Half a century ago, New Brighton Park was created on the south shore of the Burrard Inlet when an intertidal marsh was back-filled with rock and dirt.
Now, the Vancouver Park Board and Port Metro Vancouver are planning to reverse the work that went into creating the artificial landscape in an effort to draw wildlife and fish to a more natural habitat.
The long-term goal is to allow a stream to run from Hastings Park in the south along a 1.2-kilometre corridor to a saltmarsh on the shore of Burrard Inlet in New Brighton Park.
The stream’s source would be the pond in Hastings Park, known as the Sanctuary, and the its course still needs to be “daylighted,” meaning the flowing water is redirected into an above-ground channel.
The park board identifies the work as “an ambitious and long-term vision” that is “one of the largest projects of its kind currently being undertaken in the Pacific Northwest.”
Three years ago the park board adopted a strategic plan to create “healthy ecosystems in parks to enhance biodiversity.”
According to a park board report, a restored saltmarsh in New Brighton Park “would provide essential habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife […] Both the north and south shores of Burrard Inlet have lost extensive coastal wetland habitat, which impairs their ability to support migrating fish from rivers and streams, and provide foraging habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl.
“The historic industrialization of the shoreline from Coal Harbour to Second Narrows has impaired its ability to support fish and wildlife. Juvenile fish from Indian and Seymour rivers have been known to experience high mortality as they migrate through Burrard Inlet. A restored saltmarsh would provide productive habitat for juvenile fish, shorebirds, and waterfowl.”
Last year, the port and park board identified nine potential sites in its Habitat Enhancement Program. The port also intends to convert a Fraser River tidal marsh south of Point Grey into a more productive habitat.
A saltmarsh at New Brighton is also seen as an important link in the restoration of Renfrew Creek.
The initial timeline of the project, which is still subject to approval and public consultation, begins with a design concept that will be presented to the Park Board in the fall. The work could begin early next year.
The project will have its first public hearing at a park board meeting on May 11.
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