The Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS) has pinpointed Oceanfront land for a potential $38,000 restoration project.
The environmental group is applying for up to $10,000 from the Walmart-Evergreen Green Grant Fund to remove invasive plant species along the western portion of the Cattermole Slough Oceanfront Trail. The grant would be matched by other funding sources and in-kind donations, SRWS executive director Edith Tobe said. That would also allow for the planting of native species, two interpretive signs and public education workshops.
"I think our habitat here in Squamish would be a really good fit for [the grant]," Tobe told the District of Squamish council on Jan. 24.
The non-profit society sought a letter of support from the district as an institutional partner. Coun. Ron Sander asked whether there was an alternative location to the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp. land that would better suit the project.
Although the Oceanfront Sub Area Plan is in place for the district-owned property, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the development project's final outcome.
"I am concerned that there are certain decisions to be made on those lands and it would be a kind of travesty to see a project like this go ahead and have a whole bunch of expectations from the folks that see it in place, [to think] that because it is there, that it would remain there," he said.
The project would not affect future plans, said Cameron Chalmers, the municipality's general manager of community services. The proposed restoration project lies within a riparian area, he noted.
"At a staff review level, we are confident that this would be a project that would not compete or conflict with the district or SODC interest in seeing these lands developed in the future," Chalmers told council. "And in fact, it may represent an opportunity to enhance the sub-area plan."
Even if the strip of land was to be altered, it could serve as a nursery for natural plant species until that point, said Kimberly Armour, SRWS's communications coordinator. Either way, the proliferation of invasive species needs to be addressed, she added.
District officials and the society did examine other areas, but the Oceanfront Trail had the greatest certainty in terms of its future and public use, Tobe said. Invasive species, such as Scotch broom and blackberry bushes, haven't yet taken over the parcel, giving the society a chance to turn it around, she said.
In a unanimous vote, council supported the SRWS's grant application.
