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What's missing from this North Shore photo?

Iconic North Shore scenery loses a feature

It’s one of the most photographed locations on the North Shore, but it’s never going to look quite the same.

The little green hut floating on Capilano Lake, which is often in the foreground of people’s photos of the picturesque reservoir and distant snowcapped Lions (Ch'ich'iyúy Elxwíkn Twin Sisters), has been moved by Metro Vancouver staff.

The hut is a boathouse for Metro’s watershed crew who use it to help clear debris away from the booms that protect the Cleveland Dam. It’s been fastened to the boom closest to the dam for years, but that location was only intended to be temporary, said Heidi Walsh, director of watershed and environmental management for Metro.

“I've actually had a couple of people say that to me ‘Oh, no. No more of the green boathouse with the Lions in the background,” she said with a laugh. “There's another debris boom that spans the lake just around the bend. So the plan was always to move that boathouse up to that mid-lake boom because that's where our main boat launch is.”

Metro staff have plans to replace the secondary boom this summer and had to get the boathouse moved before barn swallows move in and make nests, which can happen any time after March 1.