Imagery (c) 2023 TerraMetrics
The Átl'ḵa7tsem/Howe Sound watershed includes a majestic fjord perched spectacularly on the edge of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its landscape is dramatically scenic and encompasses remarkably diverse habitats capable of supporting a vast variety of marine and terrestrial wildlife. Howe Sound provides critical ecosystem services: exceptional conservation, ecological, recreational and aesthetic values.
An integral part of the homeland of the Squamish people, known as Skwxwú7mesh Uxwumixw, the region has served to provide the essentials of life for the Squamish and other Coast and Interior Salish people for the past 10,000 years or more. The marine and terrestrial resources of the Sound and its surrounding forest-clad mountains continue to be a valuable source of social and ecological goods and services for all who live in its sphere.
The Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound Region is outlined below on the map. Three zones required for UNESCO Biosphere Regions; Core protected areas, Buffer zones and Transition Areas lie within the Biosphere Region boundary (red line). Our Core areas are the five high elevation parks, Tantalus, Garibaldi, Pinecone Burke, Cypress and Tetrahedron, the Este-Tisiwth/Sigurd Creek Conservancy, and the Howe Sound Glass Sponge Reef Marine Refuges.
This map illustrates other areas of protection and land use. The boundary follows the same area as the Provincial Cumulative Effects Assessment; it is the partial watershed, from height of land to bottom of the ocean floor.
The biosphere region is 218,723 hectares, 84% terrestrial and 16% marine. 5% of the terrestrial is privately owned or “urban” and 89% of the terrestrial area is under the management and shared stewardship of the Province of BC and First Nations. Approximately 42% of the terrestrial area within the region is under some form of management for conservation values. This is the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) people. Tseli-Waututh, Musqueuam, Sto:lo, Shishalht, St’at’imc-Lillooet Tribal Council, In-shuck-ch, Katzie, Lil’wat and First Nations within the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group have claims in the region.
The map was produced by the Wilderness Committee based on publicly accessible data and data made available by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources and Rural Development.
Photos from around the region by K.Hemmelgarn, B. Turner, B. Henwood, T. Turner, A. Taylor, T. Cyr, R. Simons, K. Krug