Thank you for visiting Salt Spring Island, the largest of the beautiful Gulf Islands, nestled between rugged Vancouver Island and British's Columbia's Sunshine Coast. We created this free digital map to help you make the most of your visit and hope you enjoy the wide variety of activities on Salt Spring Island, along with the offerings from our local artists, artisans and businesses. Whether it be a delicious gourmet meal, the weekly Saturday Morning Market, a hike up Mounts Maxwell, Tuam, or Erskine to see the absolutely gorgeous views our island has to offer or some chill out time on the beach, we know your visit to Salt Spring will be an experience that you will always remember. You are free to print one copy of this map for your own personal use. You will also find many accommodations listed upon this map to help you find a place to stay while you are here.

Salt Spring has an interesting mix of merchants, farmers, sailors, artists, musicians, writers, artisans,and travellers. World-class accomodations, restaurants and parks make it one of Canada's top tourist destinations. It is a mecca and often a starting point for sailors and kayakers exploring the gulf islands. Blessed with mild weather, fair seas, breathtaking views and a fertile soil, salt spring is also home to some of the finest wines made in the world. People come from all over the planet to sample our famous blackberry port, which sells out every year. The climate is so mild that palm, kiwi, and olive trees can be grown. Before continuing to the map itself please read our
Terms of Use.

Click on the map picture to download the map in PDF format or on the links below for faster downloads and pared down versions of the map for older computers or slower connection speeds.

This document is an Adobe PDF file. PDF stands for Portable Document Format. This document is compatible with adobe acrobat reader version 6 and later.For optimal use of the map, upgrade your Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version. Click here to update your Adobe Reader Software to the most recent version.

File size is currently 3.8 me g; download time is approximately 15-60 seconds on adsl, cable, or wi-fi.You only need download the map once and then make sure that you save it to your desktop. I recommend downloading the map once a month or so at this point as it is going through changes.

To make the most of the map, learn to use adobe acrobat. The zoom (magnifying glass) tool is very handy with this map and there is no loss of resolution when zooming. One may also choose to "print current view" from the print dialog window.

•Download The Main Map (3.8 meg)
•Click here for small version (2.4 meg)
•Faster Download: .zip file (1.2 meg)
•Faster Download: .sitx file (1.1 meg)
•You can also download a high res graphic file of the map of Saltspring by clicking here.

The map is searchable in two ways:

1.Use the search index by clicking on the binoculars icon, found in your tools menu.If you type in, for example, "beddis", you will be presented with a list of choices. The first two to appear are found in the bookmarks. If you click one, the bookmarks will scroll to highlight the first incidence of the word beddis; "Beddis Beach", under the sub-category, swimming, under the main category recreation. If you then click on the highlighted bookmark, you will be zoomed to the first instance of Beddis road on the map. The 2nd item to appear in the search pane, is also a bookmark. When you click that link, you will be taken to the road "Beddis Road", under the STREET INDEX. Clicking this link in the bookmarks zooms you in to the first instance of the word beddis on the map itself. If you click on the 3rd item listed in the search pane, you will get the same result as the first link but in one less click. Experiment with this feature, it's worthwhile. One may also search for services in this way. One may also simply visually scan and scroll the BOOKMARKS to navigate the document. Points of Interest is a good place to start in the bookmarks. You can use the hand tool to pan about the map and mouse over and click on STARS to get more info about that particular location or service.

About The Map

The map is zoom-able to 6400% with no loss of resolution, is searchable, and can be linked to the websites of local businesses and arts studios. One can type in the name of any street or geographical feature on Salt Spring Island, and be zoomed in to that location on the map. One can click on a street name in the street index and be zoomed in to that street on the map, which proves to be a very handy navigational tool. One can also click on a business name in the business index and be instantly linked to that business website. The map will simultaneously zoom in to that business location on the map. I have done a bit of test marketing, mostly around Ganges, regarding inclusion on the map and have been met with a very enthusiastic response from the local business and arts community. Please note that charities and non-profit organizations are being listed for free, and public wireless hotspots will also be listed in the bookmarks at no charge as a service to tourists visiting the island.The map will help to promote Salt Spring Island internationally and generate interest in the island itself.If you would like to subscribe to this map and link to it from your site, please feel free to contact me, Kenneth Fersht, at:
info@mapofsaltspring.com

I am also open to partial barter or trade if you have a product or service i can make use of.

