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TELL THE CITY OF NANAIMO AND VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY TO RESTORE VITAL WILDLIFE HABITAT Adjacent to Vancouver Island University (formally named Malaspina University-College located in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada) is a provincially registered sensitive area known as, "Jingle Pot Marsh" – a municipal nature park. A small ecological group known as Friends of the Cat Stream has been in a David and Goliath battle with the City of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island University to protect vital habitat for the skittish migratory bird known as the Virginia rail and other wildlife values associated with the wetland area. As local volunteer stewards, Friends of the Cat Stream have worked hard as wetland habitat stewards to restore the degraded wetland habitat and the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) located at Jingle Pot Marsh. We are presenting this ecosystem sustainability issue to you in order to raise the environmental alarm and to ask you to help us by writing two short letters. Letters from many different people can make a difference. Please share this story within your own networks and let people know why you are not going to enroll at Vancouver Island University, not attend sports at the Serauxmen Sports field, and not join the Nanaimo Rotary clubs. The marsh restoration campaign is ongoing. We still need to protect wildlife habitat that continues today to disturbed by a municipal asphalt trail that was inappropriately placed across our marsh/SEI and the Mariner Field which is wrongly being used by Vancouver Island University. This multi-sports recreational area specifically overlaps Virginia rail habitat. These sports fields eliminate 50 meters of an 80-meter buffer of vital foraging habitat recommended by Dr. Conway (Author of Birds of North America) and identified in environmental assessment documents for this site. We are also calling for bio-filtration swales to be put in as promised to protect the marsh from automobile runoff from the parking lot. Our municipal decision makers should not have allowed a development project in a wetland area; however, un-principled decision-making has had a negative impact. We need the City of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island University to take an active role in repairing the fragmentation of this critical habitat by moving their noisy Mariner field back and away the wetlands, not using the fields between Oct. 1 to Feb. 29, and the asphalt trail needs to be removed from the marsh. Just as important is that an accredited university is involved. We can’t let Vancouver Island University fall out of the fold of institutions of higher learning and promoters of good environmental standards. We can let them know the world is watching, and that we have choices when it comes to visiting Canadian communities and choosing our educational institutions. “As far as natural spaces are concerned, the land that is saved must be saved within the next few years. Our options are expiring -- we have no luxury of choice. We must look to this landscape as the last one. For us it will be.” – William H. Whyte. Background: Canada is known for having 14% of the planet’s wetlands. It has been estimated that up to 70% of Canada’s original wetlands have been lost due to development. Unfortunately, the loss wetland habitat continued in Nanaimo, due to municipal decision to create an inappropriate active recreational area next to a Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) and Marsh, which continues to disturb wildlife due to a field-use partnership with Vancouver Island University. A SEI is a joint provincial and federal designation for a highly environmentally sensitive area. As far back as 1999, Malaspina University-College (now called Vancouver Island University) was in a partnership with the local baseball association and Rotary Club (North) to build sports fields on Malaspina campus. However during construction of those fields in an environmentally sensitive area they hit an aquifer of gushing water resulting in fish-threatening sediment entering a fish-bearing creek, known as the Cat Stream. That unfortunate event resulted in Malaspina being fined by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in BC provincial court (Visit: [a link](http://records.viu.ca/www/discover/newsrls/jan00/catstrm.htm) for official news release. Malaspina received a serious black eye for not being precautionary in their environmental due diligence. At that time, Malaspina’s President assured the public by saying, “Malaspina sets very high environmental standards for programs and students... We have taken steps to make sure it won’t happen again.” Friends of the Cat Stream formed a clearer Mission Statement after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans fined the Malaspina University-College for releasing fish-threatening sediment into the Cat Stream Creek. As follows: The mission of the Friends of the Cat Stream is to restore, preserve, and promote the environmental health of