The Beaufort Watershed Stewards work to promote the health and resilience of local watersheds in the Beaufort Range and to ensure the quality and quantity of fresh water for the future.
Our Values
Watershed ecological integrity
Evidence-based decision making
Scientific rigour
Open collaboration
We respectfully acknowledge that the watersheds we depend on are on the Unceded Traditional Territory of the K’ómoks, Pentlatch and Qualicum First Nations, the traditional keepers of this land.
BWS Interactive Web Maps
Searchable maps of the aquifers on the eastern slopes of the Beaufort Mountain Range. This work is the result of Beaufort Watershed Stewards’ collaboration with the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University
info@beaufortwater.org
PO Box 253, Union Bay, BC V0R 3B0
Facebook: Beaufort Watershed Stewards
Instagram: beaufortwater
Video: A Watershed Moment
by Jori Grace Prokopetz, 2024 CVAG Youth Media Project
The Beaufort Watershed Stewards (BWS) will once again be working with a student from the University of Victoria School of Earth & Ocean Sciences (SEOS) to learn more about one of the aquifers that provide all of our fresh water on the eastern slopes of the Beaufort Range. The student …
BWS is one of almost 30 environmental groups who form the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Action Alliance, lead by Jenn Holland. In this CBC video, released 17 July 2025, Claire Palmer interviews Dave Weaver and Jenn Holland to provide an introduction to the challenges inherent in the outdated Private …
This article and image were originally posted by CHEK News on 5 July 2025. The author is Dean Stoltz who lives in the Comox Valley and covers stories from Duncan to Tofino to Port Hardy. Residents living along the shores of Baynes Sound have been concerned and lobbying for action …
The report on Cumulative Effects for the Trent River Watershed is out! Many thanks to Dave Weaver, Dave Daust RPF, and Scott Scholefield RPF for their work on this report! To access the full report, click HERE. The executive summary follows: Background: The Trent River Watershed Cumulative Effects (CE) Assessment …
One might think that, as watershed stewards, our stock in trade would be water. But really, there’s not much we can do about water. We can’t make more of it. That’s the job of nature. We can’t manage it. That’s the job of the community, the Regional District, the Province, …
There’s something that’s been bugging us. We know quite a bit about our streams. We regularly measure their temperature, turbidity, specific conductance, pH, and oxygen content. When we’re sampling, we take note of frogs or salamanders that cross our path and birds that depend on the creeks for food (a …
This is a publication by the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) reporting on the state of local aquifers. The aquifers in the southern portion of the Beaufort Range fall withing the RDN jurisdiction. This 12-page document provides an excellent overview of groundwater processes, and threats due to climate change and …
Rubber boots, a signature yellow vest, two cases of gadgets and a common desire to understand the dynamics of our local freshwater resources links these six volunteers of the Bowser Pod, members of the Beaufort Watershed Stewards (BWS). Doesn’t everyone love a celebration? As of April, this team marked their …
BWS has a doctor on our board of directors. We also have a nurse. And she is the same person. Lynne Ray holds a Doctorate in Nursing degree from the University of Washington. If you know Lynne, this may not come as a shock. She is astute and radiates competence. …
At our April meeting we had the treat of listening to Mark Lake’s enthusiastic update on the BWS aquifer mapping project. Since 2021 Mark has been working with faculty and students from the University of Victoria and local BWS volunteers to start mapping aquifers along the eastern Beaufort Watersheds. The …