Contact

I welcome your inquires and feedback on the Map of Salt Spring Island.
Please feel free to contribute any ideas, comments and suggestions to info@mapofsaltspring.com

Sponsor the Map of Salt Spring Island

If you have a bussiness on "Salt Spring Island" and wish to sponsor mapofsaltspring.com, you can use paypal to sign up. The cost is $80 per year for a star on the map in your location and a listing in the Biz index which links to your web site. $160 per year to get your logo right on the map in your location, or $240 per year for a custom map with only your details on it and you logo exclusively front and center. For an example of a custom version of the map of Salt Spring Island, check http://www.saltspringrealty.com/ where they are making good use of thiers. If you are in Ganges you will automatically be added to the upcoming high res inset of Ganges also.

Features

The map is a work in progress and many more features will be added as time goes on. Among the features I am working on:

• a hiking and biking layer with contours and elevations of Salt Spring Island, note that there is excellent mountain biking on the south end of the island, which is quite remote and mountainous. Trials coming very soon now.
• Oceanographic features of Salt Spring for scuba divers and sailors
• Topographic features of Saltspring
• A printable street index of Salt Spring Island, with hyperlinks to zoomed map locations that are referenced to a grid(done)
• Links to fantastic photos and videos of Salt Spring Island
• A link to an IMPROVED version of BC Ferries Schedule that is more user friendly and intuitive, with a sweeter interface that dynamically updates itself based on current data from BC Ferries (done)
• Links to the Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce and potential links to "sister" Chambers of Commerce in Japan, Germany, Australia, England, Netherlands, etc. to promote cross tourism.
• A potential link to Vancouver Chamber of Commerce
• A "Salt Spring" Island accommodations index, accomodation on "Salt Spring Island" (currently growing)
• Links to Salt Spring Island weather information (done)
• A link to Salt Spring Island Archives (done)
• Links to and from other fascinating tourist destinations on Vancouver Island and other Gulf islands
• Creating videos of cycling and kayaking treks around SSI and linking to them from the map.
• Time lapse video from all of the mountain tops!
• Interviews with local artists and artisans.
• More photo essays from all of the major and some of the minor gulf islands; check the top left side bar of this page for a couple photo essay links already online.
• Creating or licensing high-resolution insets of Ganges, Vesuvias, and Fulford Villages
• Creating a ‘Zen’ video of Salt Spring Island with blue herons, eagles, sea otters and tidal pools. Please note that this video could also be imbedded in an optional larger download of the map and could pretty much any multimedia content, such as video of an event at Beaver Hall, classes at the Yoga Center, diving expeditions, kayaking trips, and the weekly Saturday market, etc. This would serve to entice people into visiting the island and would be a fun project to shoot and edit

 

 

SPONSORS LINKS

 

 

 

 

We highly recommend Carolyne, our friend from Regina, Saskatchewan who runs a lovely flower shop based in Sydney for your next gift of flowers or gift baskets. Carolyne is a real artist with floral arrangement and we want to help to promote her fine work and wish her the best in her business.

 

 

Salt Spring Web Design and our sister company Kmax Multimedia are a hightly creative and technically advanced design team involved in the creation of original web sites, graphics, logos, photography, pdf and print work, brochures and signage right here on Salt Spring Island. Our work has been used locally and internationaly for film, television, performance, music and corporate videos as well as a wide range of online applications. We create unique, user friendly, clean and functional web sites. Of late, other companies, aware of our prowess in the area of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) have been hiring us to help them gain valuable search engine placement and exposure also. After all, there is no point in having a well functioning web site if people do not see it. Chris Roper, of roperresources.com is our latest success story in the challenging and competitive field of SEO. Experiment with any of chris's key products and see where they appear in the top 10 on google. Every site that we are hired to design is also fully optomized for the major search engines as part of the process. We typically get our clients into the top 10 for their desired key words within a period of two months and we continue to follow through and do what it takes to keep their search engine rankings high and thier sites making money through the year. Note that our map of salt spring island web site, although a relative new comer to the map scene on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, is always number 1 in google for any map related search. We are also in the top 10 for just the phrase Salt Spring Island alone. You can type saltspring or "salt spring". We are still number 1:-) The kind of steady and profitable growth that we have achieved for ourselves, we can and will achieve for you.

Our design philosophy and practice is to present content to the end user within a clean, highly functional and intuitive interface which honors the content itself, drawing from and integrating with elements gleaned from the content itself, the style of the client, and the needs and taste of the intended audience. We are not the star of the show, your message is.

Our portfolio is eclectic and wide ranging, showing a sensitivity to the subject matter being presented, as well as the budget and needs of the individual client. Let's face it, anyone can call them selves a designer these days but certain elements; a sense of balance, composition, color, broad knowledge of science and nature, art and history, design arts, quality of line and attention to fine detail set us fathoms apart in depth from our nearest competitor.

Our Salt Spring Island Web Design & Print Service is gauranteed reliable, on time, and on or under budget.