the Cat Stream and its watershed. Looking for a new location for sports fields was a hop-skip-and-jump over Third Street to an area that contains a provincially registered sensitive wetland known as Jingle Pot Marsh. Critical wetland is within the 62 acres of the 1651 Jingle Pot Road property, which was acquired by the City of Nanaimo in September of 2000 from the BC Assets and Land Corporation after a strong lobby by the Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association (NMBA) to purchase the Third Street property. Early NMBA documents that promoted the building of sports fields referred to the marsh as a year round swamp. Other areas around the city would have been more appropriate for sports field development, and the Jingle Pot Marsh area was simple the wrong choice. This sensitive wetland became a victim of development because of its proximity to the university. Malaspina contributed of over quarter million dollars that sped up the Phase-2 construction by three years, which expedited the fragmentation of wetland habitat for Vancouver Island University's Mariners Field. We are working to recover and restore this critical habitat! A Third Street Property Master Plan Steering Committee (City sponsored committee of local stake holders) with extensive community input developed nine recommendations, of which Recommendation No. 3 stated, "If an environmental impact study allows for development of ballfields in the western, developable portion of the property, the fields should be single use (with no 'organized' use from October 1 to February 29)". This did not please the sports field developers. I believe behind the scene activities and lobbying resulting in City Council amending the community's recommendation, which effectively supports Malaspina University-Colleges year-round physical education, intramural and intercollegiate programs. As local stewards for the area, the Friends of the Cat Stream and other ecological groups have been in conflict with the City over what they see as the elimination and fragmentation of a sensitive wetland area, and that the public approval process was flawed. A public petition was ignored by City Council. Dr. Conway shared his scientific information on the foraging area need by Virginia rails, and advised the developers of the sports fields of the need for an 80-meter leave strip [buffer zone] from waters edge (high water mark of the South Marsh) to the development in order to protect the habitat of the Virginia rails. Information on the skittish, migratory bird, Virginia rail can be found by visiting the following sites: 1.[a link](http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?value=search&id=129) "About Virginia rail" 2.[a link](http://www.nenature.com/VirginiaRail.htm) "Virginia rail" It was hoped that the developers would consider of J.C. Lee & Assoc. noise concern and the recommendations of Dr. Conway (Associate Professor at Arizona University). It soon became apparent that the City’s and Malaspina’s bureaucrats were not interested in reducing the size of the footprint for development, nor approaching it in a manner that local habitat stewards thought was environmentally conservative. The developers were quick to say they have followed their due diligence under federal and provincial regulation. Many of those regulations have been viewed as environmentally inadequate in Canada by stewardship groups and such organizations as, Sierra Legal Defence Fund and West Coast Law. Another Nanamio environmental group, Buttertubs Marsh Liaison Committee came up with the idea of building a raised board walk bridge over the lowest part of the asphalt trail to allow marsh animals to craw safely underneath, however they informed Friends of the Cat Stream on December 11, 2009 that they couldn't even reach this simple compromise to opening up a wildlife corridor. There was a real sense of portrayal by many volunteer community stewards when the City of Nanaimo forced this unfortunate development on us. With caring people urging them to act responsibly, we can urge Vancouver Island University and the City of Nanaimo to consider their reputation, rethink their decisions, and work cooperatively with Friends of the Cat Stream to restore the environment they have negatively affected. A Nanaimo City Council decision greatly disturbed the SEI at Jingle Pot Marsh when they decided to approve the placement of a 7-meter berm with a 3-meter asphalt trail across it. That decisions was like putting a four-lane highway across a critical wetland and in effect turn Nanaimoites and visitors into evasive species of this environmentally sensitive area. How could a municipality allow this to happen? The un-principled and poor decisions made in Nanaimo has generated many media reports (see below). Many community-based organizations and government official have expressed serious concern about the development of sports fields and the placement of an asphalt trail in the area of provincially registered sensitive ecosystem. It is helpful to review the following accounts: [a link](http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/pet_225_e_30320.html) "Auditor