Squamish River Watershed Society Mapping, Restoration & Enhancement

Using SHIM methodology, the Squamish River Watershed Society mapped the Little Stawamus River watershed using a global positioning system (GPS)unit with a view to identifying restoration opportunities and producing an easy-to-use end product for planners. As of 2002, the municipality (District of Squamish) is still in the process of acquiring geographic information system (GIS) technology. Once acquired, the information that the Squamish River Watershed Society has gathered will be added to the municipality’s GIS. Some restoration work has been undertaken and more is planned. It is anticipated that the accurate stream location mapping will prove very useful in planning future developments within the watershed.

The Squamish River Watershed Society has been actively involved with restoration works since 1995 when the Society first undertook Forest Renewal BC (FRBC) – funded projects working with the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (MELP). The intention of the Watershed Society was to undertake a holistic approach towards managing the watershed working with the local, regional, and provincial governments and bodies. At present, the Watershed Society has representation from the local, regional, and provincial governments, local community groups, public and private industrial, commercial and retail organizations, as well as Squamish Nation participation.

In recent years, the Watershed Society acted as the administrative body for Fisheries Renewal BC (FsRBC) on behalf of the Squamish/Lillooet Rivers Watershed Partnership Group. The direction that the Watershed Society brought to this group and the projects that were given funding were part of an overall strategic plan that was initiated in 1999 to prioritize restoration opportunities, identify information gaps, develop a resource centre, and secure long term funding.

A need was recognized early on for proper mapping of the watercourses and the watershed and emphasis has been placed on developing digital mapping on the major watercourses. Bit by bit, this is being accomplished and the information is being utilized locally in OCPs and provincially.

This case study highlights the GPS mapping of one of the watercourses in an urban section of Squamish: Little Stawamus Creek. This watercourse was once a spawning bed for pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) but has been rechannelled, rerouted, and dramatically altered with the construction of housing in the area.

Little Stawamus Creek and its tributaries (Magnolia Creek) are still heavily utilized by spawning coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta). The Creek does not appear on many of the provincial maps and some of the headwaters and ephemeral streams and wetlands did not appear on any map prior to it being mapped by GPS.

Squamish Nation annually undertakes spawner surveys and includes this stream. In addition, smolt surveys and enumeration have been undertaken by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The objectives for the project were:

• To map the Little Stawamus watershed accurately in its entirety, from the headwaters down to the confluence with the Stawamus River (and to include the tributary Magnolia Creek), by means of GPS.

• To identify restoration opportunities and add them to the District of Squamish’s GIS.

• To provide an easy-to-use end product for planners within the District, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, and any interested user group, in electronic or hard copy.

This project is a component of a larger watershed plan for the lower sections of the Stawamus River.

The project included the resources of Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff and background information as well as involvement from the District of Squamish. The Watershed Society has worked over the years with the Squamish Trails Society, who were interested in obtaining the maps in order to incorporate them with their trails system. As well, the information was made available to Squamish Nation who provided background information on fish densities and distribution and suggested restoration opportunities.

Three people were hired to map the 3 km of stream (over a 15 km2 area). Funding for the project was obtained from FsRBC. Information from previous years was made use of, including the Urban Salmon Habitat Program (USHP) – funded Inventory of Squamish Nation Territorial Lands, and DFO-funded fisheries data.

The restoration project to meander a straightened stream section would be a joint project between Squamish Nation and the District of Squamish.

Over a two month period in 2000, a team trained in SHIM practices digitally mapped the entire Little Stawamus watershed using a Trimble Pathfinder GPS unit. Approximately 16.5 km of stream and 6 hectares of wetland were mapped. The information is in the process of being transferred into GIS format for future use.

Some restoration projects have been undertaken in the lower portion of the watershed — the removal of collapsed bridges and some riparian planting. A larger project that is being considered is to meander a channelized portion of the Little Stawamus.

The SHIM mapping will be very useful in the not-yet-developed headwater reaches of the watershed. The District will be able to use the information in pre-planning for future development. When development proposals eventually come forward, accurate stream location information will be avail-able to developers in advance.

Resources Inventory Committee (RIC) markers have been placed in the lower reaches of the creek for the purpose of spatially tying in future enhancement work to the GIS.

The deliverables, consisting of a final report with accompanying digital GIS files for all stream and feature data, provide an easy-to-use end product for use by planners within the District, the Regional District and any other interested groups. The report includes a description of the project, methodology, results, recommendations, and a series of 11” x 17” maps. The series of maps generated for the report provides an overview of the watershed with respect to land use, stream and wetland location, and enhancement opportunities. The GIS product establishes a framework for future data collection, mapping and data entry.

At present, the intent is to provide a digital copy of the map to the District of Squamish planning and engineering departments to be included in any future land use decisions (i.e. OCPs).

Funding has been applied for to meander the channel of the Little Stawamus and to build a new crossing. As funding becomes available, the Watershed Society hopes to continue to map the watercourses within the developed portion of Squamish.

A special thanks to:

Randall Lewis
Squamish Nation
604 892-5166
rlewis@squamish.net

Rob Bell-Irving and Sam Gidora
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
604 892-2040
BellIrvingR@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Jas Michalski
District of Squamish
604 892-5217
JMichalski@district.squamish.bc.ca

Stephanie Lemmon
Omni-Tech Environmental Services
604 682-7379
stephlemmon@yahoo.com
for their assistance in the project.

This case study was prepared by Edith Tobe (Squamish River Watershed Society) with assistance from Jas Michalski (District of Squamish) for the ‘Planning Sustainable Communities Workshop’ sponsored by the Community Mapping Network (www.shim.bc.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 (Fisheries and Oceans Canada); Rob Knight (Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection); 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).

Squamish River Watershed Society
http://squamishstreams.com
Edith Tobe
Coordinator
Box 1791
Squamish, British Columbia Canada
V0N 3G0
Phone: 604 898 9171
Fax: 604 898 9161
Email: tobe@shaw.ca