Overview:
The Garibaldi at Squamish project is a proposed year-round destination mountain resort on Brohm Ridge, 15 km north of Squamish on Highway 99. It is 80 km north of Vancouver and 45 km south of Whistler. The project has been approved, tentatively, with 40 conditions and includes 124 ski trails and 21 lifts, plus resort accommodation and commercial developments. The project developers estimate that 900 construction jobs to build the project and 2500 jobs during operation will be created and the resort will take 20 years to build. There are many articles and news reports on this proposed project.
The project proponents (Northland Properties and Aquilini Investment Group of Vancouver) initially submitted an application for a Project Approval Certificate under the Environmental Assessment Act in 1997. Following a series of addendums, the BC Environmental Assessment Office released its report in 2010, stating that the project lacked information on the potential effects on vegetation and fish and wildlife habitat, and recommended a series of measures to prevent or reduce any significant environmental, social, economic, heritage and health effects. In April 2015, the project proponents filed a supplemental application that they claimed addressed these issues.
During the subsequent two month-long community consultation process in May and June 2015, the Resort Municipality of Whistler submitted a 14–page letter opposing the project. In addition to its concerns over the economic viability and impact of the project, Whistler cited a 1974 report stating that “climatological considerations rule out reliable skiing on the lower 555m of vertical.”
Objectives:
- Learn how to independently acquire spatial resources (not municipal) datasets online
- Parse and filter data based on your analytical objectives
- Evaluate and use different spatial analysis tools
- Further develop cartographic and written communications skills by producing a map and a short memo summarizing your results for a non-technical audience
Summary:
Memo:
Garibaldi at Squamish Environmental Impact Assessment Report
