Category: Environment & Biodiversity

By: Kristina Swerhun

“I don’t understand why when we destroy something created by man, we call it vandalism, but when we destroy something created by nature, we call it progress.”― Ed Begley Jr.

From the outset and as indicated in Whistler’s first Official Community Plan, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) intended to protect nature. However, it’s difficult to build a resort municipality without impacting nature and, unfortunately, wetlands are located exactly where the RMOW and developers wanted to build—the flat valley bottom. 

Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy, functioning ecosystems upon which all life depends. Wetlands are vital to biodiversity, and not just to the many species that can survive nowhere else. Wetlands also benefit humans by purifying water, protecting against floods and drought, recharging aquifers, and acting as effective wildfire barriers—roles that are increasingly important as the climate changes.  

Whistler’s wetland history

In 2007, wetland loss was the subject of a Simon Fraser University (SFU) study that compared aerial photos of Whistler taken in 1946 and 2003. Researchers found that Whistler’s wetlands decreased by 72%. Note that the study area extended south of Whistler to Daisy Lake, and doesn’t contain earlier and more recent losses, including when the new BC Transit station was built on a wetland near Nesters ahead of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

According to the SFU study, Whistler’s largest wetland area today—which follows the River of Golden Dreams—used to be two to three times its current size. Within this corridor, roughly half of the wetlands were lost to residential development, while the other half were lost to the Whistler Golf Course (1983) and Nicklaus North Golf Course (1996). 

There’s some good news, too. Before Nicklaus North GC opened, 650 people attended a public hearing over concerns about wetlands. This support and advocacy by the then-nascent Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) and others saved 28 hectares (70 acres) of wetland from being filled in by the golf course. Also, the River of Golden Dreams corridor now has protected areas along its length, which is the subject of next week’s article. 

Beavers for the win

The health of wetlands is directly tied to the presence of beavers; one cannot thrive without the other. The 1935 Mammals of the Alta Lake Region report states that “the beaver has been completely trapped out in the district for over 20 years.” Even after the demand for fur stopped, beavers were affected by development and loss of their wetland habitat. Despite these challenges, beavers have been on the road to recovery. In 2024, researcher Bob Brett documented 60 inhabited beaver lodges and estimated that 300-350 beavers live in Whistler. This example of nature’s resilience shows us that recovery is possible, provided we offer life the opportunity to return.

A community-wide effort is essential for protecting Whistler’s remaining wetlands. In 2024, the RMOW developed the Priority Habitat Framework, a plan to help protect Whistler’s most important natural habitat, including wetlands. Another way to protect nature is through grassroots advocacy. When community members speak up about their concerns and show they care for nature, it not only raises awareness—it also fosters hope and inspires others to take action.

By Kristina Swerhun

“I think sometimes we need to take a step back and just remember that we’ve no greater right to be on the planet than any other animal.” – David Attenborough

From Whistler’s first Official Community Plan in 1976 to the most recent, “protecting nature” has consistently been listed as a high priority. I’d like to think the ongoing commitment stems from two reasons. First, protecting nature means protecting biodiversity, which is the foundation of healthy, functioning ecosystems of which we are a component. So, we’re protecting biodiversity because we can’t survive without it. Second, and this requires a slight shift in perspective, I share David Attenborough’s belief that every species has an equal right to exist. So, hopefully, we’re protecting species regardless of their usefulness to humans. 

The first step in protecting biodiversity is to know what species and ecosystems are present and their current health. If we don’t know this information, we have no baseline for understanding what needs to be done to protect and restore ecosystems.

Early biodiversity monitoring efforts

The first report on Whistler’s biodiversity, Mammals of the Alta Lake Region, was published in 1935 by Ken Racey and Ian McTaggart Cowan and lists 42 mammal species. 

Birds were inventoried next, with Racey listing 137 species in 1948. The tradition of “citizen science” in bird studies continued, as Max Götz, Nancy Ricker, and Vicky Troup updated the list to include 175 bird species in 1996, following ten years of monitoring. [Note that today’s birding efforts, under the umbrella of the Whistler Naturalists and led largely by Karl Ricker, Heather Baines and Chris Dale, bring our list up to 274 bird species.]

By 2005, the total number of species documented in Whistler, including mammals, birds, and other species, was approximately 335. What happened next demonstrates to me how much one person can enrich our community. 

Enter Bob Brett: Whistler’s biodiversity champion

Bob Brett is a long-time resident, a Registered Professional Biologist, founding President of the Whistler Naturalists (1999), and founder of the Whistler Biodiversity Project (WBP). Operating since 2004, the WBP is Whistler’s primary source of biodiversity data, gathering information through surveys, engaging specialists, and compiling data. 

One of the primary goals of the WBP is to document species, enabling more informed management decisions that support biodiversity. However, Bob points out that although this is fundamentally true, information alone is not enough. Without political will, biodiversity conservation can get ignored. 

It’s worth noting that volunteers at the Whistler Naturalists have contributed almost half of all WBP records through long-running annual events that Bob founded and continues to lead: Fungus Among Us (since 2004) and BioBlitz (since 2007). Full disclosure: I’ve been volunteering with Bob and the Naturalists since about 2006, and his mentorship is a big reason why I’m so passionate about the nature-related work I do.

In the 20 years since the WBP was initiated, an average of 235 species per year have been added to the list, so today we know at least 5,000 species call Whistler home. Amazing! This number continues to increase annually, thanks to Bob’s commitment to understanding nature. However, the numbers alone aren’t even the most intriguing part. 

Bob’s long involvement with the WBP has contributed significantly to our understanding of Whistler’s natural environment. His name appears on the RMOW’s Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health web page across a range of projects, including Ecosystem Monitoring Reports, Species at Risk Reports, and the Priority Habitat Framework. He has also worked on managing invasive species, studying forest age, and monitoring active beaver lodges. His efforts have helped build a clearer picture of local biodiversity and encouraged others to take an interest in this work.

This is the second in a series of articles that will focus on the impact our resort community has had on nature—successes, challenges, and looking to the future.

Kristina Swerhun is a biologist who has managed the Whistler Museum’s Discover Nature program since 2015 and provides public nature training. She is a long-time Whistler Naturalists volunteer, a Certified Interpretive Guide Trainer, and works with the Resort Municipality of Whistler on the Interpretive Panel Project, and wrote and narrated the Biodiversity 101 video.