Balancing acts

I CRINGE EVERY TIME I pass Bobolink Ridge. I suspect whoever named the street near my home after the threatened bird species meant well. But I can’t help but confront the unfortunate irony in the name: the street is in a new subdivision that replaced the open meadow of tall grasses where the endangered bird was found. It’s certain that urban development has impacted countless species across the nation. Margaret Munro’s feature story (page 32) on balancing urban expansion in Vancouver with protecting the critically important habitat of the Fraser River delta is a prime example of the issues facing communities big and small across Canada. Two examples encapsulate Vancouver’s debate. On one hand, there’s the promise of billions of dollars in new economic activity and thousands of additional jobs forecast in the Port of Vancouver’s plan to the middle of the century. On the other, how will the 600 million to a billion young salmon that inhabit tidal marshes in the area and are already threatened by impacts from climate change and urban development pressures fare when the port’s proposed 108-hectare infill expansion is complete? Mayor Gregor Robertson has decreed Vancouver will be “the greenest city in the world by 2020.” Presumably protecting the Fraser — the province’s longest river — and the wildlife species that depend on it is a part of that plan. The rest of the country will be watching. Will it be a lead to follow? — Aaron Kylie