Staff Gear up for Next Phase of Stanley Park Restoration

April 27, 2007 (No. 27) - Since the Park Board approved the Restoration Plan for Stanley Park at last week's special meeting, staff have been gearing up for the intensive, next phase of work. A number of activities are already underway.

Over the next several weeks the company of Bryan Peterson Ltd. will carry out "windfirming" on trees along the newly exposed forest edges which may have been weakened by the December storm. Windfirming involves a variety of thinning and crown reduction methods that decrease the risk of blow-down from future storms. It is estimated that more that 11,000 metres of new forest edge was created in the park by the windstorm. This work is currently being done in the Causeway and Service Yard (Pipeline Road) areas of the park. Peterson Ltd. is also carrying out the removal of fine woody debris along forest trails in the Prospect Point picnic area to reduce the risk of fires this summer.

Sally Leigh-Spencer, a registered professional biologist, along with the Stanley Park Ecology Society, is investigating the possible presence of any endangered or at risk species in the blow-down areas. John McLean, a professor with the Faculty of Forestry at UBC has been enlisted to set up monitoring stations for opportunistic bark, wood boring, and other beetles. Lures and traps for this work have been donated by Pherotech International as part of a study of the seasonal biodiversity of these insects. In keeping with Federal heritage legislation, Golder and Associates has been contracted to identify and consolidate all previously recorded or newly discovered archaeological resources in the blow-down areas.

GIS mapping of the park is underway which will help create "layers" of information about the park: infrastructure, trails, roadways, waterways, forest stands, archaeological sites, wildlife habitats-to provide a comprehensive picture of the areas where staff and equipment will later be deployed to carry out the heavy work of removing fallen trees and woody debris.

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For more information contact Carol DeFina, Communications Coordinator, at 604-257-8440.
www.vancouverparks.ca

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 200 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.

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