West Van approves long-term shoreline protection plan

The Ambleside shoreline, one area considered in West Vancouver's 2012-2015 Shoreline Protection Plan.

Submitted photo

Tonnes of boulders are needed to construct a sub-tidal reef at Navvy Jack Point as part of the 2012-2015 Shoreline Protection Plan adopted by West Vancouver council on Monday night.

An interim 2012 work plan was also endorsed by council and will focus on enhancing habitat and improving the quality of the foreshore —the area above water at low tide. The district has set aside $150,000 in the 2012 budget to fund 10 shoreline projects.

West Vancouver’s foreshore starts in Ambleside and stretches to the end of Horseshoe Bay with a plethora of habitats home to starfish, sea urchins, crabs and coral in between. Laying down the framework for long-term shoreline protection means local champions of environmental protection can breathe a little easier.

“It sets out a little more plan in a more firm manner because it builds on the pilot projects that have demonstrated all the feasibility of the things that we are doing,” said Ray Richards, president of the West Vancouver Shoreline Preservation Society.

According to Richards, the Larson Park stream estuary and shoreline rehabilitation will most likely be the first project addressed in the 2012 work plan.

“Well it’s a good salmon bearing stream and it gets blocked up with logs and that and so they wanted to do something that would divert the logs from blocking up the mouth of the creek,” said Richards.

Meanwhile the primary focus will remain on the Navvy Jack reef site located along the Centennial Seawalk between 20th and 22nd streets. The plan is to extend the reef to Dundarave pier.

“Well that’s a big big reef that we want to put in out there. So we are just starting in a small way and then seeing if we can scale it up as we get material, explained Richards.

The material needed to construct the Navvy Jack site — a combination of washed sand and aggregate — is “thousands of tonnes” of free rocks from construction or excavation sites. The costly project will eat up the lion’s share of the 2012 shoreline work plan budget.

The boulders will be trucked from the construction sites to the shore. A tug and barge will then be hired to bring the rocks to the Navvy Jack site where they will be precisely positioned with a GPS locator.

Once completed, divers will be able to appreciate the fruits of their labour — the fundraising efforts of the WVSPS and the physical labour provided by the District of West Vancouver.

“Whether it will be large enough to attract international divers, certainly local divers will be around,” said Richards.

Three trial reefs were installed at the Ambleside shoreline in 2010. From that experiment, Richards has learned that reefs are conducive to improving the underwater habitat.

“It was phenomenal what happened,” he said. “They really bring in an increase in the sea life because the habitat grows kelp and so on.”

The WVSPS have retained Adrian Roland, a shoreline coastal engineer who has worked internationally, to provide input to the district.

Also consulted for the 2012 shoreline work plan is the West Vancouver Streamkeepers Society and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith heralded the West Vancouver shoreline preservation work that has been done to date.

“It’s clear that West Vancouver residents, this council and past councils appreciate the special environment of West Vancouver and see themselves as stewards of our shoreline.

Implementation of the Protection Plan demonstrates a thoughtful and strategic plan to move forward with this important work,” said Smith, in a release.