Regional government Metro Vancouver has purchased a private property on Eagle Creek in Burnaby Lake Regional Park for $2.3 million.
The one-acre property sits atop a section of Eagle Creek, and is located across the road from the Burnaby Lake Nature House at 4519 Piper Ave.
Metro Vancouver, which manages the park, said the acquisition is a chance for ecological restoration and enhancement.
Salmon use Eagle Creek extensively for spawning.
Markus Merkens, a natural resource management specialist for Metro Vancouver Regional Parks, said the purchased land contains important habitat opportunities for the park.
The creek is also home to cutthroat trout, crayfish and various insects which are a food source to fish.
“The diversity of species that are within Burnaby Lake are still quite significant and continue to exist even with all the pressures of ... the urban landscape around them,” Merkens said.
Metro Vancouver will further examine how restoring the land can fit into improving the ecological health of the park.
It hopes to reduce the invasive plant species on the property, including English ivy, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan blackberries and yellow lamium. It intends to provide shade to the creek, to ensure the water is cool enough for fish to live.
There is potential for the site to include public use.
Currently, there is a house on the property which will be deconstructed.
The purchase was completed in February 2022.
In 2021, Burnaby Lake Regional Park saw nearly 510,000 visitors, up almost 20% from the past two years.
