The Mount Arrowsmith BIosphere Region Research Institute and BC Nature plan to jointly conduct case studies on five properties owned by the Town of Qualicum.
The areas focused on include District Lot 10, Berwick Wellfield, Grandon Creek Ravine, as well as the Milner Gardens and Woodland.
Graham Sakaki of the MABRRI appeared as a delegation at council's regular meeting on Sept. 11 to seek permission from the town council to allow them to conduct the studies.
The objective, Sakaki indicated, is to determine if the five properties could be considered other effective area-based conservation measures or protected areas.
If the sites earned PA or OECM designations, they can also contribute to Canada's 30 by 30 goal, which is to conserve 30 per cent of the country's land and water by 2030.
Sakaki said the five different study sites make up 6.7 per cent of the Town of Qualicum Beach's land base. And if the Heritage Forest is added to the mix, the town would be close to 10 per cent of protected areas including the Parksville Qualicum Beach Management Area.
"It's pretty far from 30 per cent but at least at 10 per cent which is a good news story and potentially where we could work with BC Nature in the future to look at some of the other municipality owned lands to see what that might look like whether there should be considered as OECMS in the future," said Sakaki.
The proposed research may include date collection related to rare and threatened or endangered species and habitats, natural ecosystems, ecological intactness, range restricted species, important species aggregations, ecosystems especially important for specific life stages of different fauna and species important for human uses which may include medicinal traditional or ceremonial uses of First Nations population.
Sakaki said the case study will be financed through leftover money from a 2021 funding that was granted by Environment and Climate Change Canada. He informed council while they are not asking for cash donation, they are requesting a minimal amount of staff time, about two hours for each case study.
"This is to determine what historical data there might be that we can use to enhance our case study report," said Sakaki.
Potential benefits Sakaki cited include creation and template for municipal land assessments in the future on only in Qualicum Beach or in the Mount Arrowsmith Biodiversity Region but across Canada. This will also portray Qualicum Beach as a leader among the municipalities in B.C. and Canada at piloting innovative projects and efforts that support global biodiversity.
A staff report is expected to be presented to council at next meeting that will help council consider support for the proposed case study.
