Click on the links below for access to each full report:
References the need to respect our natural waterways and mentions that this natural heritage needs to be treated with concern and protected from overexploitation (pg 2). This report refers to the state of numerous waterways in Saanich. A review of Tod Creek can be found on page 40; referencing Maltby Lake. The author refers to data from 1975 that shows Prospect Lake is showing signs of eutrophication and the concern that the capacity for development may have been reached or surpassed (page 50).
Maltby Lake is determined to “exhibit the most favourable conditions for continued high water quality…residential development has been limited to a few cabins.” This report recommends that Saanich “prevent public access and subdivision near Maltby and Killarney Lakes until technology and political pressures can demonstrate total protection water quality in Elk and Prospect Lakes.”
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The Biology of Maltby Lake, April 24, 1981: Richard A. Harvey, University of Victoria, Biology 426
This report is the summation of three months of field work on Maltby Lake from January to March 1981 .The report summarizes the data collected and attempts to fit this into an overall picture of the lake’s biology. This information is then used to assess the possible impact of residential development in the Maltby Lake basin. The general conclusion is that the lake is currently mesotrophic and leaning towards dystrophy, residential development would shift the lake towards entrophy if the trophic status of the lake is not considered in the overall development scheme.
Glacial history related to lake basin formation, a total of 427 diatom taxa were identified in counts from 51 lakes or 56 basins…
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“The purpose of the Action Plan is to provide goals, objectives and strategies for land use within the watershed to protect and restore water quality. Improvements in water quality will take time, however, it is important that action begin as quickly as possible. The Implementation and Priorities section lays out the critical activities, lead organizations, and time lines for ensuring that progress will be made.”
In August 2001, ENKON Environmental Ltd. (ENKON) completed an overview site assessment to determine the ecological features of the property, provide recommendations on a Bio-inventory Terms of Reference and provide guidelines on the conditions of a subdivision if the District of Saanich were to approve a subdivision application. Following a review of the ENKON report (August 7, 2001) titled “Maltby Lake Property Environmental Overview” the owners of the Maltby Lake property requested that ENKON complete further work to identify environmentally sensitive areas on the property. Among others, recommendations include buffer zones around the wetlands, woodlands, the base of nest trees and no disturbance zones during breeding season.
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The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the aquatic parameters of Maltby Lake. Ecological information was collected on riparian zone, benthic sediments and invertebrates, water quality, water chemistry, zooplankton, and fecal coliforms.
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The general thesis hypothesis is: Urban development and land use patterns in Swan
Lake watershed have degraded ecosystem health and resilience over the past 150 years,
as evaluated through history, hydrology and vegetation studies.
As a corollary to this statement, it is further proposed that ecological health and
resilience can be supported and/or restored by emulating the pre-development
landscape function.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is the chytridiomycetefungus which has been implicated in
global amphibian declines and numerous species extinctions. Here, we show that introduced North American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) consistently carry this emerging pathogenic fungus. We detected infections by this fungus on introduced bullfrogs from seven of eight countries using both PCR and microscopic techniques. Only native bullfrogs from eastern Canada and introduced bullfrogs from Japan showed no sign of infection. The bullfrog is the most commonly farmed amphibian, and escapes and subsequent establishment of feral populations regularly occur. These factors taken
together with our study suggest that the global threat of B. dendrobatidis disease transmission posed by bullfrogs is significant.
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Rural Saanich Local Area Plan 2007
See section 10.0 Parks, Trails and Open Spaces excerpts:
Objectives
• Expand the network of major and local greenways as part of the
municipal and regional green/blue spaces system.
• Maintain and improve existing parks and trails.
• Acquire natural parks to preserve and restore watercourses,
wildlife habitat, rural landscapes, and viewscapes.
• Complete a trail system to provide community connections for
pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians.
• Maintain private open space.
The Parks Priority Study identifies two potential natural park sites in
Rural Saanich as indicated on Map 10.2 and in Table 10.3. Future
acquisition of all, or part, of these sites is dependent upon a source
of funding, a willing seller, and the cost of each property. It is unlikely
that these sites will be acquired within the plan period. Acquisition of
trail corridors should be the priority. In the meantime, natural state
covenants should be negotiated with the owners to provide protection
for the significant environmental features.
Maltby Lake: Natural lake and surrounding parcel are in good environmental health:
-one of only four lakes in Rural Saanich.
– acquisition will assist in protection of a wetland and provide
potential for public access to the lake
– an east-west trail corridor between Prospect Lake Road and
municipal boundary is a priority
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Excerpt:
The District of Saanich has received an Infrastructure Planning Grant to develop a framework/ concept plan with the intention to integrate the various
objectives for land use of the Tod Flats. A working group—the Tod Creek Flats Working
Group—has been formed to lead this community process. The overall purpose of the project is:
• to identify how the Tod Creek Flats area functions presently compared
to historical observations;
• to identify what the key problems/ interactions/management issues are within the system as it relates to agriculture, wildlife habitat, flood plain function and the health and
welfare of the local community; and
• to look at the site in a holistic manor and develop a framework/ concept plan that
optimizes the use of the site for agriculture, flood plain function and wildlife habitat values.
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The Maltby Lake property is a complex landscape with a rich variety of red listed and blue listed species and ecosystems. The forest surrounding the lake is an older coniferous forest dominated by Douglas fir, mixed with Arbutus on the north and west sides of the lake. There are many significant trees larger than 1.5 m diameter…The plot site was done at a floodplain, at the mouth of small creek flowing into the lake on the north side.
At the time of the visit no flowing water reached the lake, and the only evidence of the creek was a wet channel that disappeared in the floodplain. western red cedar was the dominant species forming a closed canopy. The understory was dominated by sword fern, with some lady fern and red cedar seedlings. The shrub layer was sparse with English holly as the dominant species, a low cover of salal (Gaultheria shallon), traces of red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), dull Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa), and trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus). One sprout of spurge laurel was observed at the site.
Great blue heron, red‐tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), a beaver house and beaver activity were observed during the survey. The endangered and red listed western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) has been documented from Maltby Lake. Also, according to the report by ENKON Environmental Ltd. (2002), there is a red‐tailed hawk nest, a great‐horned owl active nest, and presence of purple martin (Progne subis) (blue
listed), barred owl (Strix varia), red‐legged frog (Rana draytonii) (blue listed), black‐tailed deer (Cervus canadensis), river otter (Lutra canadensis), American mink (Mustela vison), and resident coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) (blue listed).
In the Maltby Lake property, several red and blue listed plant species and communities have been identified: two blue listed plants ‐ California willow herb (Epilobium foliosum) and Humped bladderwort (Utricularia gibba); four red listed communities – Douglas fir/salal, Garry oak/Arbutus, Garry oak/California brome, Garry oak/ocean spray; and a rare fungi: Amanita aprica.
Friends of Maltby Lake Watershed Society 
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