Environment & Biodiversity – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Help protect biodiversity from invasive speciesHelp protect biodiversity from invasive species

March 17, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Feature Image: Chinese Mystery Snail at Lost Lake

“Nature once determined how we survive. Now we determine how nature survives.” – Sir David Attenborough

Whistler is fortunate to have the Sea to Sky Invasive Species Council (SSISC) to help protect biodiversity, our strongest natural defence against climate change. SSISC was formed in 2009 to minimize the threat of invasive species—species introduced from other regions, primarily by humans, that rapidly spread and cause significant harm to the environment, the economy, or human health.

It’s often mentioned that invasive species are the second most significant threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. What’s less commonly cited is that both invasive species and habitat loss are driven by economic growth. When we don’t acknowledge economic growth as the primary cause of biodiversity loss, we may believe that, with precautions and technological advances, we can continue to grow forever on a finite planet. However, as Sir Attenborough also has said, anyone who believes this is “either a madman or an economist.”

Some relatively good news among the bad news of invasive species is that, since mass access here was relatively recent (began with the arrival of the railway in 1914), Whistler has been exposed to invasive species for less time than our neighbours in Squamish (mid-1800s) and Pemberton (also mid-1800s when 30,000 gold-rushers passed through). Another positive is that ecologically minded residents have been removing invasive plants on their own initiative for years before SSISC formed. These advantages enable SSISC to now eradicate high-priority invasive plants, such as Scotch Broom, Himalayan Blackberry, and others, from Whistler.

The bad news is that humans spread invasive species, and the Resort is becoming busier, especially in the warmer months when invasives are more likely to spread. One unfortunate example is Whistler’s lakes. Most have been stocked with invasive Rainbow Trout for sport fishing, some as early as the 1920s. Unfortunately, not only did Rainbow Trout displace native Cutthroat Trout, but fish stocking can also introduce other invasive species that hitchhike in transported water and mud. Additionally, lake users who don’t “Clean Drain and Dry” their equipment risk transporting and spreading invasive species. Finally, many released aquarium pets become invasive species, and sadly, Whistler has multiple water bodies where released goldfish are devastating native fish and amphibians.

The Whistler Museum operates its Discover Nature program at Lost Lake every summer, so we’re attuned to the ecology of the lake. We noticed giant snails (up to 6 cm) a few years ago, which seemed out of place, and indeed, they were. They turned out to be invasive Chinese Mystery Snails, and this year their populations grew exponentially—a typical trajectory for invasive species. SSISC confirms they are present in other Whistler lakes as well, but our concern for Lost Lake specifically is that it is the only place in the valley where Western Toads breed. The invasive snail can harm aquatic food webs, which the Western Toad is a big part of in Lost Lake.

We’re looking forward to working with SSISC and the municipality to see what can be done to protect Western Toads from invasive species. How the snails arrived is currently unknown, but could be any of the reasons above or a vector we don’t yet understand. To learn more about invasive species and how you can protect biodiversity, please visit SSISC.ca.

Whistler’s Remaining Old-growth ForestsWhistler’s Remaining Old-growth Forests

February 17, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

“Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular
environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?”
– E. O. Wilson

Featured Photo: Whistler’s old trees are living monuments that have withstood centuries of change. Bob Brett, photographer.

Whistler is fortunate to be surrounded by temperate rainforest, which is essential to Whistler’s
appeal as a tourist destination. Forests have also proven to be highly beneficial for human
mental and physical health. Environmentally, trees are indispensable: they clean the air,
regulate temperature, manage water, store carbon, and provide places for our wildlife
neighbours to feed, breed, and rest. However, not all forests offer the same benefits.
Old-growth forests, defined as undisturbed for at least 250 years, are vital to addressing the
interconnected biodiversity and climate crises. Compared with second-growth forests, which
have regenerated after human disturbance, old-growth forests have a more complex ecological
structure that supports greater biodiversity. Whistler species that rely on old-growth forests
include the Spotted Owl (last heard in Whistler in 1946), Fisher, Goshawk, and a host of lichen,
fungi, mosses, insects and amphibians.

On the climate side, old-growth forests store vast amounts of carbon in living trees, dead wood,
and undisturbed soil. They also have greater climate resilience, and this is where things get
fascinating. A key feature of old-growth forests is that trees of multiple species are connected
below ground by a rich, complex fungal network that shares resources and information. Why
would trees do this? Suzanne Simard at UBC studies these interactions and has said, “Actually,
it doesn’t make evolutionary sense for trees to behave like resource-grabbing individualists.
They live longest and reproduce most often in a healthy, stable forest. That’s why they’ve
evolved to help their neighbours.”

