Process for updating the Plan
FREMP Accomplishments
Feedback Form
The process of updating the Plan began with the first round of
consultations in June and July 2002. A series of four community
workshops were held in communities around the estuary to hear
from the public on issues of concern, action programs and other
elements they would like to see in a revised Plan.
Since 1994, we have completed many
targets and tasks. Our accomplishments
include:
• Compensation and enhancement
projects have produced a net gain of
92,000 square metres of productive
fish and wildlife habitat.
• Several key studies have been initiated
or continued by FREMP and its
partners, including studies on
contaminated concentrations in water,
sediments and resident fish.
• Sand removal from the river has been
balanced with the “sediment budget”
of the river system.
• A Best Management Practices code
for handling wood debris has been
developed and is now being
implemented.
• Our log storage guidelines have been
adopted by the forestry industry.
• Six area designation agreements have
been completed with municipalities
along the estuary to link shoreline and
upland land use and planning.
• The regional parks system within the
estuary has expanded.
• Significant recreational corridors along
the estuary, such as walkable beaches,
have been protected.
• The number of visits to recreational
sites along the river has increased.
• Archaeological surveys and
assessments have been completed.
Results of these workshops are available on our web site
www.bieapfremp.org.
FREMP staff will also canvass FREMP partners, First Nations and
other stakeholders (e.g. NGOs, industry) over the summer to find
out what they would like to see in the update.
The second round of consultations will take place in the fall, where at
a public event we will review initial findings, summarize input received
at the community workshops, and work to identify elements of a
revised Plan.
Over the winter, we will develop an initial draft, with a view to having
a first draft ready by spring 2003. An initial draft will be posted for
comment on the FREMP web site and sent out to those on our
mailing list. We will hold an open house in the spring of 2003 to get
feedback on the initial draft. The goal is to have a revised Estuary
Management Plan ready for the fall of 2003 for approval by the
FREMP partners.
This flyer presents an outline of the process we are using to update
the Fraser River Estuary Management Plan (EMP).We need your
views and opinions. Please consider the questions below, and use
them as a framework to send us your comments and answers by mail,
fax or email.Thank you!
What do you think are the most important issues facing the Fraser
River estuary? Why are they important to you?
July 2002
You can be part of this consultation
process in a number of ways:
Attend a FREMP public event.Visit our
web site at www.bieapfremp.org or call us
at 604 775 5756 to find out about public
events in the fall and spring.
Answer the questionnaire in this flyer and
send it back to us.
Please rank your top three issues or concerns.
Visit our web site at www.bieapfremp.org
to stay informed.
Subscribe to our mailing list to receive
information throughout the process.
Do you think The Estuary Management Plan’s original six action areas
adequately advance sustainability in the estuary?
Write us a letter or email providing us
with your thoughts about The Estuary
Management Plan and the way it could
be improved. See our contact information
below.
What other action areas would you like to see in the updated Estuary
Management Plan?
FREMP is updating The Estuary Management Plan.
Inside you will find information about the Plan,
the process we are following to update it, and
how you can be involved.
What targets should we be working towards in each of these areas?
Other comments.
Please mail, fax or email your completed questionnaire to the address
shown below.
For more information on the Fraser River Estuary Management
Program, visit our web site at www.bieapfremp.org.
Community Workshops
June and July 2002 (Completed)
FREMP staff canvass partners,
First Nations and stakeholders
Summer 2002
Drafting and review
Winter 2002-2003
Regional public event
Fall 2002
Approval and endorsement
Fall 2003
Initial draft and open house
Spring 2003
If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please indicate your
name, address and email address along with your comments and
answers.This will help us keep you informed as we update The Estuary
Management Plan.
FREMP
(Fraser River Estuary
Management Program)
5945 Kathleen Avenue
Suite 501
Burnaby, BC
Canada V5H 4 J 7
604 775 5756 Phone
604 775 5198 Fax
[email protected]
www.bieapfremp.org
The Fraser River estuary is a unique place
right in our backyard. As one of the largest
estuaries along the west coast of North
America, the Fraser River estuary is a
globally-significant ecosystem. Produced by
the joining of the Fraser River with the Strait
of Georgia, the estuary contains rich habitat
for numerous species of fish and wildlife.The
estuarine marshes support salmon at a
critical stage in their early development, and
provide an important food source and
resting-place for migratory birds on the
Pacific flyway.
Expansive urban settlement has been
concentrated in the estuary. In recent
decades, the population of the Greater
Vancouver region has grown substantially,
with suburban communities locating over
the delta flood plain and transforming the
shoreline. And over the next 20 years, it is
expected that the region will add another
800,000 residents. People move to this area
for its natural beauty and source of
economic opportunities. Residents live or
work along the river, and many of us enjoy
visiting the recreational beaches and parks
located throughout the region.
N O RT H VA N C O U V E R
W E S T VA N C O U V E R
FREMP Vision and Goals
FREMP Action Programs
The Vision of A Living Working River
• Water Quality Management
• Fish and Wildlife Habitat
• Dredging and Navigation
• Log Management
• Industrial and Urban Development
• Recreation
ANMORE
Burrard Inlet
Co q u i t l am R i v e r
N O RT H
VA N C O U V E R
CITY
To improve environmental quality in the
Fraser River estuary while providing
economic development opportunities
and sustaining the quality of life in and
around the estuary.
