Conservationists call out trampling of sensitive Surrey park

Destiny Greig and her partner Alex Leeder visit Blackie Spit in Surrey, B.C., whenever they can. It's a modest peninsula with a single path running up the middle.

There are native grasses, plants, a few old logs lying around and seemingly endless mud in almost every direction.

But for the pair, Blackie Spit is special because of its abundance of birds — some particularly rare ones, and many of which have flown thousands of kilometres as they make a quick stop during their migrations to rest and feed.

"This spot brings some of the best migratory birds. There's been 177 species logged alone this year," said Leeder, who has personally spotted more than 90 species at the park.

But on the weekend, the couple was unpleasantly surprised with what they found when they arrived at Blackie Spit: dozens of people off the path and all over the sensitive grass and beach habitat.

"There was tents set up, picnic blankets, lots of people running around, a couple people in the salt marsh, like right in there," said Leeder. "I think we were almost the only ones on the pathway."

Greig said a killdeer was flying around, pretending to have a broken wing to draw people away from its nest, but with so many people, there were only a couple birds brave enough to hang around the spit.

"We all make mistakes," she said, but added that City of Surrey staff have recently updated signs that clearly warn people that it's an environmentally sensitive area, they should stay on the path and things like tents, picnic blankets, bicycles, chairs and lawn games aren't allowed.

There's a wooden fence around the sensitive area and visitors have to pass through a gateway with multiple signs about the rules.

For Marg Cuthbert, president of the Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society, the weekend scene at the spit didn't come as a surprise. She has spent years working on conservation efforts at Blackie Spit, and has also seen members of the public disregard the rules as they look for more space to enjoy the area.

"You can see how people are looking for other areas, so they're going into the environmentally sensitive area just to be able to set up their own quiet family activity or meal or whatever, but that doesn't mean it's OK," said Cuthbert.

She said the trampling destroys the plants that hold the dune together, leading to erosion — and for Cuthbert, the failure lies with the officials.

"I'm very sad. It's very demoralizing to not see the political will here to allocate resources to protect these beautiful, very, very important places," she said.

Viveka Ohman, a co-ordinator with White Rock and Surrey Naturalists who has also spent years working on habitat restoration and education at Blackie Spit, is — like Cuthbert, Leeder and Greig — an enthusiastic birder. Some of her favourites that she's seen this year at Blackie Spit include a marbled godwit, willet, and long-billed curlew.

"This area has a huge array of mud flats and it provides fuel for the birds: invertebrate organism, biofuel on the surface. And they fly these incredibly long distances, you can't imagine — all the way from Alaska down to South America," said Ohman.

Like Leeder, Greig and Cuthbert, she says she has seen people demonstrating general disregard for the birds' habitat, including a dog allowed to chase birds and a trio of young women enjoying a mud bath in the tidal area last month.

"I've seen people picnicking here and I've asked them to leave, so of course there's confrontations," Ohman said. 

For Ohman, the solution is simple: step up bylaw enforcement and start handing our fines.

The City of Surrey declined an interview request, but said in a written statement that with signs and information online, people were encouraged to stay on the central path. Visitors were also encouraged to report bylaw non-compliance, said the statement.

When CBC News attended the park on Tuesday, two bylaw enforcement officers were patrolling the spit. They said they were mainly there to enforce dog bylaws and ensure people weren't partying on the beach. Asked if they could issue fines for people trampling sensitive habitat, they said they could enforce any rules included on the signs.