Another way trees help their neighbours is by collaboratively managing microclimates for the
benefit of the entire community—providing shade, buffering wind, and cycling water. This
collaboration is another reason why, when old-growth forests are logged, they are gone forever.
The biodiversity and ecological functions lost are not recovered in subsequent forests, leading
to a loss of what made that ecosystem unique.

Since the early 1900s, Whistler’s forests have been logged extensively, and low-elevation old-
growth forests that once covered the valley are now found only in limited areas. Commercial
logging and thinning have continued by the Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) since 2009,
though old-growth logging was deferred in 2021.

One thing we heard at their latest open house is that the CCF is considering managing old-
growth forests to “increase their resilience to climate change” as part of its broader Climate
Resilience Plan, which focuses on managing multiple forest values, including wildfire risk
reduction. Here things get tricky, because there are often unexpected negative consequences of
humans’ best intentions: interventions intended to solve one problem often create new,
unforeseen issues elsewhere in the complex, interconnected system of nature. Given that old-
growth forests thrive on stability, attempting to manage them doesn’t make ecological sense,
especially since they are already among the most climate-resilient ecosystems on Earth.

To learn more about Whistler’s irreplaceable old trees and forests, look for Whistler’s Old and
Ancient Trees Guide at the Whistler Museum and Armchair Books. It was created by local researcher Bob Brett and the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment
(AWARE). Of note is that virtually all of Whistler’s remaining unlogged forests are over 300
years old, and Whistler’s oldest known living tree, a Yellow Cedar in the Callaghan Valley, is
estimated to be at least 1,250 years old. We are truly privileged to live among these magnificent
trees and forests.

Environment & Biodiversity

We almost lost Lost Lake Park!We almost lost Lost Lake Park!

January 27, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Photo credit: Don MacLaurin volunteering with the Whistler Rotary Club. 1984. Whistler Question Collection

“If you want to believe that the world is terrible, watch the news. If you want to believe that the world is incredible, spend time in nature.” – Austin Perlmutter

It’s hard to imagine Whistler without Lost Lake Park, our largest and most natural municipal park. However, the creation of the park was not a certainty. In the 1930s, as tourism in Whistler (then Alta Lake) grew, guests at Rainbow Lodge (located at what is now Rainbow Park) were taken on excursions to Lost Lake for swimming, fishing, and picnics. However, in the 1940s the Lost Lake area shifted from recreational to industrial. During the next twenty years most of the surrounding forest was logged, while the Great Northern Mill operated on the north shore of Lost Lake.

In the early 1960s residential development was proposed. The timber licenses straddling Lost Lake were about to expire, and developers started staking out lots and preparing to apply for waterfront property. Keep in mind: this was 15 years before the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) was created, so it took someone with vision and determination to ensure this beautiful natural playground could be enjoyed by the entire community and visitors.

Don MacLaurin: Bridge builder

Whistler was very fortunate that Don MacLaurin (1929-2014) made Alta Lake his summer home in the 1960s. Don was a forester for the BC Forest Service and later an instructor at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology), teaching courses in forestry and parks management. He was also a tireless volunteer and mentor. Don strongly believed in the value of getting into the mountains, and he championed the summer enjoyment of Whistler’s landscape.

Don was able to navigate the complicated relationship between industry and recreation. “Don was living and teaching sustainability before the term was invented. [He] was the bridge builder, the guy who looked at both the economics and the ecology,” recalled Arthur DeJong in a 2014 Pique article.

Don was the driving force behind preserving the Lost Lake area as a park. With the help of his contacts at BC Parks, he was instrumental in ensuring Lost Lake Park was designated as a park, preventing privatization and preserving the space in perpetuity. Lost Lake Park opened officially in 1982.

It’s no surprise that today, Lost Lake Park is cherished for opportunities to conserve and appreciate nature. Every year I am filled with hope when I see how the community comes together to protect thousands of tiny Western Toads as they migrate from Lost Lake to the forest. The RMOW leads toad stewardship with permanent features such as signage, fencing, underpasses (for the toads!), and staff expertise. The Museum runs the Discover Nature program at Lost Lake Park, and we often hear that learning about and moving toads away from danger is a favourite activity. I know Don would be pleased!

