I live in Steveston BC, a historic fishing village on the southern end of the Fraser River. The town is named after Manoah Steves. Town development in Steveston began in 1880 after the Steves family arrived around 1877-1878. Stevestons location makes it a prime finishing location as it mouths the largest salmon producing river in Canada, the Fraser River. By 1890 there were nearly 25 canneries located in Steveston and trying to rival Vancouver as a fishing port.

Along with the Steves family, Japanese Canadians formed most of the original population in Steveston. Tomekichi Homma was one of the first Japanese settlers in Steveston. Homma fought for Asian-Canadians to vote in provincial elections. The judicial committees ruled against Homma throughout his like. Four years after his death, in 1949 Asian-Canadians were allowed to vote. The Japanese Canadian internment during the second world war had a serious impact to the community. Canada relocated over 22,000 Japanese Canadians which ended up eliminating 90% of the Japanese Canadian population in British Columbia.

Post-war development turned Steveston as well as Richmond farmland into residential housing, allowing many people from across the world to settle in Steveston. In the present decade rezoning of farmland is allowing people to build houses in excess of 10,000 sq. ft. Most of Richmonds population is enraged by this development, it takes away from the small amount of farmland that still exists in Richmond which is used to grow cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, corn and potatoes.

Within the last decade Steveston has changed drastically. Tourism in Steveston continues to rise every summer as it is considered to be “The gateway to the Orca”, in terms of whale watching. Its small finishing village atmosphere also has a large appeal to many tourists. Countless tour busses drive and park throughout Steveston in the summer brining countless customers to the small shops and restaurants. Urban development is also constantly ongoing. This year Steveston received a new Save-on foods, and new townhouse/condo units are constantly being built. The harbor docks are also being renewed this year. While there are still some buildings in Steveston that are under heritage protection I believe the rest will be redeveloped within the next five years.

Rising sea levels are a major risk for Steveston. Richmond has seen sea levels rise to concerning levels in the past years, causing floods in some areas with little protection from the rivers. Garry point park in Steveston floods quite often at high tide, especially when a large container ship goes through the river. River dredging boats are often seen cleaning the riverbed of the Fraser River. However, river dredging harms the plants and animals living in the river. The dikes surrounding Richmond and Steveston have been raised in the past years to reduce the effect of flooding. The recent flooding in Chilliwack and Abbotsford has made flood prevention a priority for the city to protect themselves from the unexpected.

Wildlife in Steveston is very minimal and nothing special. Being a town close to the ocean seagulls make Steveston their home. The seagulls get very close to humans as they are curious for food, sometimes even attacking for it. This aggressive behavior comes from people feeding them and making them aware that there is food here. Another aggressive animal in Steveston when given food is the Sea Lion. In 2017 a sea lion in the Steveston docks dragged a young girl under then water after the family was feeding it breadcrumbs. In the winter snow geese migrate to Richmond given that there are many school fields. Coyotes are also around in the area; they make the dikes their homes and you can hear them howling during the night. Along with Stanley Park and pacific spirit park people have started to feed the coyotes. Not only is feeding the coyotes harmful to them, but the coyotes also start to come closer into the cities as they begin to search for human food. Last week I had a coyotes cross the road in front of me while driving home.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steveston,_British_Columbia

• https://historicsteveston.ca/historic-steveston/