps "an absolute hazmat garbage dump."

Wacey said firefighters must climb over and wade through massive piles of garbage to douse the fires – as well as dodge the many latrine pits dug in the area.

When his crews put out those fires, Wacey says the toxic remains leach into the lake, threatening waterfowl and amphibians.

Harrison says the problem has been one that has continued to grow over the past 10 years.

Ducks Unlimited purchased parcels of the land in the reserve in 2005 and entered an agreement with the Regional District of North Okanagan to manage the park. The area where the camps are is apparently owned by the Nature Trust of BC.

"We have no authority of management," Harrison said Monday.

"All we can do is try and ameliorate the problem ... it has got to the point it's too established, too many people and too much trash out there."

He said Ducks Unlimited is "quite concerned" about the effect on the lake's fragile southern end, which is deemed the most ecologically valuable and sensitive.

The parcels actually owned by Ducks Unlimited are "on wetter ground" that's not suitable for camping – but anything leaching into the lake is a worry for the organization.

"That kind of pollution going into the water is not a good thing," said Harrison.

"Swan Lake is a crown jewel ... it's a migratory stop for many birds."

It's also home to waterfowl, salamanders, toads, painted turtles, and hunting grounds for raptors, herons and more.

Harrison said he doesn't know what the solution is to the complex problem, but that Ducks Unlimited has been fully supportive of past RDNO and other efforts to clean up the area.

"There's just an incredible amount of garbage ... people don't realize how bad the problem is because they can't see it from the highway," said Wacey.

Up to 40 species of migratory waterfowl and waterbirds use the lake, including loons, grebes, herons, swans, geese, ducks, coots, gulls, and terns.

Surveys reveal that up to 6,000 waterfowl may use the lake and surrounding area each day during the height of migration.