We can thank Don for more than Lost Lake Park

Don worked as an advisor to the RMOW in the 1980s. When the forestry industry planned to clearcut the south side of Whistler Mountain, which is the first thing everyone sees when driving to Whistler from the south, Don and the council of the day fought back and got that logging license moved. Similarly, when the Ancient Cedars (just north of Whistler) were threatened with logging in 1988, that license was also moved due to Don’s persistence, persuasion and advocacy by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

Don also worked tirelessly on planning the Whistler Interpretive Forest. He mapped and developed the trails and helped people understand the forest and its importance. The suspension bridge spanning the Cheakamus River is called MacLaurin’s Crossing, a fitting tribute to this influential bridge builder.

Environment & Biodiversity

Coexisting with Whistler’s BearsCoexisting with Whistler’s Bears

January 6, 2026 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

Cover Image: Bears in the garbage dump (future site of Whistler Village), ca. 1965. Petersen Collection.

“Like us, animals feel love, joy, fear and pain, but they cannot grasp the spoken word. It is our obligation to speak on their behalf, ensuring their well-being and lives are respected and protected”.

– Sylvia Dolson

Whistler has an ever-evolving relationship with bears. Whistler residents and visitors alike are fascinated by bears and consider it a privilege to share the community with these magnificent animals. However, it hasn’t always been this way.

Not long ago, the general feeling in the community was that Whistler had a “bear problem”, but that missed the point. The issue was never the bears. The real problem is how people handle food and garbage while living in the middle of bear country. Whistler was built in prime black bear habitat, so it’s no surprise that people cross paths with them often. Bears have an exceptional sense of smell and are naturally drawn to anything that offers an easy, high-calorie reward, whether it’s garbage, barbecue residue, or pet food left outdoors.

When a bear discovers easy access to human food, everything changes. They lose their natural caution around people and begin searching for effortless meals wherever they can find them, sometimes causing damage in the process. This puts both people and their property at risk and puts the bears’ lives in danger. Any bear seen as assertive or “too comfortable” around humans is usually killed. When a bear pays the price for human behaviour, it is a preventable loss.

Between 1990 and 2016, 263 bears were killed in Whistler as a result of preventable conflict, an average of 10 each year. A great deal of work has gone into reducing those numbers, and the community has made encouraging progress. Between 2016 and today, 38 bears have been killed — still far too many, but a meaningful decrease that reflects years of education, planning, and commitment to coexistence.

Bears on Whistler Mountain 2018. Nichols Collection.

Efforts to make Whistler safer for bears took shape in 1995 with the creation of the Get Bear Smart Society. The organization focused on reducing human-caused problems for bears through education, science-based solutions, and community collaboration. Whistler is fortunate that Sylvia Dolson served as Executive Director for 21 years. Shortly after arriving in 1996, she read a newspaper headline about a “garbage bear” being destroyed, and that moment sparked her dedication to advocacy.

Sylvia founded the Bear Working Group, bringing together municipal staff, enforcement agencies, conservation officers, waste management partners, Whistler Blackcomb, and community members. This collaborative approach became the backbone of Whistler’s progress. Under her leadership, the community strengthened education, encouraged responsible behaviour, and worked to reduce attractants that bring bears into conflict.

In the late 1990s, the municipality began installing bear-resistant garbage cans and updating bylaws addressing attractants. These steps, paired with sustained education and enforcement, significantly reduced conflict over time. In 2010, Whistler applied for Bear Smart Community status, a provincial program that recognizes communities addressing the root causes of human-bear conflict.

Whistler achieved Bear Smart Community Status in 2011, a milestone reflecting the community’s willingness to take responsibility for living in bear country. Before leaving for the Sunshine Coast in 2017, Sylvia was recognized by the municipality for her years of service and her leadership on behalf of bears. What began as grassroots advocacy has grown into an established, long-term program — a powerful example of what is possible when people choose compassion, responsibility, and respect for the wildlife that shares their home.

Category: Environment & Biodiversity

Help protect biodiversity from invasive speciesHelp protect biodiversity from invasive species

Whistler’s Remaining Old-growth ForestsWhistler’s Remaining Old-growth Forests

We almost lost Lost Lake Park!We almost lost Lost Lake Park!

Coexisting with Whistler’s BearsCoexisting with Whistler’s Bears