Parks and Protected Areas
A conservation land requiring a special level of protection and management may sometimes be designated as a "wildlife management area". This designation under Section 4 of the B.C. Wildlife Act gives the ministry additional tools to manage the land and associated land uses.
The following are Wildlife Management Areas in the Lower Mainland. Brochures for Pitt-Addington Marsh and South Arm Marshes have been created. These contain general information about the management area as well as history, access and facility, recreation and viewing highlight information. Each also has a detailed map of the area. Please follow the links to view these brochures.
Please note: Boundary Bay and Sturgeon Bank have provincial protection as Wildlife Management Areas but currently are not designated by the provincial government as Ramsar sites although they meet the criteria ten fold.
Over the past decade, six Crown land reserves have been established in the lower mainland for designation as a wildlife management area (WMA) under the Wildlife Act. Five of these reserves, which are administered by the Ministry of Environment, have yet to be designated. These proposed WMAs were established as reserves through wide consultation, and there continues to be strong interest in seeing these areas designated.
Bert Brink (McGillivray Slough)
- The 736 hectare reserve, located at the confluence of the Sumas and Fraser Rivers, provides habitat for red and blue listed species including peregrine falcon, bald eagle, and marbled murrelet, and spawning habitat for white sturgeon, salmon and steelhead trout.
- With loss of wetland habitat throughout the lower mainland, these lands have become increasingly important as wildlife habitat within the Fraser River floodplain.
- Two parcels of land owned by The Nature Trust of B.C. (totalling 27.4 hectares), and leased to MoE for management, will be included in this WMA.
- In recognition of the life long commitment of Vernon (Bert) Brink to conservation in the province and his work on protecting this area - the WMA will be designated in his name.
McGillivray Slough
Serpentine
- The Serpentine reserve includes 71.3 hectares of deltaic marsh and agricultural lands that provide habitat and forage for a rich diversity of migratory waterfowl and other species.
- The reserve is on a major flyway for migratory waterfowl including mallard, pigeon, pintail, green-winged teal, Canada geese and white-fronted geese. It is also habitat for bald eagles, ospreys, peregrines, and great blue herons and passerine birds such as song sparrows, black-capped chickadees and spotted towhees.
- The Serpentine property has been managed as a wildlife area in partnership with Ducks Unlimited since 1973. Ducks Unlimited manages forty acres of the reserve as forage crops in order to attract waterfowl and reduce crop damage on adjacent agricultural lands.
Pemberton Valley Wetlands
- The Pemberton Valley Wetlands includes over 766 hectares of low elevation wetlands and riparian areas within the upper Lillooet River floodplain.
- Moose and grizzly bears frequent the wetlands, which are also home to black-tailed deer, black bear, and Townsend's big-eared bat. Waterfowl including trumpeter swan, bufflehead, and ring-neck ducks are found in the wetlands, and other bird species such as short-eared owl, American bittern, great blue heron and green heron have been recorded in the area.
- The Lillooet river floodplain was pursued for conservation due to the significance of its highly productive wetland and riparian communities. These areas provide regionally significant habitat for a diversity of wildlife and support salmonid (and non-salmonid) fish populations.
Harrison-Chehalis
- This reserve includes 1,400 hectares of river and delta habitats along the Harrison and Chehalis rivers which support critical staging and wintering habitat for bald eagles and trumpeter swans, and significant spawning habitat for salmon and white sturgeon.
- The Nature Trust of B.C. owns two properties, located within the Chehalis River delta and totalling 200 hectares, which will be included in the wildlife management area.
Harrison-Chehalis
Roberts Bank
- The proposed Roberts Bank WMA includes 8,704 hectares of intertidal and nearshore subtidal habitat in the Fraser River delta, adjacent to the Delta port and Tsawwassen ferry terminal.
- The Fraser River delta was designated an Important Bird Area as the area provides critical life history functions for a wide variety of bird species.
- Trumpeter and Tundra Swans winter within the estuary along with Lesser Snow geese, Black Brant and Atlantic Brant. Great blue herons, which feed year round on the intertidal marshes of the proposed WMA, have been reported in numbers of over 200 herons at one sighting. Shorebirds, including Western Sandpiper, Dunlins, and Black-belled Plovers are dependent on these inter-tidal areas for forage.
Ecological reserves are areas selected to preserve representative and special natural ecosystems, plant and animal species, features and phenomena. Scientific research and educational purposes are the principal uses of ecological reserves.
Click here for more information and listings of Lower Mainland Ecological Reserves.
The Lower Mainland is home to many beautiful Provincial Parks that offer a wide range of activities. For more information and park listings please visit the BC Parks website.
Click here for information on Nature Conservation Areas, such as the Conservation Area at Maplewood Flats in North Vancouver and the Corrigan Nature Sanctuary.
The following are links to regional district parks within the Lower Mainland:
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