McKee Peak is a unique gem of nature in Abbotsford that is under immediate development pressure. The adoption of the McKee Neighbourhood Plan bylaw amendment on June 26th, 2023 means several important tools needed to ensure its protection were overlooked.
The City of Abbotsford has created a Neighbourhood Plan for McKee Peak at the western end of Sumas Mountain. The future development will create homes for 20,000 people within 769 hectares, which is largely undeveloped and forested. It contains numerous streams, wetlands, and waterfalls, and provides habitat for wildlife, both common and rare.
The plan will have a huge impact on the forests, the wildlife that live there, and the beloved trail system used by outdoor enthusiasts from all over.
FVC Habitat Protection Committee
The area is heavily forested, with the highest percentage of tree canopy cover in all of Abbotsford.
Significant amounts of mature trees and soil will be negatively impacted – forests are nature’s best way of mitigating the impacts of climate change.
The trees, soil, and streams absorb and slow rain water before it enters the floodplains below.
Once removed, the beneficial services these established forests provide to the community will be lost forever.
Large tracts of habitat will be lost. The plan proposes to leave habitat hubs connected by narrow corridors to be used by the wildlife to live and move about. This will negatively impact their survival and increase human conflict.
Animals, both big and small – everything from bears and cougars to mountain beavers and frogs – will be forced to survive in these restricted spaces.
Further habitat fragmentation will occur during development, through the building of roads and detention ponds. This will reduce the limited function of these areas even more.
This area is considered a biodiversity hot spot by experts.
The unique geological conditions that created the spectacular views, caves, and water features also support a variety of species unlike anywhere else in the Fraser Valley.
The loss of biodiversity, in areas such as this, is contributing to our global extinction crisis.
Madrone Environmental Services Ltd. Report to the City of Abbotsford, 2006
Information about the City of Abbotsford’s planning processes for the McKee Neighbourhood, including the approved plan document and presentations to council, can be found on the Let’s Talk Abbotsford Website.
Joanne Neilson, FVC Executive Director
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