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Vancouver Stream Restoration Practices: Piloting a Community-Based Monitoring Framework Along Still Creek

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Vancouver Stream Restoration Practices: Piloting a Community-Based Monitoring Framework Along Still Creek Vancouver stream restoration practices: Piloting a community-based monitoring framework along Still Creek by Chloe Boyle B.Sc., Earth Systems Sciences, McGill University, 2014 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Resource Management (Planning) in the School of Resource and Environmental Management Faculty of Environment Report No. 685 © Chloe Boyle 2017 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2017 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance With the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Chloe Boyle Degree: Master of Resource Management (Planning) Report No: 685 Title: Vancouver’s stream restoration practices: Piloting a community-based monitoring framework along Still Creek Examining Committee: Chair: Heather McTavish Master of Resource Management Candidate Sean Markey Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Kenneth Ashley Supervisor Adjunct Professor Date Defended/Approved: December 1, 2017 ii Abstract The number of urban stream restoration projects implemented by local governments has expanded exponentially; however, these projects are rarely monitored to assess effectiveness. Community-based monitoring can overcome monitoring challenges, and build community capacity. Still Creek located in Vancouver, BC, provides a case study for creating a community-based monitoring framework and protocol to collect information relevant to local government. The indicator framework is composed of three indicators: (1) Benthic invertebrate diversity, (2) Visual habitat assessment, and (3) Riparian terrestrial biodiversity. Volunteers for data collection were recruited through Meetup.com. Community-based monitoring comes With practical concerns and limitations; however, the data collected can inform continued adaptive management of urban stream restoration projects. Recommendations for Still Creek include establishing a maintenance schedule, With associated roles and budget; further education and awareness initiatives Within the community; continued community-engagement; and continued Watershed-wide and reach-scale restoration efforts. Keywords: Urban Stream Restoration; Community-based Monitoring; Citizen Science; Urban Ecology; Ecological Restoration; Adaptive Management; iii Dedication Dedicated to Still Creek, without which I wouldn’t have had a project. iv Acknowledgements I acknoWledge the continued support of my family, my committee members, my “REMfam” and the entire REM community, supportive local government and not-for- profit staff, and of course the community volunteers Who helped me in the field. v Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iii Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iv AcknoWledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................ x Glossary ........................................................................................................................... xi Preface/Executive Summary/Image ................................................................................ xii Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Urbanization and Stream Ecosystems .................................................................... 1 1.2. Project Rationale ..................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Outline ..................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2. Literature Review ....................................................................................... 4 2.1. Urbanization and Stream Ecology ........................................................................... 4 Water floW .................................................................................................................. 4 Water chemistry ......................................................................................................... 4 Stream geomorphology .............................................................................................. 4 Aquatic habitat and biodiversity ................................................................................. 5 Riparian habitat and biodiversity ................................................................................ 5 2.2. Urban Stream Restoration and Municipal Policy ..................................................... 8 Urban stream restoration as infrastructure and property protection ........................... 8 Urban stream restoration as wastewater treatment ................................................... 9 Urban stream restoration as active transportation ..................................................... 9 Urban stream restoration as park and green-space ................................................... 9 Ecosystem complexity .............................................................................................. 10 Jurisdictional Complexity .......................................................................................... 10 Geographical scale .................................................................................................. 11 Temporal Scale ........................................................................................................ 11 2.3. Adaptive Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation .............................................. 12 Lack of funding ......................................................................................................... 13 Lack of technical expertise ....................................................................................... 13 Lack of standardized protocols ................................................................................ 13 Ecological literacy .................................................................................................... 14 Local knowledge ...................................................................................................... 14 Social Capital ........................................................................................................... 14 Democracy and public participation ......................................................................... 14 Organizational challenges ........................................................................................ 15 Poorly collected data and mistrust of data ............................................................... 15 vi Project reporting ....................................................................................................... 15 Not ‘Free’ .................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 3. Methods .................................................................................................... 17 3.1. Still Creek Case Study ........................................................................................... 17 3.1.1. Current Physical Description of Still Creek .................................................... 17 Geomorphology ........................................................................................................ 19 Hydrology ................................................................................................................. 19 Water Quality ........................................................................................................... 19 Terrestrial riparian biodiversity ................................................................................. 19 Aquatic biodiversity .................................................................................................. 20 3.1.2. Key Stakeholders in the Still Creek Watershed ............................................. 21 Federal Government Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) ......................... 21 The Province of British Columbia (Province) ........................................................... 21 Metro Vancouver ...................................................................................................... 21 City of Burnaby ......................................................................................................... 22 The City of Vancouver .............................................................................................. 22 The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (Park Board) ................................. 22 Still Moon Arts Society ............................................................................................
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