Community Articles
General News · 2nd March 2020
FOCI - Helen
Friends of Cortes Island would like to thank BC Parks’ staff, and coastal engineer Grant Lamont, for their informative presentation on Tuesday 25th Feb at Mansons Hall, about shoreline protection options for Mansons Park Spit.
Grant, from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, has been employed by BC Parks to investigate the causes of ongoing erosion in the park and develop viable engineering options to reduce erosion, while preserving the natural park setting, as much as possible. He presented his report: ‘Mansons Landing Park Coastal Engineering Options for Shoreline Protection.” at the meeting. The presentation was held to gain feedback from the community.
Grant identified various erosion issues in the park that have resulted over the years. He then set out all potential restoration and mitigation options for tackling them (recognizing some may or may not be feasible). This included everything from measures to reduce the impact of the dock, which appears to be impeding the long-shore flow of sand, to a technique called beach-nourishment using imported sand to replenish eroding areas of beach.
He also highlighted the importance of further investigations, including ecological and archeological studies, as well as ongoing monitoring to track changes occurring on the Spit, to inform any decision making.
The presentation resulted in a lively discussion about possible options and other issues affecting the park, providing BC Parks with lots of useful feedback from the community.
BC Parks will now be conducting further studies, including archeological studies, to inform any potential solutions.
During the evening people also learnt about coastal erosion issues in other BC Parks up and down the coast, and protection and restoration measures that have been implemented elsewhere. They also heard about stewardship work that had taken place on the Spit through a partnership between BC Parks, FOCI and the local community, including fencing, signage, trail improvements and broom removal.
For those who were not present and who like to read Grant’s report it is available from our website
here.
If you have feedback you would like to share with BC Parks, please contact BC Parks at:
ParkInfoVictoria1.gov.bc.ca
Thanks once again to BC Parks for taking the initiative to look into erosion issues in the park, and sharing this with the community.
Grant, from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, has been employed by BC Parks to investigate the causes of ongoing erosion in the park and develop viable engineering options to reduce erosion, while preserving the natural park setting, as much as possible. He presented his report: ‘Mansons Landing Park Coastal Engineering Options for Shoreline Protection.” at the meeting. The presentation was held to gain feedback from the community.
Grant identified various erosion issues in the park that have resulted over the years. He then set out all potential restoration and mitigation options for tackling them (recognizing some may or may not be feasible). This included everything from measures to reduce the impact of the dock, which appears to be impeding the long-shore flow of sand, to a technique called beach-nourishment using imported sand to replenish eroding areas of beach.
He also highlighted the importance of further investigations, including ecological and archeological studies, as well as ongoing monitoring to track changes occurring on the Spit, to inform any decision making.
The presentation resulted in a lively discussion about possible options and other issues affecting the park, providing BC Parks with lots of useful feedback from the community.
BC Parks will now be conducting further studies, including archeological studies, to inform any potential solutions.
During the evening people also learnt about coastal erosion issues in other BC Parks up and down the coast, and protection and restoration measures that have been implemented elsewhere. They also heard about stewardship work that had taken place on the Spit through a partnership between BC Parks, FOCI and the local community, including fencing, signage, trail improvements and broom removal.
For those who were not present and who like to read Grant’s report it is available from our website
here.
If you have feedback you would like to share with BC Parks, please contact BC Parks at:
ParkInfoVictoria1.gov.bc.ca
Thanks once again to BC Parks for taking the initiative to look into erosion issues in the park, and sharing this with the community.