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“Thirteen local governments in five sub-regions of the Georgia Basin / Salish Sea Bioregion participated in the EAP program. The sequencing of the 9 case studies proved consequential and sometimes game changing. While the methodology and metrics are universal, each situation is unique. Understanding what each partner needed as an outcome from the project became a critical consideration in the building blocks process. EAP evolved as one big idea led to the next one. The 19 big ideas are transformative in their implications for why and how local governments would implement Sustainable Drainage Service Delivery,” stated Kim Stephens,

“The Langley Ecological Services Initiative is about compensating rural parcel owners who are willing to set aside areas of their land to protect and/or enhance riparian and woodland assets. The Township posed the question: Is ‘payment for ecological services’ part of an Asset Management Strategy? The Township turned to EAP for a method to find the financial value as well as the worth of these streamside assets. This provides the Township and the community with a defensible asset management approach that is about the asset that will be tied up for the ecological purposes,” stated Melisa Gunn.

The protected stream corridor for Bings Creek is the central feature around which urban development has taken place in this century. Strata parcel development is a dominant land use. It replaces native vegetation from 60% or more of the parcel area with hard (impervious) surfaces and alters what remains. This scale of landscape alteration has a material impact because it short-circuits pathways by which water would naturally reach the Bings Creek channel. “This conclusion is validated by the streamflow history as recorded by the Bings Creek gauging station,” stated Dave Preikshot.

“The Saratoga Miracle Beach study area within the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is defined by its water assets. The presence of wetlands differentiates the Saratoga Miracle Beach EAP Project from other EAP case studies and added a new dimension to the EAP analysis. The CVRD anticipates using this work, together with the Master Drainage Plan and flood mapping work, to inform the development of new regulatory tools and to assist in communicating the value of these natural assets to the public during future community engagement,” stated Darry Monteith.

“Asset management and ecological frameworks are merging closer than ever before. This is good news as Saanich continues to catalogue and valuate storm water natural assets with the intent of establishing resources to steward both hard, linear infrastructure and natural systems alike. Modern asset methodologies can sync well with other frameworks, such as EAP, which provides additional tools and metrics to improve maintenance and management across the District, and in collaboration with our regional partners on such initiatives as the Bowker Creek Initiative,” stated Lesley Hatch.

“The EAP methodology reflects the understanding that landowners adjacent to the stream corridor and setback zone and the broader community share responsibility for and benefit from the condition of the stream as well as the financial and ecological value of the land it occupies. The report suggests a general framework for local governments to consider in using the lens of ecological accounting within Corporate Asset Management Plans,” stated Julie Pisani.

“EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, addresses this question: How do communities decide how much to invest in the natural commons? The EAP methodology and metrics enable a local government to determine the WORTH of the natural commons, with ‘worth’ being the foundation for an annual budget for maintenance and maintenance of ecological assets. Application of the EAP methodology can help to inform an investment strategy for protection and/or restoration of ecological-hydrological function,” stated Tim Pringle.

“The members of the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society have devoted over 10 years of time and energy towards restoring the health of Shelly Creek for salmon and trout. Our volunteers have contributed over $90,000 to the ‘maintenance’ of the creek and its’ fish populations. Our members are impressed with the scope of the analysis brought forward with this EAP application. We can now see how our ongoing investments, as stream stewards, not only can improve the worth of a  creekshed’s biophysical functions, but also improve riparian land values as well,” stated Peter Law.

Like many small creeksheds, Busy Place Creek (Sh-hwuykwselu) lies in more than one authority with jurisdiction within the watershed. Its upland source and discharge to the Koksilah River are in Cowichan Tribes lands, including the Cowichan-Koksilah estuary, which it nourishes. The mid-reach lies in the Cowichan Valley Regional District jurisdiction (CVRD). “Selection of Sh-hwuykwselu as an ‘EAP Demonstration Application’ was made possible by CVRD willingness to participate in a program funded by the governments of Canada and British Columbia,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Through the multi-year strategy to maintain and enhance the lower catchment of Brooklyn Creek, the Town of Comox and its collaborators have provided a working example of understanding the worth of the creekshed, its hydrology, and ecological systems. This effort confirms the need for similar investment in other catchments of the creekshed,” stated Tim Pringle. “The EAP analyses have described what the Town’s residents and key intervenors think the Brooklyn creekshed is worth. The understanding gained will be shared with other local governments.”