What will happen to the Iona Sewage Lagoons that we birders love so much?

In Dec, 2018 I posted on the blog about the fact that the Iona sewage lagoons that we birders love so much will be decommissioned in the up coming years. They will be building a new sewage treatment plant and the birds will be the ones who lose out.. us too.

 All of the ponds will be decommissioned one by one starting in the summer of 2019 and ending by the summer of 2023. The lagoons will be dredged and dried out and not refilled. It is really sad we will lose them.There is a slim potential that a treatment wetland such as Blakeburn Lagoon could go into the lagoons but the amount of waders will never be the same even if done but it certainly is better than nothing. However, YVR voiced their opinion and are super reluctant to make them into wetland ponds because they believe it would attract Canada Geese which could get in the way of airplanes. This will especially be a concern if the new runway goes in, right through the south jetty. There is talk of foreshore restoration and connecting freshwater ecosystems but no concrete details as to what that will entail yet.
Where the new runway would cross through the south jetty at Iona 

 You can read the upcoming summary from the last meeting that was held April 4, 2019 HERE. I was invited but was unable to attend. They are proposing paid entry to a portion of Iona as well which is unfortunate.

 The other threat to Iona is the new runway they want to build right through the park which will affect the shorebirds and ducks even more than the decommissioning of the sewage lagoons. If these two things both occur we can almost forget this site as an important bird area.

 All we can do now is voice our opinions at the subsequent meetings and stand up for the birds and the sensitive environmental areas. We also need to write our MLAs and MPs.

 This is such a critical area for migratory birds and birders we can't be passive.

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