Login / RegisterReport raises alarm about Stanley Park wetland
Areport going before the Vancouver park board calls for restoration and maintenance work to prevent Stanley Park's Beaver Lake from disappearing.
The Stanley Park Ecological Society report states that the urban wetland shrunk to 3.9 hectares in 1997 from 6.7 hectares in 1938.
It attributes that decrease to the introduction of water lilies in the 1930s, that sped up the rate of sedimentation in the lake and caused poor water quality.
“The decreasing size of Beaver Lake due to human-caused changes to its hydrology and the introduction of invasive water lilies will likely have serious negative impacts to the overall ecological integrity of the park because it will result in decreases in species and habitat diversity,” the report says.
Lost Lagoon and a bog located next to Beaver Lake are also identified as important wetlands.
Following the devastating windstorm of December 2006, the Stanley Park Ecological Society saw a need to gather information about the park’s natural ecosystems.
The report gives a rating of “poor” to the state of aquatic ecosystems in the park. But the categories of climate and atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, and native biodiversity all earned ratings of “fair”.
The Vancouver park board will receive the report tonight (May 3).
