We also improve the habitat of Salish Creek, also known as Acadia Creek. Salish Creek is a small, single order stream, located near the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, at the northern edge of Point Grey, the peninsula on which UBC is located. Its headwaters also originate in Pacific Spirit Regional Park.
Musqueam Creek, located on the south side of the peninsula (see map above) has managed to maintain its wild stock of salmon as Vancouver has grown and developed. Enhancement activities there have bolstered declining populations, however, protection has been assured through efforts of the Musqueam Ecosystem Conservation Society (Musqueam Ecosystem Conservation Society, 2011). On the north side, the Spanish Bank Streamkeepers daylighted and restored riparian areas (Case Studies Spanish Bank Creek, 2002), thus precepitating the formation of an improved fish passage and creating overwintering habitat. Furthermore, with the reintroduction of hatchery stock, spawnwers now return (Urban Streams, 2002). Riparian vegetation: is mostly an undisturbed mix of deciduous forest mixed with plant species representative of a Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic unit whicg are dominated by mature Douglas fir and bigleaf maple trees.
The source of the headwaters is unknown, but it is believed that the stream has input from overland flow on the gently sloping UBC Peninsula. There appears to be a convergent point near Chancellor Boulevard and Acadia Road in a works yard owned by the University Endowment Land (UEL) and jointly occupied by UEL Operations and Metro Vancouver Parks where the stream takes shape and descends sharply from the plateau into a canyon. The steeply graded upper section cuts through glacio- fluvial sediments to meet the valley bottom where it flows through a low sloping gradient to the sea.
Typical of urban stream environments, this creek likely has many inputs yet to be documented. It is expected that pulses from rain events accumulating on paved or hardened surfaces in the area contribute to flow regimes in-stream. Additionally seepages from the UEL works yard and adjacent houses could make significant contributions to water volume and quality. At least one known culvert under a road potentially impedes fish movement.