| Description: |
The floodplain riparian forest on Gilmour Island, Richmond, BC, is willow-‐dominated and low in coarse woody debris volumes and structural/habitat diversity. Although lower Fraser River riparian zones have been flood-‐disturbed in the past century, the current state of the forest appears to be a case of arrested serial development caused by long periods of soil saturation. Salix spp. and red-‐osier dogwood, both fast-‐growing and highly-‐tolerant of wet soil conditions, appear to have outcompeted later-‐seral tree species such as black cottonwood, western red cedar, and others. To increase structural and habitat diversity and to increase resilience to storm wave inundation exacerbated by higher sea levels, a restoration plan is proposed, which involves patch clearing and replanting with later-‐seral tree species, coupled with invasive vegetation removal and augmentation of coarse woody debris using beached logs. Regulatory and policy constraints to implementation are identified, and impacts and alternative measures for the proposed restoration are discussed. Significant regulatory and policy roadblocks may be encountered due to the potential for adverse effects on adjacent fish habitats and the public participation quandary posed by long-‐time squatters residing on Gilmour Island. |