Lost Lake's biodiversity is getting blitzed on Sunday.
The benign, friendly invasion by the Prince George Naturalists Club and their friends will be in the form of a walk into the local wetland, toting cameras and notebooks. They will enjoy the scenery and take stock of the flora, fauna and environmental features radiating from the forested lake just outside city limits on the edge of the Beaverly community.
"This will be the second club trip to Lost Lake, this time walking to the lake itself from Big Fir Road," said PGNC spokesman Clive Keen. The group will muster at the Spruceland Shopping Centre parking lot at 8:30 a.m. to arrange car pooling. Their walk in the woods is expected to be finished by about 12:30 p.m.
The results of the so-called bioblitz will be provided to the Lost Lake Trails Committee, a stakeholder group working in dialogue with the Beaverly Community Association, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, the provincial government and other partners to perhaps set the Lost Lake biosphere aside as a protected area.
"Fortunately, as the Lost Lake Management Area is still owned by the Crown, the community has an opportunity to influence how this area will benefit and contribute to its citizens," said Doug Beckett, one of the committee members. "To date, a community-driven planning process has saved these remaining Crown-owned lands from being sold into private ownership with a resulting loss of community access and benefit."
More than just another random spot out in the local woods, Beckett said this particular spot has significant eco-value. It is a miniature, but fully functional model, of the whole region's natural profile. It has all the features of a full-scale watershed, and a representative array of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, mosses and lichens in one compact footprint.
"This example of how wetlands evolve from a state of open water, to wetlands, to wet meadows, to grassy areas could be the subject of much study, by school children and professionals alike, to help understand the complex processes involved," said Beckett.
Plus, it is a key wildlife corridor between the Beaverly and Chilako rural neighbourhoods, and there are very few protected green spaces in either of those places, which are both becoming increasingly built up by residential developments.
Another reason for protecting the lake is its watery circulatory system. It is not only a small-scale model of how the whole Upper Fraser watershed works, it is also a functioning wetland that is naturally processing a large amount of water in its own right.
There are several trails passing through the Lost Lake footprint, but next to nothing in the way of urban development. The general area is building up fast, said Beckett, so time is running out to keep this spot in its natural state.
