Blackie Spit Park: Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Plan - City of Surrey

species include Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor), an oriental
knotweed species (Polygonum sp.), and the horticultural shrub, spurge-laurel (Daphne laureola).
In some cases native species are also the subject of control, such as when managing habitat for a
particular seral stage. Thus, alder (Alnus rubra) or black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) may
be controlled to prevent walling in a part of the estuary, or to prevent the overgrowth of an area
designated as shrub habitat.
3.1.2.3 Integration of Habitats
Enhancement activities are integrated with activities in adjacent MUs in different ways. For example,
the use of intertidal areas by migratory waterbirds is a higher priority than planting or promotion of
large trees in a woodlot; therefore, such plantings are not recommended for areas such as MU 12
where they might obstruct flight paths or contribute to the “enclosure” of an intertidal area. Other
types of integration occur, such as: ensuring connectivity of woody vegetation between MUs (e.g.
between MU 8 and MU 13); managing a transitional zone between grasslands and woodlots (e.g.
between MU 10 and MU 8); and managing habitat complexes such as ditches and adjacent dykes and
hedgerows (MU 6–MU 7), or old-field and woodlot or hedgerow, to form habitat complexes
providing both food and shelter or perches (MU 2–MU 4– MU 5).
3.1.2.4 People Management
In this plan, people management focuses on managing factors that benefit wildlife use, rather than on
ones that enhance the enjoyment of the public. For example, a viewing platform may be proposed
because it will provide a focal point as a substitute for an intrusion into an area, rather than because
of its public benefit per se. For that reason, the design of such structures, other than comments on
appropriate macro design features, is not of concern to this habitat enhancement plan. Other kinds
of people management issues include the placement of trails (Figure 3), access control, and dog
control.
3.2 Methods
The enhancement plan was developed through a process of interaction with the steering committee,
reference to previous recent management plants, and field investigation. Following the gathering and
review of information from those sources, the plans were written for each MU.
The Steering Committee, comprising members of the City of Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture
Department and of the White Rock and Surrey Naturalists, spent two morning on site at the start of
the project to view all parts of the park and provide ideas on the value of the park’s habitat features
and on suitable management activities. Discussions focussed mainly on vegetation management and
on people and dog management, including human use features and facilities. The Steering Committee
also provided feedback at critical stages of the plan development, including a review of the
Management Units (MU) map and MU goals and objectives developed before the individual MU
management plans were written.
Blackie Spit Park: Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Plan – PART 1: Background and Summary 6