reserve pian discussed Future flooding cpposed Jan-Christian Sorensen Contributing Writer A management plan for the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LSCR) is beginning to take shape. “On Saturday, over 100 people participated in the first of five public workshops designed to involve communi- ty stakeholders in the formula- * thon of the Greater Vancouver - Regional District (GVRD) ini- tiative. ’ The plan is intended to * serve as a guide for the long- term’ management of the reserve’s natural resources, activities and facilities. Part of the vast. Seymour - watershed, The LSCR was . opened to the public in 1987 : the Seymour Demonstration Forest before being renamed last year. An \_ estimated 300, 000 people visi visit the reserve annually to take advantage of various ¢educa- tional and recreational. oppor- » tunities. Already in the works is a seismic upgrade of the 39- yeat-old Seymour. Falls Dam slated to begin in the fall of "2002: anda °5130- million fil- tration plant to be constructed southeast of Rice Lake. that is also twin- ning the’ existing water. main that runs from our Falls Dam to the GVRD works yard at. Second: Narrows. he ¢ runs adjacent ‘to the. ¢ Road, a 13-kilometre access route “that cuts through the middle of the LSCR. At 5,200 sq. hectares, the LSCR is. 14 times larger than: Stanley Park. It supplies 90% - of the “water: for’ the Lower Mainland ‘and is the GVRD’s priority. water source in case of emergency. “ here has-been. talk of flooding .a- portion’ of the LSCR:to create another lake:: er source between Rice ; Enhance i rea lane =: fename ~ Lake and Seymour Dam, but Surrey councillor and LSCR Steering Committee chairman Marvin Hunt said nothing concrete is in the works. “It’s still just speculation at this point,” said Hunt. “If we do flood it, it ll be at least 50 years from now and because it’s so far down the road we need to work on a plan so that we can use (the LSCR) and enjoy it for that period of time.” Peter Ewens, principal of Argyle Secondary School, told the crowd that the LSCR offered unique educational portunities not available elsewhere in the Lower Mainland. Close to 30,000 people participate in educational pro- graras at the reserve cach year, including many inner-city youths for whom the LSCR represents a much-needed escape from the concrete jun- gle. “The LSCR is an i. valu- able outdoor classroom at the doorstep of a very large urban area and it affords us an unpar- alleled and even unprecedent- ed opportunity to educate the public on such a scale.” Will Koop, a member ‘of the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) and Friends of the Watersheds, said that the LSCR had been badly scarred by loggers in the mid-'60s. Koop said preservation of the - natural habitat is of paramount concern. . “The LSCR is one of the most. important features of Greater Vancouver in terms of . public accessibility, the ecosys- tem and wilderness.” -It- was Koop” 's .100-page “Seymourgate” document, written in the fall of 1997, that spurred the GVRD board to the Seymour Demonstration Forest. Koop ‘supports the public © forums, but said he was not in ? favour of the proposal to flood the t reserve, " H- sd Ta so es = NEWS photo Paul McGrath NORTH Van District resident John Unger, ieft to right, UBC geography student Megan Stubbs and GVAD water supply senior engineer Mike Boss talk about the future of the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. “There never will be (another) dam here,” he stat- ed. “The salmon rehabilita- tion program is too important and too vital.” Over 750,000 salmon and trout a year are released into the Seymour River from a hatchery at the foot of the Seymcur Falls Dam. John Fair, who lives near the LSCR on Purcell Way, said that the Lillooet Road exten- sion — a three-kilometre hard-packed stretch of dirt road that runs from the North Vancouver Cemetery to the Rice Lake parking lot — is constantly teeming with cars and is unsafe for cyclists and in-line skaters. He says he can’t even cycle the road anymore because of the car fumes and dust clouds kicked up on hot summer months. “When I first lived here that road was very seldom used,” he said. “Now it’s become a nightmare. You can’t ride or watk on it because of all the cars.” He suggested that the GVRD.. consider — building another trail — for cycle, skate i Pink Pesaro, 4+ Blooms” ly Sumner Flowering Bulbs and foot traffic only — on a iece of hydro right-of-way land that runs adjacent to the Seymour River. If not, he hoped the cur- rent dirt road could at least be paved to help diminish the dust. Also sitting on the LSCR steering committee are North Vancouver City Mayor Barbara Sharp, New Westminster Mayor Helen Sparkes, Coquitlam City Coun. Jim Stangier and Langley Coun. Gayle Martin. Four more workshops will be held in the coming months. 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