General of Canada website" [a link](http://nanaimonews.livejournal.com/) "Blog/Nanaimo News Bulletin News Report" [a link](http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?p=194289&sid=b66b217dc73f337aa204631fa81dd4b6) "Blog/Globe&Mail News Report" [a link](http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9ebd9841-5a41-4391-9a82-67ba6e4e5861&k=44493) "Times-Colonist News Report" [a link](http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlifeactreview/feedback/5.html) "Click Rory Rickwood to read submission to government website" [a link](http://www.sierraclub.ca/pipermail/syc-sustainable_campuses/attachments/20050922/006048ee/SLDFMediaRelease-0001.pdf) "for Sierra Legal Defence Fund Media Release" Provincial and federal environmental laws have been shown to be very ineffective in stopping a wayward municipal government like Nanaimo for failing in their role in supporting environmental sustainability. Many people and stakeholders have been surveyed for their views on what happend at Jingle Pot Marsh. The following are some views that have been shared: “The existing paved trail through the wetland poses a potential risk to wildlife and may impede movement of wildlife, including species at risk. As a general approach, Environment Canada prefers that travel corridors are available for wildlife.” - The Hon. John Baird, Minister of the Environment “As we see it, our role in this process is to provide pertinent information on the natural history of the Jinglepot Marsh area…The Nanaimo Field Naturalist have been using this area for their entire 30 year history, as an outdoor classroom and as a recreational site. We have put countless hours into caring for it and over the years have hauled many, many loads of refuse out of this are to the local dump. This site is also a key area in our X-mas bird count due to the large number of Virginia Rails and other species using the area. We are dedicated to doing as much as we can to preserving this habitat for the creatures that live there and the people who enjoy them.” – Guy L. Monty, President, Nanaimo Field Naturalists The Jingle Pot Marsh area has the "highest wintering density in Canada of Virginia Rails (a freshwater marsh bird)". – 1997 Environmental Assessment of 1651 Jingle Pot Road, J.C. Lee & Associates report Re: Jingle Pot Marsh – “I documented home range size of both breeding and wintering Virginia Rails in Arizona in my MS Thesis... One might want to protect a buffer equal to the radius (or diameter) of the average home range size for Virginia Rails (1.64 ha during breeding season, and 2.41 ha in winter). If you assume a typical home range is a circle, then the radius of a 1.64 ha home range would be about 65m and the diameter would be about 130m. If you use the 2.41 ha winter home range (perhaps more appropriate for your situation), a circular home range of 2.41 ha would have a radius of about 80m and a diameter of about 160m. Any development that affects the water regime in the marsh is of more importance. Virginia Rails need soft mud or sand within emergent marsh vegetation for foraging and nesting. A drop in the water table could lead to reduction in preferred habitat.” – Dr. Courtney J. Conway, University of Arizona "We have received and reviewed a significant amount of information that would suggest that the proposed development (sports fields) could adversely impact an area of extreme environmental sensitivity that is the habitat of a number of migratory birds, including the Virginia Rail (yellow listed – 1997), rare plant (e.g. Vancouver Island Beggar Tick) and amphibian (e.g. red-legged frog – blue-listed) species and is the headwaters of Cat Stream Creek, a fish-bearing stream. Unfortunately, it seems that from the material we have reviewed the intent of maximizing the useable ground space for sports fields at the expense of the well-documented environmental values the area supports is taking precedence. This is exemplified by the City’s apparent refusal to consider affording an 80 meter set back on the property to protect the habitat of the Virginia Rail.” – John Werring, Senior Staff Scientist, Sierra Legal Defence Fund “Jinglepot Marsh has high wildlife values. The presence of large numbers of Virginia Rails is significant. This uncommon bird is losing habitat in areas such as this where development pressure is intense... The high biodiversity and rare species of the Jingle Pot wetland make the site a conservation priority.” – Jan Kirkby, Conservation Science Ecologist, BC Conservation Data Centre (A joint program of BC Environment, The Nature Trust of BC, Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the US Nature Conservancy) Re: Jingle Pot Marsh – “Apart from concerns regarding water quality impacts, the greatest concerns with playfield development adjacent to the wetlands are noise and effects of night lighting, which may discourage wildlife use or nesting and/or increase predation on nocturnal species.” – from City of Nanaimo commissioned, J.C. Lee & Assoc. Report Re: Jingle Pot Marsh – “Pesticides, lawn care chemicals, road salt, a fuel spill in the parking lot or