Text of Salmon River Enhancement Society Presentation

Given by Doug McFee

at the Starline Development Hearing - April 12, 1999

Our society has taken an active interest in the Interfor property as the west side of the property borders on the Salmon River.  We were involved in the public process set up by Interfor to review development options and wrote a letter to Interfor and to (Langley) Township Council in March of 1998 with our comments.

We are not against development of the property per se as we feel that a suitable mixed use could add to the recreation, heritage and tourism potential for Fort Langley.  This could be done in a way that benefits the Salmon River.  With the Trans Canada Trail coming through Fort Langley and the Fort-to-Fort Trail, there is tremendous opportunity for recreation and tourism with nature walks along the Salmon River and around the wetland on the Interfor property.  We are concerned, however, about the size of the industrial area proposed in the Starline rezoning as it does not fit with the character of the area or with this vision of the future.

We have three main concerns:

1. Wetland

There is an eight acre wetland on the property.  Phil Henderson of the Langley Field Naturalists will be talking in more detail about this.  The wetland is known as good bird and wildlife habitat and is recognized by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) as fish habitat.  There is a beaver dam obstructing the connection of the wetland with the Salmon River which is preventing fish access to the wetland at present but the wetland is nevertheless fish habitat and could easily be restored.   Wetlands are important for the nutrients they provide to the river and the food sources they provide for fish.  We need to preserve the wetland with the appropriate 30 metre buffer specified by DFO and with waste water treatment of any runoff from the site which may enter the wetland.

2.  Water Quality

Dr. Schreier and Dr. Hall of UBC have already discussed this in detail.   To review, the Salmon River is the most productive stream in the Lower Fraser system for coho and cutthroat due to its good water quality.  The river has been recognized by DFO as a "key" stream.  Coho and cutthroat stay in the river for over a year before migrating to the Fraser and the ocean.  The Lower Salmon is actively used by the juvenile fish and there is also a run of Harrison River chinook juveniles resident in the Lower Salmon for a few weeks at this time of year. 

It is not clear what industries may eventually set up on this site.  It only takes one chemical spill to kill a lot of fish.  The river would also be impacted by the large paved area that surrounds industrial sites.  Oil, heavy metals from corrosion of mufflers and other automobile parts, and brake lining materials are all toxic to fish and could all run off the paved area into the river. 

Engineers talk about retention ponds and other treatment options but these are still unproven technologies and have not worked well where they have been tried.

We don't want to end up on the front page of the Vancouver Sun as the Coquitlam River did this weekend due to the decline in fish population from problems with industry along the river.

3.  Floodplain

The wetland and surrounding area of the Interfor property are floodplain.   The floodplain surrounding Fort Langley has been shown by DFO to be useful habitat during heavy rains as juveniles find haven in ditches and the flooded low areas.

The floodplain has been and is under attack.

I am sure that most of you recall that Belmont Golf Course put fill on their property despite the restrictive covenant they signed when development was approved.   They have since lobbied to dyke the property to further prevent flooding.  A dyke has also appeared this last year on a farm east of the Salmon River.  This appears to be an attempt to start a cranberry operation.

Dykes on the floodplain cut off the ditches and other low lying habitat.   We can ill afford to lose coho habitat with the crisis we face in the coho fishery.

If Starline proceeds will we jeopardize our ability to preserve the rest of the floodplain and deal with the request of landowners to fill and dyke?

It's worth noting that the Fort Langley floodplain was important for First Nations, it was the first farmed area for the original Fort Langley, it is a good recreation area and it is scenic for tourism.  We need to recognize the value of the floodplain and preserve it for the future.  We can't afford to end up like the Serpentine River in Surrey with a straightened and dyked river with little or no fish and wildlife habitat and with losses to the recreation and tourism industries.  Starline could be a step in the Serpentine direction.  We need to come up with a better development for this important property that will add, not subtract, from Fort Langley's heritage, tourism and recreation potential.  If we do this I'm sure this will lead to many more jobs and employment opportunities in the future.