Environmental Assessment
As a natural resource planner (for the assigned scenario), I had to assess the environmental impact of a new ski resort conclude whether it would be a sound addition to the area of Garibaldi, Squamish. The measures that must be taken include working with the most recent available data in the Squamish area and manipulating it to create visual digital data. The results are a well-informed map analysis of the potentials for environmental impact in the prospective new location of a ski resort.
First, updated data had to be obtained from BCData on the current old growth forests, protected Riparian Areas and animal species in the area. The distinctive data needed for the project boundary of the ski resort was isolated by using the clipping feature found in ArctoolBox. Elevation is an important feature in the analysis of a ski resort, therefore raster layers had to be converted to polygon to represent which areas receive adequate snowfall for winter skiing. Ski runs could not be located wherever the elevation levels were less than 600m, as snowfall becomes more unreliable when the altitude does not surpass 600m. Once all the protected species for the project area were established, I was able to clearly convey what parts of Garibaldi are available for property and commercial property development.
The following step consisted of distinguishing areas of environmental consideration. To do this, red-listed species data was also clipped to the project boundary so a clear representation of which wildlife is protected within the area. It also allowed for a representation of which ecosystems are a no-go zone- Roughly 30% of the area is protected for fish species and critical Riparian area for stream health. It is less likely that streams above 600m are fish-bearing, however, therefore the streams and rivers above 600m received a 50m buffer and those below 600m received a 100m buffer. This process was repeated for old growth forests and ungulate habitat, both highly protected parts of ecosystems that cannot be sacrificed for the development of a new ski resort.
– ~ 30% of the area is below 600m in elevation.
– ~ 10% is protected old growth forest
– ~ 10% is allotted to ungulate conservation area/habitat
Since the stream and riparian areas make up the majority of the project area, it is concerning that a ski resort would be built in such proximity of one of these protected streams. This is because the streams can be affected by waste, construction, landscaping development, and other factors that may disturb the dynamics of the stream negatively. If a ski resort were to be placed in this project boundary, the priority areas above 600m, since fish bearing streams will unlikely be present. However, much precaution must be taken since freshwater ecosystems are complex and any part of the system which is affected could extrapolate into the rest of the system (downstream). As a preventative measure, extra protection such as wider buffers, may need to be enforced. The ungulate area is also concerning because they need mountains and higher altitudes to be preserved as their habitat.
Overall, I do not believe developing a ski resort in this area will be a simple task – in fact, it is quite daunting. Repercussions from the construction of a ski resort could also reveal other unaccounted environmental impacts.
Ethics:
Since the map representation has revealed a countless amount of potential hazards for environmental stability, the proust should not be allowed to progress. Even if this project were to be done in a conscious and sound manner, the costs and necessary precautions would be costly and drastically reduce the space allowed for the resort development.
Accomplishment Statement
I conducted GIS analysis for environmental impact assessing for a job specification. I was therefore able to see through the lens of a stakeholder in one way GIS is used in real-world situations.