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PLANNING FOR CONSERVACY AREAS:• RECREATION IN ESTUARINE BIRD HABITAT by FRIEDA MARION SCHADE B.Sc, Simon Fraser University, 1972 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April, 1979 © Frieda Marion Schade, 1979 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the require• ments for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely avail• able for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his represen• tatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. School of Community and Regional Planning The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada ABSTRACT This thesis analyses a problem that is common in plan• ning for conservacy areas — the problem of the meeting dual and contradictory objectives of preserving natural areas that must also be used for recreation. Where one objective excludes the other, a compromise must be reached. Previous experience in North America has shown that it is not easy to reconcile the two functions. A case study approach is used in the thesis. The study area, Boundary Bay, is an important waterfowl and shore- bird habitat. The Bay also has the potential to serve many recreational needs close to an urban area, Greater Vancouver. The role of Boundary Bay, including Mud and Semiahmoo Bays, and their shorelands in the ecology of wildlife species is analysed using census and food chain data. Information collected for an inventory of regional recreation suggests which recreation needs might be satisfied at Boundary Bay. Guidelines are developed for integration of human activity and wildlife habitat, based on anticipated recreational use of the Bay. Data from four public meetings in Surrey points to the existence of some concern on the part of Bay area residents about the implications of conservacy use of the Bay. Sugges• tions for further investigation or resolution of these conflicts are made. The issues involved in planning Boundary Bay are com• plex ones because of the number of interests involved. There is no "right" way of proceeding. Four scenarios are developed to illustrate alternative means of applying resource manage• ment guidelines and measures for resolution of conflicts to the study area. Each alternative requires a different level and type of management with different implications for long term reconciliation of use with preservation. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter ONE PROBLEM STATEMENT AND CASE STUDY 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Thesis Objectives 3 1.3 The Contradiction of Preservation with Use 4 1.4 Boundary Bay: The Case Study Area 5 TWO PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF CONSERVACY AREAS: 13 THE NORTH AMERICAN EXPERIENCE 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 Inviolate Conservacy Areas 13 2.3 Recreation Conservacies 15 2.4 Limited-Use Conservacies 19 2.5 Summary 22 2.6 The Implications of the North American 23 Experience for the Study Area THREE BOUNDARY BAY: THE RECREATIONAL RESOURCE 25 3.1 Introduction 25 3.2 Biophysical Resources and Recreational 26 Potential 3.3 Present Recreational Use 28 3.4 General Trends in Outdoor Recreation 29 3.5 Implications of Regional Recreation 30 Demands 3.6 Conclusions 35 FOUR THE ROLE OF BOUNDARY BAY AS A WILDLIFE HABITAT 37 4.1 Variety of Bird Species at Boundary Bay 3 7 4.2 Boundary Bay: An Important Habitat Com- 37 ponent of the Fraser Estuary 4.3 The Fraser Estuary: Importance to the 42 Pacific Flyway 4.4 Seasonal Distribution in Bird Use of 45 Boundary Bay 4.5 An Analysis of the Ecological Role of 47 Boundary Bay Bird Habitat 4.6 Conclusion 57 v Chapter Page FIVE RECREATION IN ESTUARINE BIRD HABITAT: ITS 58 EFFECT AND THEIR MITIGATION 5.1 Introduction 58 5.2 Food Chain Disruption 59 5.3 Passive Human Presence 60 5.4 Active Human Presence - Noise and Threats 64 5.5 Feeding Wildlife 71 5.6 Disruption of Nesting Birds 72 5.7 Conclusion 74 SIX CONFLICTS ASSOCIATED WITH PRESERVATION OF THE 7 6 BIRD RESOURCE AT BOUNDARY BAY AND THEIR MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Introduction 76 6.2 The Surrey Meetings: Source of Information 76 about Conflicts 6.3 The Agricultural Conflict 78 6.4 The Hunter-Anti-Hunter Conflict 83 SEVEN CONSERVACY ALTERNATIVES FOR BOUNDARY BAY 91 7.1 Introduction 91 7.2 Alternative One: Continuation of Present 93 Course 7.3 Alternative Two: Moderate Preservation 103 7.4 Alternative Three: Implementation of a 105 Three Zone System 7.5 Alternative Four: Enhancement 109 7.6 Conclusion 110 BIBLIOGRAPHY 113 APPENDICES 121 Appendix 1 Proposals for Conservacy Use 121 of Boundary Bay Appendix 2 Boundaries of Subregions 122 Appendix 3 Boundary Bay Species Checklist 123 Appendix 4 The Waterfowl Census: What Does 125 it Tell Us? Appendix 5 Observations of Birds Feeding on 131 Agricultural Lands Appendix 6 Pattern Statements from Surrey 132 Planning Department Appendix 7 