Port Moody Arm: General Trends and Environmental Concerns
Environmental concerns noted here are applicable to all of the drainage areas around Port Moody Arm.
Trends and Environmental Concerns
- Increasing population around the inlet places greater demands on the environmental resources of the area (residential, recreational and commercial pressures). The following are the direct changes and pressures placed on the local environment:
- Surface water pollution - Increased traffic, industrial and commercial spills, frequent residential releases of common household products.
- Alterations to hydrology due to increasing proportions of impermeable surfaces
- Physical disruption of spawning/rearing channels, heavy use of trails, and off trail areas, increased domestic animal presence in parks.
- Casual releases of pesticides, fertilizers, paint thinners, automotive fluids, and all other household products - Increasingly dense residential development
- Increase in the probability of spills and/or pollution from industrial and commercial activities.
- Encroachment into wildlife habitat areas, threatening the survival of resident wildlife species due to habitat destruction, introduction of pests and predators, pollution and the addition of physical barriers to wildlife movement.
Enhancement and Environmental Protection
- All creeks around Port Moody Arm will benefit from riparian area management, instream fish habitat enhancement, and the protection of wildlife habitat and buffer areas to limit casual interactions with the residents and domestic pets.
- Maintain or enhance stream corridors.
- Protect areas which are considered to be environmentally sensitive, important wildlife, fisheries or vegetation features, and aesthetically important to the community.
- Daylight appropriate stream reaches to increase the proportion of useable habitat within the accessible portions of local creeks.
- Accurate survey and mapping information of all creeks.
- Improve infrastructure of trails which cross creeks to lower the impact of recreational use on the stability of a stream.
- Improve culvers for fish passage.
- Increase the accuracy and amount of information on all streams. Protection and enhancement are bolstered by knowing the existing conditions.
- Encourage the growth of stream monitoring programs to create and maintain baseline datasets for the areas.
Stewardship and Environmental Groups
There are only a few stewardship and environmental groups tied to the 6 watersheds highlighted here. There are many other organizations which perform valuable work as stewards in the Port Moody Arm of the Burrard Inlet who will not be mentioned here. Their exclusion does not reflect the quality or value of their work.
- Port Moody Ecological Society
- Mossom Creek Hatchery
- Pacific Streamkeepers Association
- Burke Mountain Naturalists
Other stakeholders
- Municipalities of Port Moody, Coquitlam.
- Government of Canada
- Vancouver Port Authority
- Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
- Ministry of Forests
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Transportation and Highways.
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans
- Local Residents
- Imperial Oil
- Pacific Coast Terminals Co. Ltd.
- Petro Canada Terminal
- Ioco Refinery Terminal
- Rocky Point Marina
- Local fish hatcheries: Noons Creek, Mossom Creek
- Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Program.
References
Beardsmore, C., Blasy, V., Champ, K., Cole, T., Momeyer, E., Perrakis, D. 1998. Port Moody Shoreline Park: Terrestial Vegetation Ecosystem Management Plan. Prepared for UBC Natural Resouces Conservation 481/FRST 392.
Cullham, M., Dreiger, K., Mayhew, M., Milne, S., Szkorupa, T. 1999. Master Plan for Waterways of Port Moody Shoreline Park. Douglas College Report.
Dunster & Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd., and AXYS Environmental Consulting Ltd. 1999. Port Moody Environmentally Sensitive Areas Management Strategy. Phase 1: An Inventory of Natural Areas. Prepared for the City of Port Moody.
ECL Envirowest Consultants Ltd. 1990. An Assessment of Enhancement Opportunities in Schoolhouse Creek and Suter Brook, Port Moody B.C. Prepared for the City of Port Moody.
Fraser River Action Plan. 1999. Lower Fraser Valley Streams (Vol.1): Strategic Review. Queens Printer. ISBN 0-662-26167-4
Freeze,S., Hayhurst, D., Larsen, C., Phinney, C., Shapiro, J., Young, D. 1998. Ecological Preservation Plan: Port Moody Shoreline Park. Prepared for UBC Natural Resources Conservation 481/ FRST 392.
Kootnay and Denali Consulting Ltd. 1998. Proposed Resolution of Trail User Conflict in Shoreline Park. Prepared for City of Port Moody.
Lertzman, K. 1996. Stream Health and Fish Habitat on the South East Shore of Burrard Inlet: A Mapped Inventory of Current Conditions and Influences. Seminar Proceedings.
Olsen, C., Weber, S., Coombs, R., Firth, E., Ford, B. 1998. Ecological and Educational Plan for Shoreline Park Aquatic Ecosystems. Master Plan. Prepared for City of Port Moody and UBC Natural Resources Conservation 481.
Precision Identification Biological Consultants. 1997. Lower Fraser Valley Stream Review (Vol. 3): Wild, Threatened, Endangered and Lost Streams of the Lower Fraser Valley. Prepared for Fraser River Action Plan. Queens Printer. ISBN 0-662-26029-5
Priority Connections Consultants Ltd. 1998. Master Plan for Shoreline Park: Increasing Connectivity via Ecological and Recreation Corridors. Prepared as Conservation 481: Final Project.
T.W. Beak Consultants Limited. 1969. Biological Survey of Port Moody Arm of Burrard Inlet and Adjacent Waters. Prepared for Gulf Oil (Canada) Limited
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