PLANNING FOR A NEW WAY IN STANLEY PARK
A Comprehensive Plan Takes Place

by Nate Lewis
(click images to enlarge)

Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations are working closely with the Park Board in the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Working Group (SPIWG) to develop a 100-year long-term comprehensive plan for Stanley Park.

The plan will “include our Indigenous knowledge and respect our stewardship of the lands and waters,” according to a January 2022 press release from Odette Wilson, Musqueam’s communication officer. In this way, the four governments “will introduce not only a new way of park management, but a new way for locals and tourists to experience Stanley Park,” Wilson wrote.

This work has been underway for six years, and it was First Nations leadership that laid the foundation for a collaborative effort to shape a shared vision for Stanley Park’s future.

In 2014, the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Nations sent a joint letter to the Vancouver Park Board requesting that they be consulted “consistently and authentically,” according to Park Board documents, about planning projects or initiatives related to Stanley Park. This led to the formation of the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Committee and the Working Group, made up of representatives from all four governments.

Driven by the three Nations in particular, SPIWG decided by 2016 that a comprehensive approach was necessary for planning in Stanley Park. Additionally, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh wanted to see a dedicated planner hired for the project.

Emily Dunlop was hired by SPIWG in 2017 to be that dedicated planner. Now a senior planner with the Vancouver Park Board, Dunlop has worked on many other projects but has maintained her role at the Intergovernmental table and continues to lead the Park Board’s efforts on the Stanley Park comprehensive plan.

“There’s been many reports and plans done for Stanley Park over the last 150 years… [but] all these reports have been done on an ad hoc basis,” Dunlop told The West End Journal (TWEJ).

According to Dunlop, one of the aspirational goals set for the plan is for it to be a uniting process, with an emphasis on building trust and alignment between the four governments.

Another is for it to be useful: “We don’t want to develop a report that just goes on a shelf,” Dunlop said.

Ideally, the comprehensive plan would mean “the intergovernmental table doesn't always have to be at every table regarding Stanley Park into the future, but that people can kind of refer to [the plan as] something that helps them guide future decisions,” Dunlop said.

The plan is intended to be a holistic – integrating changes and challenges in the park as interrelated issues. It will tackle seemingly disparate yet connected things like invasive species, transportation, damage caused by extreme weather, and the traditional and ongoing practices that have happened on the peninsula long before there was a park.

THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DIE-OFFS OF CARP IN LOST LAGOON IN THE FALL OF 2021 AND 2022. THE STANLEY PARK ECOLOGY SOCIETY CONSIDERS THE HABITAT HEALTH OF THE MAN-MADE LAGOON TO BE ECOLOGICALLY POOR. *(RITA IVANAUSKA PHOTO)*

The SPIWG is currently working on an inventory and analysis report, a knowledge base to inform the plan’s next steps. This is a huge undertaking, one prong of which is to look at the environmental conditions of the park in its current state.

Ongoing threats to the ecology and infrastructure of the park are rooted in multiple issues, according to a 2018 report prepared by Dunlop. Global trends like climate change and issues stemming from colonial settlement overlap in the challenges in the park, which include threats to the forest canopy and native plants, intensifying storms and rising sea levels, threats to wildlife due to habitat loss and fragmentation, water quality degradation in freshwater and coastal ecosystems, or imported invasive species.

According to a 2023 presentation from Park Board’s urban forestry department, forest health in the park has declined in recent years due to drought, elevated temperatures, windstorms, and insect outbreaks, specifically hemlock looper.

The Park Board’s information on the state of Stanley Park is largely based on Western scientific knowledge according to Dunlop, so the Nations’ traditional ecological knowledge is helping to fill out a complete picture of the park’s health.

“The three local Nations have inhabited the park sustainably for thousands of years, where their knowledge and wisdom in land stewardship are embedded in the experience and practices that took place prior to colonization, and continue today,” reads the 2018 report.

One example of this ecological knowledge is based in the cultural practice of cedar stripping, which there is evidence of in Stanley Park. Dunlop frames these sustainable best practices, which allowed for the harvesting of cedar bark while enabling the tree to continue growing, as an inroad to talk about Stanley Park’s capacity for supporting cedar tree growth. In addition, she says, the nature of cedar as a cornerstone species can give a sense of how the rest of the environment is doing.

Another is understanding the food chain in the park – such as species behavior and their connectedness to one another – knowledge which the Nations have been keeping and passing down for generations.

Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish Nations declined interview requests by TWEJ to speak about their respective priorities and values in the planning for Stanley Park due to limited capacity and staff’s lack of availability.

Dunlop said the comprehensive plan is about halfway complete. The inventory and analysis report, which is the first, and biggest, portion of the work, will be presented to Park Board Commissioners later this year.

The arch is rotten and there are concerns about it falling, said Park staff, who were taking measurements of the trunks that hold up the arch. *(Nate Lewis Photo)*

A NEW LUMBERMAN’S ARCH?

Lumberman’s Arch may be due for a replacement.

This would be the second time replacement of the arch since its original installation in 1912. A nearby sign explains that, due to rot, the first arch was replaced by the current archway built in 1952.

Of important note is that a large Coast Salish village called χʷay̓χʷəy̓ or X̱wáyx̱way (in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh languages respectively) once stood in the area known today as Lumberman’s Arch.

New signage at Prospect Point warns cyclists of the change and directs them to a detour on Prospect Point trail for those who don’t want to ride with cars. *(Nate Lewis Photo)*

BIKE LANE UPDATE

A section of the temporary bike lane between Prospect Point and just before Third Beach has been removed by Park Board staff.

A December memo from Park Board General Manager Donnie Rosa identified parts of the bike lane that required further study before removal, including areas around Brockton Point, Lumberman’s Arch, and Beach Avenue.

Commissioners responded to the memo at their January 16 Board meeting. They passed a motion directing staff to repurpose elements of bike lane “that would improve safety, accessibility, traffic flow, way-finding, and aesthetics on Stanley Park Drive,” without making the removal process longer or more expensive.

Staff were also directed to consider site specific modifications to the access to Tea House restaurant (where staff recommended maintaining the current configuration in the memo), on the hill leading up to Prospect Point, and at Ceperley Meadow.

Staff have been directed to report back with their further recommendations no later than February 13.

Removal of the bike lane is not expected to be completed until April at the earliest.

MARCH BREAK CAMPS

The Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) is offering two EcoCamps over March break (March 13 - 24) for kids aged 7 to 11.

“Campers will embark on an exciting educational adventure among the giant trees, sandy beaches and hidden wetlands of Stanley Park. They will spot migrating waterfowl, search for signs of flying squirrels and beavers and explore the patterns of nature – all while spending valuable time outdoors,” writes SPES.

Registration is now open at a cost of $325 per week for the general public or $295 for member families. Register here.

These camps often sell out according to SPES, so they recommend signing up early.