even something as minor as an unintentional over application of fertilizer could be the final straw that tips the balance against the fish”. – Kevin L. Telfer RPF Bio. Re: Jingle Pot Marsh. “Altered water flow and the use of fertilizers and other chemicals on the adjacent ball fields will likely have an impact on the marsh’s chemistry and temperature.” – Dr. Gordon Hartman, Fisheries and Oceans Scientist (Ret.) “At Jingle Pot you (we) are dealing with a wetland habitat – a relatively rare commodity these days and a habitat that is easily maligned and very easily damaged or compromised. Wetlands have a high biodiversity. I think we all agree that for the Jingle Pot/Catstream headwater we want to maintain and hopefully improve what wetland habitat remains.” – Bill Merilees, (Biologist), Chair, Buttertubs Marsh Liaison Committee “The local area of the Jingle Pot Marsh is a major wintering spot for the Virginia Rail that is being threatened by a campaign to fill in part of the wetlands in order to build baseball fields... I ask that in your capacity as Minister of Environment you give this serious concern careful consideration.” – Reed Elley, MP (excerpt from letter, 2001) Re: Jingle Pot Marsh – “Environment Canada officials have already stated publicly the Department’s concerns with this proposed development. In particular, we have expressed concern about the proximity of the baseball fields to the wetland identified in the Inventory, the possible hydrological effects of the development on the wetland, and the potential effect on wintering Virginia Rails.” – David Anderson, Minister of Environment (excerpt from letter, 2001) “Canadian Wildlife Services’ position with respect to development within Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) polygons is that any further development within them is not condoned. This is based on the very real concern for the continued degradation of sensitive, rare, and fragile ecosystems of East Vancouver – Gulf Island study area. Results from the SEI study - the first of its kind - clearly showed development has resulted in substantial habitat loss and fragmentation. Degradation appears to be ongoing, the net effect being the cumulative loss of these important ecosystems over the entire study area.” – Andrew G. Robinson, Environmental Assessment Officer, Canadian Wildlife Service Re: Beneath the Jingle Pot Marsh area: “Statement of Problem: Portions of the property have been undermined by coal-mine workings . . Prior to redevelopment of the subject property, it may be necessary to conduct remedial works... to arrest further deformation of the overlying strata... the alternative to remedial work is partial condemnation of a site, by building ‘no-build zones’.” – Westwater Mining Ltd, 1999 Third Street Remediation Review Report “Unfortunately, wetland loss continues in Canada. As much as 70 per cent of Canada’s original wetlands have been lost in some areas of the country.” – Ducks Unlimited Canada “Canada has 14% of the planet’s wetlands. Today, Canadian wetlands are under pressure from agriculture, urban and industrial land use development. Recreation activities can either preserve the natural condition of wetlands or be part of their destruction. Many activities such as hunting, fishing and bird-watching are considered non-destructive. How-ever, other recreational activities involving the construction of facilities such as marinas and docks, cottages and beaches are destructive to wetlands.” – Natural Resources Canada “This Department acknowledges efforts of Friends of the Cat Stream to protect the fish and fish habitat value of this marsh, and we recognize that this objective is not possible without efforts from local stewardship groups such as yours.” – Bruce MacDonald, R.P. Bio, Area Chief, Habitat and Enhancement Branch Re: 2006 Letter Writing Campaign – “Thank you for your interest in wetland conservation and good luck with your endeavours!” – Lynette Mader, Communications Manager (Ontario), Ducks Unlimited Canada Shame on Nanaimo! We need to encourage municipalities like Nanaimo to strictly follow environmental guidelines, to adopt better rules for planning, to allow predictability in the land-use process, and to adhere to the principles of enviromental sustainability. The City of Nanaimo can show they have changed by acting on the issues stated above. Restoration of an ecosystem is waiting for their decision to act. We need your help! We encourage people to review our material we have presented and send a letter to the decision makers listed below. Your efforts can make a difference! Please communicate your views to: Board of Governors Vancouver Island University Building 300, Room 105 900 Fifth Street Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5 Email: president@viu.ca and, Mayor and City Council City of Nanaimo 455 Wallace Street Nanaimo, BC V9R 5J6 Email: mayor.council@nanaimo.ca Thank you for your important support! We will remove this protest blog when we have a commitement by our local government to support our restoration campaign. Please write your letters today! Sincerely, Rory Rickwood, Wetland Habitat Steward