Backlands Spring Migration: Ruffed Grouse

A fairly small bird, with a short, triangular crest and long fan-shaped tail, seen in the Church of Christ lands, Williams Lake watershed.
Established in 1968 for the Preservation of Williams Lake

A fairly small bird, with a short, triangular crest and long fan-shaped tail, seen in the Church of Christ lands, Williams Lake watershed.

Sighted in the “flyway corridor” of the Purcell’s Cove Backlands

Which way does the water flow? The Williams Lake Watershed is surprisingly extensive, reaching from far north along Dunbrack Street (formerly Northwest Arm Drive), west and south into Spryfield, and beyond the Shaw Wilderness Park on the south and east end of the lake.

Multiple significant housing developments have been built in the Williams Lake Watershed in the past 20 years, many of which have altered natural water courses. The amount of development has had a severe effect on Williams Lake. A tipping point has been reached. Any further development would likely push the lake past its capacity to survive.

“A tipping point has been reached. Any further development would likely push the lake past its capacity to survive as a lake.”