Prior to development, soft shorelines in Burrard Inlet supported eelgrass beds, salt marshes, clam beds, and forage fish beaches, sustaining many Tsleil-Waututh harvesting practices. Bull kelp forests were also abundant – Nation Members can still remember a time when the water was so thick with kelp that it was difficult to paddle through. Urbanization and industrialization have since caused extensive shoreline hardening and alteration reducing the area available to support these critical habitats and the harvesting practices they support.^4,5,6,7

TLR prioritizes and supports the restoration and recovery of a diversity of habitats and species (including kelp) to restore the health of Burrard Inlet.^8,9 Given the extensive cumulative loss of soft shoreline habitat throughout the inlet, restoration actions should avoid further shoreline hardening and associated impacts to nearshore ecosystems. With the information provided in the guidance document, TLR hopes restoration practitioners – especially those working within regulatory contexts – can implement kelp restoration approaches that do not rely on shoreline hardening and instead prioritize the active recovery of q̓am̓ in səlilwət.

This work has largely been funded by the City of Vancouver, World Wildlife Fund Canada, KRI and the Burrard Inlet Environmental Science and Stewardship Agreement. Field and lab components of the project were supported by SeaChange Marine Conservation Society, Pacific Science Enterprise Centre, and Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. Artwork was created by Christopher Overes, and photos were supplied by KRI.

For more information about TLR’s kelp restoration and stewardship efforts, please contact Camryn Good, Environmental Specialist – Land, Water, and Environment, at camryngood@twnation.ca.