Suggested Visual Art
• adapt Civic Address Map 7000 A (Nester’s, White Gold & Spruce Grove) or other similar map showing wetlands
• highlight/label White Gold Wetlands area (PARK) just south of Nancy Greene Drive
• highlight/label The Boot Pub
• highlight/label the trails around the wetland area (the major trail runs from Nancy Greene Drive — just before the bridge across Fitz to White Gold — to the south along Fitzsimmons Creek)
WET & WILD: The amazing truth about Whistler’s Wetlands
Welcome to the White Gold wetlands
For anyone familiar with the walk to The Boot Pub from the village (or the stumble back) using Blackcomb Way, you would probably recognize the area called White Gold Wetlands (also known as the Fitzsimmons Creek Wetlands). For those of you unfamiliar with the area, the White Gold Wetlands are located west of Fitzsimmons Creek, between the Montebello housing complex and White Gold Estates. This local wetland, protected as a municipal park, encompasses an area of approximately 2.5 hectares and is classified as an open shallow water wetland system.
The White Gold Wetlands contain wet bulrush/sedge meadows, and several open ponds buffered by shrub thickets and groves of large coniferous trees. It’s a classic example of a functional wetland consisting of many wildlife and vegetative treasures specific to this area – right in the backyard of Whistler Village.
Historically, the White Gold Wetlands would have served as a floodplain for Fitzsimmons Creek, soaking up flood level flows like a sponge and releasing them slowly in drier periods. Did you know that the amenity stream (the constructed stream running through the Village by the Brewhouse Pub) is drawn from Fitzsimmons Creek to flow through the village, into the White Gold Wetlands and back into Fitzsimmons Creek? Water quality is currently being tested in the White Gold Wetlands to ensure that water remains clean and healthy for fish, bugs, birds and other wildlife.
Have you noticed the "sensitive habitat" signs by the pond as you walk north down Blackcomb Way? The varied ecological zones of the White Gold Wetlands support many species of wildlife, from cute furry fauna to the real creepy crawlies. Traces of bears can be found throughout the wetlands – check out the trees along the trail for fresh claw marks. At this time of year, the bears are probably munching on the skunk cabbage (the smelly big-leafed plants with yellow flowers) which serves as a big part of bear nutrition before the berries turn ripe.
We’ve also heard rumours of a bear den tree in the White Gold Wetlands – let us know if you can spot it from the trail! Bears aren’t the only furry fauna to be found – black-tailed deer, small mice and voles, snowshoe hares, martens, coyotes, raccoons, and minks also live in or use this area. And don’t forget about the busiest critters, the beavers, which are extremely active in the White Gold wetlands.
When you see their lodges and signs of nibbling, know that beavers play a big role in helping to maintain the functional integrity of the White Gold Wetlands by creating dams and ponds.
The White Gold Wetlands might also be called a birder’s delight. You’d be amazed at the diversity of birds found in this small but rich wetland habitat. In 1999, 28 bird species were observed in this area! The large mature trees on the fringes of the wetland provide great habitat for raptors, woodpeckers, owls and other birds.
For those of you who love the slimier, less furry creatures, the White Gold Wetlands has treasures for you, with healthy populations of frogs, snakes, newts and salamanders.
If you’re into plants, go have some fun identifying the wild vegetation in the White Gold Wetlands. Learn the difference between the many types of wetland grasses, sedges and rushes. Play with the fuzzy cattails, and see if you can see a tailed frog leaping from yellow pond lily to yellow pond lily. Look up in the trees to catch a glimpse of the common witch’s hair lichen (an indicator of good air quality), but watch out for the devil’s club.
If you’ve never explored this area before, you might be surprised by one of the special treats the White Gold Wetlands area has to offer – if you continue on the trail past the southern end of the wetlands, you’ll be amazed by the groves of enormous western red cedars and Sitka spruce trees adjacent to Fitzsimmons Creek. It would almost take our whole AWARE Valley Bottom Wetlands Committee to get our arms around just one of these beautiful giants!
This year, AWARE and the Whistler Fisheries Stewardship Group (WFSG) have joined forces to raise awareness about Whistler’s local wetland habitats. One of our big partnership projects this summer will be to design and construct an interpretive viewing platform, possibly on the edge of the White Gold Wetlands although the site is not finalized. The viewing platform will contain interpretive signage and is aimed at raising awareness of local wetland habitat features and functions.
Come explore the White Gold Wetlands with AWARE. Meet us in the parking lot of The Boot Pub at 10 a.m. every Sunday throughout May for a walking tour of this amazing little piece of wetland! If you want to check out the area on your own time, you can hop on the trail across Nancy Greene Drive from The Boot Pub. Hang a right just before the Fitzsimmons Creek bridge and you’re in the wetlands.
Don’t forget, stay on the trail and keep your dog on a leash so as not to disturb the sensitive wetland habitat. Call AWARE at 604-932-4457 or e-mail us at aware@direct.ca for more information on our wetland initiatives.
Stay tuned for next week’s WET & WILD episode to find out more about the magnificent Millar Creek Wetlands out by Function Junction. This amazing area is one of Whistler’s best kept secrets but we’re about to let the cattails out of the bag.
