Restoration of a degraded urban estuary: The MacKay Creek estuary project
Presentation Abstract
MacKay Creek estuary
Over the last century the Mackay Creek estuary was highly modified by industrial activity and infrastructure development on the North Vancouver waterfront. It's historical area was reduced by >90% by infilling to create industrial land, and the remaining estuary habitat had become simplified with minimal estuarine vegetation, no large woody debris and a low head dam which prevented upstream salmonid migration during medium to low tides which exposed adult salmonids to increased marine mammal predation. A large non-regulatory habitat restoration project was initiated in 2013-2014 which involved re-creating estuary edge habitat, removing the low head dam, extensive placement of large woody debris and planting with native tidal and riparian vegetation, and conducting non-native Canada geese control programs. This was the first estuary restoration project completed under the HCTF Burrard Inlet Restoration Pilot Program, and provided valuable lessons for future estuary restoration projects within Burrard Inlet and other urban settings.
Session Title
Marine Ecosystem Restoration in the Urban Environment
Conference Track
Protection, Remediation and Restoration
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Estuarine restoration--Environmental aspects--British Columbia--Vancouver; Environmental impact analysis--British Columbia--Vancouver
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Vancouver (B.C.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Restoration of a degraded urban estuary: The MacKay Creek estuary project
2016SSEC
MacKay Creek estuary
Over the last century the Mackay Creek estuary was highly modified by industrial activity and infrastructure development on the North Vancouver waterfront. It's historical area was reduced by >90% by infilling to create industrial land, and the remaining estuary habitat had become simplified with minimal estuarine vegetation, no large woody debris and a low head dam which prevented upstream salmonid migration during medium to low tides which exposed adult salmonids to increased marine mammal predation. A large non-regulatory habitat restoration project was initiated in 2013-2014 which involved re-creating estuary edge habitat, removing the low head dam, extensive placement of large woody debris and planting with native tidal and riparian vegetation, and conducting non-native Canada geese control programs. This was the first estuary restoration project completed under the HCTF Burrard Inlet Restoration Pilot Program, and provided valuable lessons for future estuary restoration projects within Burrard Inlet and other urban settings.
