Section 1. Map

Section 2. Memo

(On behalf of natural resource planner who has been retained by the project proponents.)

Introduction:

This memo is about the environment assessment of the Garibaldi at the Squamish project, which is a potential ski resort development plan. Though there will be lots of benefits if the resorts plan actually proceeds, risks and concerns in relation to environmental, economic and social aspects still should be taken into consideration. Following is the evaluation I have made based on my analysis of several important factors (fisheries habitat, rivers, roads, parks, old growth forest, ungulate winter range, red-list ecosystem, and elevation).

• Steps and Form: My data source is DataBC, which means the data I derived and accessed is convincible and credible. I parsed all these data to be more organized and convenient for my use, such as conventionalize the name of different data layers so that it would be clearer and distinguished from various layers. After that I used the clip function in the ArcToolbox to filter the data in order to limit them in one boundary, which is the proposed ski resort project boundary. The main part of the analysis is about articulating these data and displaying them appropriately. So I transformed these data into the simple uniform vector data which makes the process much easier in one map. Also, to be conducive to segregate useful data from useless data (for this analysis), I created new layers of data by using merge polygons to simplify steps when highlight the red-listed species, overlay analysis to union protected areas, buffer to display impact imposed by different classes of rivers and select by attribute to select out the same feature data for calculation or highlighting risk zone. In addition, using proper symbology and displaying format such as transparency, and only retaining the related features can help with visualizing the map as well.
• Results: The percentage of the proposed project area is in the lower elevation zone (altitude lower than 555m) is 29.92% of the total proposed project area which means that there is 29.92% area, 16371095.011648 m² cannot guarantee sufficient snow falls for the ski resort. This would cost a lot more expensive if built a ski resort has less lower-than-555m area. The percentage of the proposed project area has old growth forest is 6.78% of the total proposed project area, which means the ratio is endurable, and from the map, it shows that the distribution of most of the old growth region are in the north of the project region and some in the west lower elevation landscape. The percentage of the proposed project area has Mule Deer and Mountain Goat winter habitat (Ungulate winter range) is 7.89% of total proposed project area, it shows they are mainly active between the lower land and middle elevation mountain toes areas with one area exception on the top of the mountain. The red-listed ecosystems (which is endangered or threatened species) within this project region have Falsebox, Salal, Cladina, Kinnikinnick, Flat Moss, and Cat’s-tail Moss with the area percentage to the total area of proposed project area is 24.83%, which is quite high but they concentrate on the lower landscapes, approximately between 66 m to 600 m. Which means, if the ski resort could avoid the lower landscape around 55m-600m, the project would less likely to affect this ecological related active zones. From the map, we can also see that the park boundary is only touched in the eastern project boundary zone so that the provincial park would less likely be influenced by the ski development, which would only have very minimum impact on it. However, there are major issues concerned with fishery and fish habitat or riparian areas, as the percentage would be affected compared to the total project area is 30.15%. In addition, from the map, we can see that there are lots of rivers and their tributary networks distribute to almost everywhere in the region that would increase the complexity of the project and possible failures would occur if not taking care of, such as landslides due to undercutting of the river and steep slope of the plane and flooding (esp. melt season).

Conclusion & suggestion:

The ski resort proposed project area has two major issues related to river ecological system and the red-listed ecosystem. Due to the complexity of the river system and huge river network in this region, ski resort planners should better to avoid the major river routes and large tributaries to diminish the impact on the river system. Also, mitigation should build to separate the river from ski operating areas for the safety of the ski resort as well as protection for fish and their habitat. Referring to red-listed species, as the aforementioned analysis, most concentrate in the lower 55m-600m regions, thereby ski resort should build higher than this upper level to prevent from destroying the eco balance in this region. In this way, the snow insufficiency could also be solved, as higher resort elevation would provide enough snow for ski resort operation.

Section 3. Discussion

When working on environmental projects, it is possible that sometimes the proposal is hard to believe in from an ethical perspective. For this ski resort project, I think it should be discontinued processing which is different from the conclusion of the memo above. The reasons are stated below:

1. There are 13 major ski resorts in BC province currently which mean enough recreational and professional ski resorts are provided.
2. New ski resorts development can destroy surrounding environment and influence animal activities.
3. Sufficient snow is required for building high-quality ski resorts and due to climate warming, the snow line is moving up which gives negative feedback to snowfall. Meanwhile, rising the investment needed to make artificial snow.
4. As the map shows the complexity of the river networks, once the origins of these rivers being polluted, the downstream rivers can also be significantly influenced so that lower the water quality for both source of human use of water and animal use of water.

Therefore, I believe that this project needs to cease and regulations for further proposals need to be designed more comprehensive.

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