Meg Fellowes is a former president of the Squamish Estuary Conservation Society. She is also a former municipal councillor for the District of Squamish.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be upset with unleashed dogs in Skwelwin’em, the Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area; after all, river otters take up winter residence in boat sheds on the Blind channel making a huge mess and scaring small kids and dogs.
Comforting, but wrong to think of this as cosmic karma.
We don’t like black bears in our kitchens or river otters on our boats; and, birds don’t like galumphing dogs, or human boots in their feeding and resting areas. The heart of biodiversity is the many, less-visible, sometimes seasonal species: shore birds like yellowlegs and sandpipers, traveling ducks like widgeon, pintail and teal.
These birds migrate vast distances and safe refuelling mudflats and meadows are essential for their population survival. Birds such as various thrushes and sparrows depend on safe forested, ground-foraging sites year-round. Unwittingly, humans and their pets degrade these habitats.
Squamish residents, whether recent arrival or generations established, have a choice. Do we want to live in a valley rich with natural wonders, one that contributes to international efforts to maintain biodiversity; or, is it enough that Squamish is just a pretty place?
