2 Greenwood and Kealy Woods Park Urban Forest Environmental Assessment Report July 20, 2020 Submitted to: City of North Vancouver 141 West 14th Street North Vancouver V7M 1H9 Greenwood and Kealy Woods Park Environmental Assessment Report Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................4 2.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS ............................................................................................................5 2.1 Topography .................................................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Biogeoclimatic Classification ........................................................................................................................ 7 2.3 Forest Stands ................................................................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Understory Vegetation ............................................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Invasive plant species ................................................................................................................................. 13 2.6 Watercourses ............................................................................................................................................. 15 2.7 Wildlife ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.8 Species and Ecological Communities at Risk .............................................................................................. 24 2.9 Recreational Facilities ................................................................................................................................ 28 2.10 Degraded areas .......................................................................................................................................... 36 3.0 OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCEMENT .................................................................................... 40 3.1 Trails ........................................................................................................................................................... 40 3.2 Disk Golf Course ......................................................................................................................................... 41 3.3 Rock Climbing ............................................................................................................................................. 42 3.4 Managing invasive species ......................................................................................................................... 42 3.5 Wildlife Habitat .......................................................................................................................................... 43 3.6 Mitigation of tree risk ................................................................................................................................ 44 3.7 Mitigation of fire risk .................................................................................................................................. 44 3.8 Restoration of degraded areas ................................................................................................................... 44 3.9 Channelizing of stream 7 ............................................................................................................................ 45 4.0 PROPOSED PARK AMENITY IMPROVEMENTS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT ............................... 46 4.1 Formalization of a trail system and restoration of unauthorised trails ..................................................... 46 4.2 Drainage improvement works at the northwest corner of Greenwood Park ............................................ 50 4.3 Establishment of an outdoor classroom .................................................................................................... 51 MONITORING AND ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS ................................................................................... 54 5.0 ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ANALYSIS............................................................................................ 55 5.1 I-Tree methods ........................................................................................................................................... 55 5.2 Summary of I-Tree findings ........................................................................................................................ 55 APPENDIX A - ECOLOGICAL DATA FORMS ......................................................................................... 56 APPENDIX B – WILDLIFE INVENTORY ................................................................................................ 80 APPENDIX C – I-TREE ECOSYTEM ANALYSIS REPORT .......................................................................... 91 3559 Commercial Street, Vancouver B.C. V5N 4E8 | T 604-733-4886 i Greenwood and Kealy Woods Park Environmental Assessment Report List of Tables Table 1 Red and Blue-listed species within 3 kilometers of project site ..................................................................... 24 Table 2: Species at Risk that could potentially inhabit the areas in and adjacent to the study area. ......................... 25 Table 3 CDC ranked plant communities located within the study area ...................................................................... 25 Table 4: Species List for Restoration ............................................................................................................................ 45 Table 5 Impact Assessment of the proposed trail system ........................................................................................... 48 Table 6 Species list for restoring deactivated trails ..................................................................................................... 49 Table 7 Impact Assessment of stormwater improvements ......................................................................................... 51 Table 8 Impact Assessment of establishing an outdoor classroom ............................................................................. 52 Table 9 Indicator species and monitoring methods .................................................................................................... 54 Table 10 - Birds ............................................................................................................................................................ 80 Table 11 - Mammals .................................................................................................................................................... 88 Table 12 - Amphibians and Reptiles ............................................................................................................................ 89 List of Figures Figure 1: Site location, topographic lines, bluffs and watercourses within the project area. ....................................... 5 Figure 2: LiDAR relief map of the project area. Lighter areas are higher in elevation while darker areas are lower in elevation. ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3: Ecology and leading site series classification .................................................................................................. 7 Figure 4: Ecotype polygons described within the study area ...................................................................................... 10 Figure 5: Blowdown areas and stands with recent mortality expected to be a result of drought stress. ................... 12 Figure 6: Location of invasive plant species found in the study area .......................................................................... 14 Figure 7: Location of watercourses and wetlands in the park. .................................................................................... 15 Figure 8: Trees and heritage stumps of significance ................................................................................................... 26 Figure 9: Existing recreational trails ............................................................................................................................ 29 Figure 10: Mountain biking trails identified on Trailforks – Greenwood Gravel Path, Greenwood XC and Greenwood Park Singletrack ........................................................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 11: Mountain biking trail descriptions on Trailforks ......................................................................................... 30 Figure 12: Disc Golf Course .......................................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 13: Areas used for rock climbing ...................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 14: Unsanctioned activity and impacts ............................................................................................................. 34 Figure 15: Areas for restoration with low