BELCARRA
COQUITLAM
ette
VA N C O U V E R
Ri
ve
Riv
PITT
M E A D OW S
te
Brun
et
BURNABY
P O RT
COQUITLAM
ou
The FREMP (Fraser River
Estuary Management Program)
area encompasses the coloured
region of the map: 155 square
kilometres of water and land.
Al
Pitt
FREMP Boundary
Respect and further the estuary’s role
as the social, cultural, recreational and
economic heart of the region.
er
P O RT
M O O DY
Goals of A Living Working River
Conserve and enhance the environmental quality of the estuary to sustain
healthy fish, wildlife, plants and people.
Nor t h
ve
r
r
MAPLE RIDGE
Fra s e r River
Sea Island
Ri
NEW
WESTMINSTER
Arm
Barnston
Island
SURREY
ut
rm
hA
ve
r
So
RICHMOND
The Fraser River is an important marine transportation route for
barges to and from Vancouver Island, for deep-sea international
vessels, and for recreational boaters based in local marinas. Log
storage areas located along the estuary are a key component of
forest industry operations, with storage booms required for
temporary log storage prior to processing.
Recognizing the need to preserve the important natural
characteristics and accommodate sustainable human uses of the
estuary’s resources, a number of organizations and agencies joined
forces in the 1980s to create the Fraser River Estuary Management
Program, better known in the community by its acronym FREMP. The
partners in FREMP include federal and provincial agencies responsible
for environmental management, the Greater Vancouver Regional
District, and the two port authorities that depend on the river for
their economic success.
Annacis
Island
Lulu Island
Encourage human activities and
economic development that protect
and enhance the environmental quality
of the estuary.
Sturgeon Bank
Se r
ti
pen
ne
Ri
In the early 1990s, the FREMP partnership developed a policy
document known as The Estuary Management Plan: A Living Working
River. The Estuary Management Plan, which serves as a guide for
decision-making in the estuary, was developed by the partners with
extensive input from members of the public, industry, First Nations,
non-governmental organizations and municipal governments.
LANGLEY
CITY
D E LTA
Westham
Island
Nico
Approved by FREMP partners in 1994, The Estuary Management Plan
was subsequently endorsed by each of the 12 municipalities along the
estuary, in recognition of the need to link what happens on the water
with upland activities such as recreation, housing or commercial
development.
iver
mekl R
Brunswick Point
LANGLEY
Rober ts Bank
Boundar y Bay
W H I T E RO C K
Campb
Semiahmoo Bay
CANADA
POINT
RO B E RT S
U.S.A.
Ri
e ll
ve r
The Estuary Management Plan sets out a vision statement for what we
want to achieve in the estuary: a balance between environmental,
economic and social functions. Broad goals guide the actions of the
FREMP partners in particular, as well as the community at-large. The
Estuary Management Plan also includes a number of action programs
that reflected the priorities of the partnership when the policy was
developed a decade ago.
Eight years on, we have made significant progress. Many of the original
tasks and targets have now been completed. The Estuary Management
Plan has helped preserve and create fish habitat, link water and land
use planning, create awareness of the need to preserve industrial land
for water-dependent businesses, increase recreation along the
estuary, and minimize wood debris in the water (see sidebar of
accomplishments).
In 2001, FREMP produced a monitoring report that looked at
progress using indicators such as fecal coliform counts and net gain of
productive habitat. Monitoring showed that while we have made
progress on a number of fronts, we still have work to do to promote
sustainability in the estuary.
We developed The Estuary Management Plan with the idea that it
would be a living document – that it would incorporate and reflect
changes over time and in this way, remain a valuable guide to decision
making.We need to update The Estuary Management Plan to reflect
current realities and renew the action programs.We think the vision,
goals and principles of the Plan still provide solid guidance for the
management of the estuary, but these need to be confirmed. New
action programs may be needed, and new targets established under
each action program. Some of the existing targets and tasks may need
to be continued.
FREMP remains committed to an inclusive process for consultation
now that it is time to review The Estuary Management Plan.
Consultation with the public is important to ensure that the revised
document reflects the ideas and input of those with an interest in the
Fraser River estuary.
FREMP Partnership
Since 1985, the Fraser River Estuary
Management Program (FREMP) has
been coordinating decision making on
conservation and development in the
estuary among more than 30 agencies
representing federal, provincial and
local governments, port authorities and
First Nations. Six authorities contribute
financial resources and manage the
FREMP partnership.
They are:
• North Fraser Port Authority
• Fraser River Port Authority
• Environment Canada
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• British Columbia Ministry of Water,
Land and Air Protection
• Greater Vancouver Regional District
The FREMP area encompasses 155
square kilometres of water and land
that are outside the Fraser River
dikes.The entire Fraser River Basin
(one quarter of British Columbia)
drains through the FREMP area.