The Biodiversity of Richmond, British Columbia Introduction
The municipality of Richmond, British Columbia (map), is an island municipality comprised of 22 islands* located in the estuary of the Fraser River, one of the largest river systems in North America. While the majority of the municipality sits on Lulu Island, other islands include: Barber, Don, Duck, Gilmore (Whitworth), Gunn, Iona, Kirkland, Lion, Lulu, Mitchell (Twigg, Eburne), Richmond, Rose, Sea, Shady, Swishwash, Williamson, and Woodward. Lulu Island is the largest and most developed of the islands, while many of the smaller islands, such as Swishwash, are primarily natural areas. One island, Sea Island, supports the Vancouver International Airport. Richmond is a place of dualities. While the northwest quarter of Lulu Island** has become urbanized in the last 20 years, the majority of Lulu Island remains rural. This includes the areas south of Steveston Highway (to the east of the village of Steveston), between No. 2 Rd and No. 6 Rd and bounded by the south arm of the Fraser River, and areas north of Steveston Highway from No. 4 Rd eastward. Argricultural lands also predominate on the north end of Lulu Island, east of No. 6 Rd and bounded by the North Arm of the Fraser. Prior to settlement, Richmond was a place of marshes, blueberries and fishers. Today, it is easy to forget that we are an island community, and that we sit brazenly in the mouth of this large river. But the Fraser River gives Richmond its flavour, a flavour that few municipalities in Canada experience. The rushing waters of the river, mountain born and mountain fed, clash daily with the tidal salt waters of Georgia Strait and the Pacific Ocean. When the tide is out, we can see the extensive delta sands that surround us. And in spring, when the surrounding snow pack melts, the flood waters rise and shoreline debris--a mix of fallen trees and logs and urban trash--sweeps past us in endless streams into the sea, a reminder of the power of the Fraser. Richmond in 2001 is still a place of blueberries and fishers and farmers, but the vast bogs that once covered more than one-third of the island have mostly given way to agriculture or urban development. The fires of Lulu Island that once were prevalent, written about by E. Pauline Johnson, are no more. The fogs have declined and the fishers cling precariously to their way of life, battered by the changes in the river and the ocean, and the decline of the very fish that are the heart of their community. The farmlands are disappearing as urban sprawl overtakes western Lulu Island. An elaborate dyking system protects us from the rushing waters of the Fraser during flood tides and lend us an artificial sense of security, allowing us to forget our history and our place. By stemming the tidal surges and the floodwaters, and by draining the bogs and marshlands on Lulu Island, we have altered, perhaps forever, the ecology of this place. But most of the other islands remain wild. Waterfowl still fill the sky, and their demanding bugles still make us pause and look up, awed by the immensity of it all. But they can only be a fraction of what was here before European settlement. Richmond, or at least Lulu Island, is now a tamed land. Or is it? * Ross (1989) lists 25 historical islands of Richmond. Today, with infilling and other changes, the municipality recognized 17 islands (Brownlee, personal communication, 2006. ** Note that while much of Lulu Island falls within the municipality of Richmond, the eastern portion of the Island is part of the municipality of New Westminster. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ESTUARY The development of the Fraser delta, and the evolution of its vegetation, is a result of many processes. Margaret North, of the University of British Columbia Department of Geography, has outlined this development, and links the vegetation of the past with the vegetation of today. Other researchers, such as Michael Church and Darren Ham of UBC, are investigating the fluvial geomorphology of the river, its sediment loads and the history of the gravel bars which typify the river further upstream. Page updated January 2009. Contact us. |