Kmax has strong working knowledge and experience in html, xml, css, cms systems, SQL database, wordpress,ASP.NET, php, actionscript, javascript and Cold Fusion

Kmax is also an Adobe Certified Flash Specialist.

email Kmax for more info about web site design or print work

For more info and examples of our state of the art web site design portfolio, please link to Kmax Multimedia

or call us at 250-537-7086 to speak with a designer.

meta:art,arts,salt,spring,web,site,design,galleries,food,restaurants,guide,travel,logo,logos,graphics,services,creative,music,audio,guitar,lap steel,software,lessons,tutorials,love,melody, harmony,nature,trails,beach,access,hiking,cycling,riding,swimming,beach,beaches

News

Map of Pender now online

Map of Saltspring.com now ranks consistently number 1 on Google and all other search engine rankings. Why you ask?There's no trick to it; we simply have the best content to offer and it's free for you to print one and use it for your trip to Salt Spring Island. Don't forget to thank the local merchants and businesses who sponsor our map and make this possible.

Above all have fun and feel welcome on this jewel of the north pacific.

Sincerely, Kenneth M. Fersht, a.k.a. Kmax

New News!
Kmax will be offering free instruction in the use of Adobe CS3 and CS4 which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and After Effects, and Flash at the Salt Spring Literacy Center. Other topics will be discused such as fontagraphy and basic elements of modern and classical design.

Stay tuned for future bulletins regarding dates and times!


Salt Spring Literacy is a non-profit charitable society that offers free educational services to those in need. We provide free one to one tutoring in a wide range of subjects including reading, writing, math, computers, science, French and many others! We have additional programs dedicated for those who speak English as second language. In addition we provide a quiet space to study, exam invigilation, computer suite with brand new laptops and wi-fi and other literacy services, such as a collection of free books. We never charge for any of our services.

We believe in learner directed education; where learners choose what, where, how and when they want to study. For those who found that the traditional teaching model did not work for them we can provide a unique, creative and hands-on learning method tailored specially to your interests and needs. For those that liked the traditional model we have plenty of retired teachers on the books!!! We are non-judgemental and try our best to always be welcoming and friendly! We respect the privacy of all our learners. Learners, volunteers and tax deductible donations are always welcome!!

125a McPhillips Avenue
250 537 9717
www.saltspringliteracy.org
coordinator@saltspringliteracy.org

It's Time for Canada to Commit to Oceans Management Plans
By: David Suzuki Foundation

Ottawa -- Environmental organizations including the David Suzuki Foundation, the Living Oceans Society, and the Sierra Club of British Columbia are asking the federal government to commit to establishing a comprehensive marine-use and conservation-planning process for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA), on Canada’s West Coast.

The environmental groups have set a target date of June 8, Oceans Day 2008, for government to demonstrate a commitment to improving oceans management or face increasing pressure from conservation groups, representing tens of thousands of Canadians, who want to stop the degradation of our marine environments.

PNCIMA includes waters of the Central Coast, North Coast, and Haida Gwaii on the British Columbia coast. This is an area of high ecological, social, and economic importance and encompasses approximately 88,000 square kilometres. Current management is inefficient, too narrowly focused, and contributes to unnecessary environmental degradation.

Currently, salmon stocks are declining, critical habitat is being destroyed, and industrial activities such as shipping are on the increase,” said Bill Wareham, senior conservation specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. “A comprehensive marine-planning process would enable the people who work and live on the coast to build a vision for sustainable economic development and conservation of the marine environment.”

The conservation groups involved in this initiative today delivered digital clocks set to count down the days to June 8, 2008, World Oceans Day, along with a series of steps they expect government to take, including:
A federal/provincial and First Nations protocol for marine-use planning; A structure that encourages the participation of coastal residents; A multidisciplinary team to conducteffective research and analysis on critical marine issues; A marine-planning secretariat to operate the planning process.

“Over the next few months, we remain committed to working with government to find a way to launch an effective marine-planning process,” said Jennifer Lash, executive director of the Living Oceans Society. “However, if government fails to follow the path to success that we have identified, we will take action to ensure that Canadians are made aware of the threats to this spectacular region and the failure of government to implement Canada’s Oceans Strategy and live up to its international commitments.”

Today the groups also launched www.PNCIMAwatch.ca, a new web site designed to track and report on governments’ progress toward establishing the marine-planning process in the PNCIMA region.

