Scenario

Northland Properties and Aquilini Investment Group of Vancouver engaged my services as a natural resource planner to evaluate the necessary changes to the proposed Garibaldi at Squamish Ski Resort project before the the project can progress. The BC Environmental Assessment Office concluded in 2010 that the project required additional environmental considerations and strategies to prevent detrimental impacts on vegetation, fish and wildlife habitat. The Resort Municipality of Whistler suggested that skiing may not be viable in the area due to elevation limitations.

Methodology

Ecologically sensitive protected areas including old-growth forest management zones, ungulate habitat areas, and riparian fish habitat corridors were incorporated into the analysis using the Add Surface Information, Buffer, and Clip tools. These layers were used to calculate the percentage of land requiring protection (where no development is permitted). As a result, potential ski resort locations were restricted to areas outside of these protected zones, above the 600-meter snowline, and within the defined project boundary. This approach minimizes environmental and economic impacts while maintaining ecological viability, ultimately identifying 39% of the project area as protected land. Nearly a third (32 %) of the project area is below 600 m elevation.