The West Vancouver Streamkeepers Society has made a deal with the District of West Vancouver to install an ambitious salmon habitat project in the community's Memorial Park.
District council voted Monday night to support the stewardship group's plan to construct a salmon-rearing pond to help shelter young Coho before they migrate to the ocean.
Due to be completed 2013, the pond at the park at Marine Drive and 19th Street will have a viewing bridge, seating area with benches and interpretive signage, a gravel trail and split rail fence. Cutthroat trout and other species would also likely thrive in the facility, according to the streamkeepers.
The project will not only boost the Cohos' chances of survival and reproduction, but will also help draw attention to stream conservation and salmonid enhancement issues, the group argued.
Council's support comes after a significant rift in the relationship between the district and WVSS over the inadvertent cutting of old growth trees along Black Creek for an infrastructure project.
Under the agreement, the district won't be on the hook for any financial contributions this year, but its staff will help with the work and with technical aspects of construction.
The streamkeepers have raised just over $80,000 for the first phase, but the project will require more money to complete, said streamkeepers president John Barker at Monday's meeting. That may include a request for funding from West Vancouver taxpayers.
The organization took their plan to the public at an open house July 4 and received only supportive comments from attendees, they said. Council support was unanimous as well.
"We certainly appreciate the work of the streamkeepers and this . . . is a really exciting project. We'd like to note this is something we're all looking forward to seeing," Mayor Michael Smith said before the vote.
This follows a successful salmon pond project WVSS installed in Hay Park in 2004, a district staff report notes.
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