Assessment
The proposed ski resort is to be set on the edge of Garibaldi Provincial park, about 80km north of Vancouver, situated in between Squamish and Whistler. The ski resort would be a massive undertaking, including up to 124 ski trails and 20 lifts, taking a total of 20 years to complete. One major setback to the project, and the economic success that it would provide, is the environmental detriment that it would cause.
As a natural resource planner, it is my job to assess the concerns of the environmental impacts of the projects and give a recommendation to the project proponents on how to proceed. The following are the questions that must be answered prior to the project’s initiation:
- How will the project affect the vegetation in the area? The fish? Wildlife?
- How do the projected environmental effects compare to the economic, social, and health effects of the project?
- To what extent will the elevation of the area effect the amount of reliable skiing that will be available in the project boundaries?
To assess the prior questions, I made a map and preformed a number of quantitative analysis’ to display the extent to which the proposed project boundaries contain environmentally sensitive areas. Taken in to account are: old growth management areas, Mule Deer and Mountain Goat habitat (ungulate winter range), endangered or threatened ecosystems (red-listed), fish habitats, and elevation below 600 meters.
In total, I found about 53% of the proposed project area to interfere with one or more of the prior environmental concerns. My biggest concern is the threat of the project to fish habitats (26%) and threatened species such as the Flat Moss, Falsebox, and Salal (25%). Interference with Mule Deer and Mountain Goat habitat is minimal, as is the threat to old growth management areas. However, I would consider closely the impact of elevation on the amount of profitable skiing. My analysis shows that close to 50% of the proposed project would not allow for consistent ski conditions.
In summary, I would advise against the development of a ski resort in Garibaldi-Squamish area. Other than reducing the size of the project, there are few ways to mitigate the damage. The effects to the environment are large enough to de-legitimize the economic and social incentive.
Comments on my recommendation
This assessment was difficult to perform, being that I personally feel strongly against the project. The environmental cost is too huge to justify the economic gains. As a skier myself, I don’t think the public has much to gain from the project, aside from saving the 30 minute drive north to reach Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort. The implementation of this project will hurt other recreational activities such as backcountry mountaineering. This land should be preserved and kept away from profit-driven tycoons.
To a certain degree my personal beliefs affected my professional opinion. However, I truly believe that if they are to take the environmental implications seriously, they must greatly reduce the size of their project or move it to a different location.
Accomplishment Statements
- Learned to independently acquire data from public internet domains to use in my map
- Practiced parsing and filtering data to analyze
- Used written skills to effectively communicate the results of a GIS analysis