Contributor: Community Mapping Network, Dirk Lewis, Glen L. Porter and Sara Muir Owen
Location: Lower Mainland, British Columbia
Land Use: Settlement
Habitat Type: Watercourse/Riparian
Project Timeline: 2000-2002
Highlights
Developing Community Capacity
Watercourses in the Hatzic Valley were mapped using a Global Positioning System (GPS). The information collected will be used to enhance regional land use planning initiatives. The data will supplement and validate existing databases and maps. The project finished near the end of March 2002. Some of the results have already been submitted to a regional atlas project.
The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) provides services such as fire protection, sewer, water, storm drainage, building inspection, bylaw enforcement, planning, zoning and development to electoral areas. The FVRD also provides services common to both municipal and electoral areas such as regional parks, emergency 911 telephone service, fire department dispatch, regional planning for air quality and solid waste reduction, and growth management.
Located within the FVRD is the Hatzic Valley, a picturesque area east of Mission just north of the Lougheed highway. The valley contains two distinct watersheds, Stave and Hatzic. Many properties are owned by families who have been in the valley for many generations.
Records indicate that this area was utilized by salmon, and to a certain extent it still is. Landowner and salmon issues don’t mix, however, in recent years these two factors have collided head-on. Heavy sediment loads have caused many of the watercourses in the valley to “fill up.” This poses significant problems for both landowners and salmon. Sediment, particularly in the lower reaches, adjacent to farmland, has drastically reduced the drainage capacity in the area. This has led to increased pressure for watercourse maintenance, an activity that can be costly, both fiscally and environmentally.
The frequent threat of flood is exacerbated by complicated ditch maintenance regulations and the farmers’ perceived inability to maintain watercourses on their own land. Previous maintenace methods are no longer permitted.
In late 2000 and early 2001, two proposals were submitted to the Urban Salmon Habitat Program (USHP) on behalf of the Hatzic Valley Community. These proposals were submitted with the intention to develop background and baseline information to assist in developing and Official Community Plans (OCP) for the area. One proposal was submitted by the FVRD, the other by the Hatzic Valley Watersheds Committee. Both proposals were well received, and grants were awarded.
Project Objectives
The money from the grants was used to map streamlines within the Hatzic Valley. Information collected from this project will be used to enhance regional land use planning initiatives for issues such as flood control, drainage, ditch maintenance, runoff management, habitat enhancement, and channel stability. The data will supplement and validate existing databases and maps.Previous projects utilized aerial photo interpretation or hand-drawn maps, resulting in watercourses that are presently mapped at 1:20,000 scale, often only to 1:50,000. At that scale features can be up to 20 metres off and many features are not captured at all. This project will map all watercourse features to within 1 to 5 metres of their actual location.
Previous studies of the Hatzic Valley watersheds provide a wealth of useful information. However, there has been no inventory of the biophysical features and habitats of the watercourses that make up the watershed. The watercourse inventory and mapping, along with the existing information, will enable balanced decision-making that takes into account stream hydrology, functions, and habitat.
The information will be used to
- support drainage and flooding prevention programs
- identify enhancement opportunities such as riparian planting
- aid applications for in-stream works
- inform watershed planning efforts
- protect resources
- assist in community planning.
The information should also reduce or eliminate costs to landowners for habitat surveys associated with applications to the province for works in or about a watercourse.
Watercourses in the Hatzic Valley (streams, creeks, ditches, and tributaries) were mapped by field staff using a Trimble ProXR GPS with a TDS Ranger datalogger. All data collection was done to Sensitive Habitat Inventory and Mapping (SHIM) standards.
Obtaining landowner permission proved more difficult that first anticipated. In the Hatzic Prairie many of the properties are very large, and any exclusion affects a large portion of the area to be mapped. Some landowners were slow to respond, and of those who replied, approximately 23% declined permission to access watercourses on their property. Overall, close to 30% of the residents in the Valley granted permission to access watercourses on their property.
We utilized four methods to gain permission and disseminate information:
- mail-out – each resident in the Valley with water on or very near their property was sent a form letter and permission form
- newsletter – an information newsletter was sent via bulk mail to all properties within the Valley. Again, this newsletter had a permission form attached
- phone calls – calls were made to each property owner with property that contained watercourses that were significant to the project, based on priorities set out in the grants
- personal Communication – as the field staff made their way through the project they talked to land owners and residents, gaining permission in person.
Once property access permission was gained, efforts were made to co-ordinate with landowners. Many had dogs or bulls that they wished to contain while the field crew was on the property. Assurances were also made that no liability could be incurred by the landowner during stream mapping on the landowner’s property.
This project finished near the end of March 2002. Some of the results have been submitted to a regional atlas project (see accompanying Case Study: Fraser Valley Regional District Habitat Atlas).
A main drive during this project has been to develop community capacity. This begins with training staff and ensuring that software, data-collection devices, and computer hardware are up to the task. This challenge, although greater than first anticipated, is now overcome. This method of mapping, including the technology, is user-friendly enough to allow for this to happen.
Recommendations for the Community Mapping Network:
Begin well in advance of the project in notifying the public, and try to notify them through several complementary means. For example, send a formal mail-out, then follow up with phone calls, an information newsletter, and information handouts at residences where contact has not been established.In many cases permission is not necessary in order to access watercourses, even on private land. However, it is definitely a good gesture and helps in respect to the interest in the project and the good will towards it. Landowners who do not at first grant permission often change their minds upon receiving more information. For those who don’t change their minds, it is often enough to look into the watercourse from the edge of the property and make notes on what is there.
Once the Hatzic Valley mapping project is completed, there will be initiatives to use the data gathered to assist in the design and implementation of sediment control projects. It is hoped that local residents will use the data to determine appropriate watercourse maintenance procedures (e.g. observing fisheries windows and guidelines pertaining to their particular watercourse classification).
From the outset one of the main goals of this project was to develop community capacity. In keeping with this, FVRD staff will be working with other community groups to continue mapping areas within the FVRD.
Acknowledgements
Brad Mason of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Rob Knight of (Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, MWLAP) helped in obtaining funding for this project, and in getting it up and running. Additional thanks go to Christine Chapman and Erin Riddell for their diligence in the field, under the worst of conditions (the one year that we had snow on the first day of spring). A final thanks to the folks at the Habitat Conservation and Stewardship Program for their generous provision of office space and technical expertise.
This case study was prepared by Dirk Lewis (Fraser Valley Regional District) for the ‘Planning Sustainable Communities Workshop’ sponsored by the Community Mapping Network (www.cmnbc.ca) and the Township of Langley. The workshop, held March 15, 2002, showcased examples of mapping as a tool for sustainable planning. These examples were compiled in the workshop’s summary document ‘Planning Sustainable Communities’ by Glen Porter of G.L. Porter Consulting with support from Brad Mason (DFO); Rob Knight (MWLAP); Gretchen Harlow (Environment Canada); and, Kathleen Moore (Environment Canada). These case studies were later added to the BC Stewardship Centre Case Study Library by Sara Muir Owen with support from Rod Silver (Habitat Conservation Trust Fund).
Contacts
Fraser Valley Regional District
http://www.fvrd.bc.ca
Dirk Lewis
Biologist
8430 Cessna Drive
Chilliwack, BC Canada
V2P 7K4
Email: info@fvrd.bc.ca
Partners
Partners include the FVRD, the Urban Salmon Habitat Program (USHP), Fisheries Renewal BC (FRBC), the Hatzic Valley Watersheds Committee, and the Community Mapping Network. For more information about community mapping projects, visit the Community Mapping Network at www.cmnbc.ca.