Contacts:

Ian Hanington, Communications Specialist, David Suzuki Foundation: 604-732-4228, X238
Jennifer Lash, Executive Director, Living Oceans Society: 250-741-4006
Bill Wareham, Senior Conservation Specialist, David Suzuki Foundation: 604-740-4318

PNCIMA Backgrounder:

Geography

Region covers 88,000 sq. km.
45,000 sq. kms. have already been identified as ecologically and biologically significant areas by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (over half of the entire area).
PNCIMA region covers approximately 22% of the total marine jurisdiction in Pacific Canada (from the coastline to the EEZ).
Extends from the continental slope to the headwaters of coastal watersheds (terrestrial and freshwater components are not part of this process).
Major water bodies within the region are Queen Charlotte Sound, Hecate Strait, and Dixon Entrance.

People

There are 34,504 residents in the PNCIMA communities.
36% of the residents are First Nations.
There are at least 25 communities in the PNCIMA, including Campbell River, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Alert Bay, Sointula, Rivers Inlet, Bella Bella, Bella Coola, Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte City, Skidegate, and Masset.
Major industries include commercial fishing, aquaculture, shipping, forestry, and tourism.

Special Features to Bring Back to PNCIMA

There are 32 species listed as Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) that live in or migrate through the PNCIMA. A network of marine protected areas and ecosystem-based management developed through a marine-planning process would protect critical habitat and help restore populations of heavily depleted species.

North Pacific Right Whales

Most endangered whale in the world and most endangered species in PNCIMA.
Right whales were virtually extirpated from the PNCIMA region by 1850.
Recent sightings of a mother and calf in Alaska indicate that the species could come back if the right conditions are in place.

Blue Whale

Hunted to near extinction between 1905 and 1967.
Fewer than 250 animals in the Canadian Pacific.
Blues whales still inhabit the PNCIMA on a seasonal basis.

Basking Shark

The basking shark is the second-largest fish in the world, at up to five tons in weight and 15 metres in length.
Their numbers declined in the 1950s when they were slaughtered as “pests” when they were caught in commercial gillnets.
It is believed that they migrate through the PNCIMA region to Alaska.
The last sighting of a basking shark in B.C. was around the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Northern Abalone

By 1984, abalone populations had declined by 75%.
Commercial fishery was shut down in 2000.
Abalone populations continue to decline due to illegal harvesting.
Within PNCIMA there are two stewardship programs (Haida Gwaii and Kitasoo/Xaisais) designed to improve reproduction.

Special Features at Risk in PNCIMA

Kelp Forests

The numerous bays, shores, and current-swept passages within PNCIMA are rich with kelp forests and eelgrass beds.
Kelp and eelgrass areas are residential, foraging, breeding, and nursery grounds for many fish and invertebrates.
Kelp forests and eelgrass beds are particularly vulnerable to oil spills, ships’ discharge, pollutants, and shoreline alteration.

Hexactinellid Sponge Reefs

There are four Hexactinellid sponge reefs located within the PNCIMA.
These reefs are over 9,000 years old and provide habitat for rockfish, crab, shrimp, prawns, sea stars, and urchins.
Research conducted by the Geological Survey of Canada has revealed that large areas of these ancient reefs have been destroyed by bottom trawling gear. Recovery can take 50 to 200 years.
These reefs have received some interim protection from bottom trawling through fisheries management plans; however, they must be permanently protected through designation as marine protected areas.

Cold Water Corals

Cold water coral is composed of tiny, fragile animals called coral polyps. The polyps are typically joined together into colonies of hundreds or thousands, which surround a skeleton.
Research shows that corals provide habitat for rockfish, Atka mackerel, shortspine thornyhead, juvenile Pacific halibut, rock sole, and several species of shrimp. There are four coral areas within PNCIMA that have been identified as requiring immediate protection from bottom trawling.
If destroyed, deep water corals could take 80 years to grow back, if they come back at all.

Examples of Industrial Threats

Shipping

The threats from shipping include contamination from ships’ discharge and oil spills from accidents/collisions.
Over the next 15 years, the volume of containers being shipped through these waters is expected to increase 300%, bulk cargo ships are expected to increase by 25%, and cruse-ship traffic is expected to increase 20% to 25%.
There are at least four development projects planned that, if they go ahead, will
allow more than 300 oil tankers per year through PNCIMA.

Bottom Trawling

There are approximately 70 bottom-trawl vessels operating in B.C.
Scientific research has shown that the impact of bottom-trawling gear is equivalent to clear-cutting the ocean floor.
From 1996 to 2002, 2.3 million kilograms of non-fish species were harvested and destroyed, including habitat-forming corals and sponges.
There are no measures in place to protect deep-water corals from the impacts of bottom trawling.

Fish Farms

There are at least 70 open net-cage salmon farm tenures in the PNCIMA.
Scientific evidence shows that sea lice from fish farms are infecting juvenile wild salmon, leading to the decline of pink salmon.
There are no effective regulations in place to protect wild salmon from the impacts of salmon farms.

source: David Suzuki Foundation

www.davidsuzuki.org