Summary of Public Discussion on 135 the Pattern Statements Pre• sented in Appendix Six vi LIST OF TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS Page TABLES 4.1 Waterfowl Use of Different Habitat Areas on 40 the Fraser Estuary/Delta 4.2 Waterfowl Habitat Values for Fraser River 41 Estuary Units 7.1 Alternatives for Conservacy use of Boundary Bay 94 7.2 Likelihood of Reconciliation of Recreation Use 99 With Preservation of Wildlife Habitat Accord• ing to Four Alternative Scenarios 7.3 Public Agencies that Would Need to be Involved 100 in Implementation of Proposed Alternatives FIGURES 3.1 Parkland Area Shortfalls and Surplus 31 4.1 The Pacific Flyway 43 4.2 Boundary-Mud Bays: Average Monthly Waterfowl 46 Counts, 1966-1974 4.3 Feeding Habitats of Some Common Bird Species 53 at Boundary Bay MAPS 1.1 Location of Boundary Bay on the Fraser Delta 6 1.2 The Study Area 7 1.3 Land Use and Ownership on Boundary Bay 10 4.1 The Fraser Estuary and Environs 39 4.2 Biophysical Zones of Boundary Bay 51 6.1 Designated Hunting and Non-Hunting Areas on 89 Boundary Bay 7.1 Place Names on Boundary Bay 101 NOTE: Base Map, some graphics courtesy of G.V.R.D., Parks Department. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to my readers Tony Dorcey, Ken Hall and Bill Reese. Thanks to the G.V.R.D. Parks Department for encouragement, advice and for base maps Rick Hankin, Bev Evers, Violet Frazer. Thanks to B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch for their cooperation. Thanks to many people for help and encouragement in small (but important) ways Donna McGee, Nancy Pilch, Bev Tanchak, Brahm Weisman, Jim LeMaistre, Barry Leach, and more recently, Barry Fraser. 1 CHAPTER ONE Problem Statement and Case Study 1.1 Introduction An area that has potential for preservation, conserva• tion, recreation or other amenity uses may be called a conser- vacy area. A number of institutional designations for conser- vacies exist. These embrace the entire spectrum from complete preservation or non-use (an ecological reserve or wildlife sanctuary) to intensive use for recreation (a municipal park or an urban waterfront walkway). As the examples indicate, the conservacy area concept has two connotations: preservation, and use. These have contradictory implications for planning and management. The past record in North America demonstrates that it has not been easy to reconcile the two functions. Over the decades between 1950 and 1970 demands for areas for recreational use have increased remarkably and today the outdoor recreation sector continues to grow. Though new areas have been set aside for recreation, conservacy acreages in North America have not increased in proportion to their use (Forster, 1973; Kusler, 1974). At the same time open space which once unofficially served a conservacy function has dis• appeared due to urbanization. These pressures argue strongly for recreational use of all conservacy areas, even in areas where ecological values are a concern, the rationale being that 2 greater net social benefits may be obtained from mixing these "uses", than from areas where use is restricted. Planning and management of conservacy areas has unfor• tunately lagged behind extensions of their use. In some areas pressures of people and outdoor activities have resulted in degradation of the very resource base that had attracted such use. Small actions like dredging and dumping of dredge spoil in natural areas, or clearing areas of native vegetation to plant grass, have resulted in unconscious loss of conservacy values. Larger intrusions have caused serious disruptions of animal population ecology, uncontrolled urbanization in some conservacy areas, and loss of interesting landscape features, again resulting in degradation of conservacy values. Designa• tion of areas as conservacy, therefore, has not necessarily provided adequate protection of their natural qualities. This thesis suggests how planning and management can reconcile preservation with use of a conservacy area, using a case study in the Greater Vancouver region. The proposed con• servacy area, Boundary Bay, is a huge estuarine complex made up of three smaller, but contiguous embayments. The Bay supports sizable wildlife populations, notably waterfowl and shorebirds. Its beaches, warm water and vistas make it a popular recreation area. The wildlife populations there are also a significant recreation attraction. Boundary Bay has been called the most outstanding, undeveloped recreational resource in the Lower Mainland (K. Joy, B.C. Parks Branch, personal communication). 3 Although Boundary Bay's designation as a conservacy area has not been officially decided, the intent expressed among proponents of a conservacy area there, is that the Bay should function as a recreation and conservation area, with preserva• tion of bird habitat as the major conservation objective.

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