Economic success has come to Whistler for a number of reasons.  It has largely been due to the efforts of a dedicated group of people, who had a vision for what this small mountain community could be.  They were working with the resources at hand: pristine natural beauty and an environment like nowhere else.

Brandywine Meadows, summer 2006

Whistler is home to many sensitive and rare habitats, including wetlands and riparian zones, alluvial forest, and  high alpine areas, all containing a rich diversity of species, some of which are endangered.  Whistler's continued success is dependent upon its ability to preserve and work with this environmental trust.  This is for a number of reasons:

• Economic success- Whistler's ecotourism-based economy needs to preserve the natural spaces that draw in millions of visitors to this area and generate income
• Ecosystem services - Ecosystem services are the benefits that natural ecosystems provide for the health and well-being of their inhabitants.  These include:
  • preventing and mitigating pollution
  • preventing drought and flooding
  • purifying the air and water
  • regulating disease
  • providing for inhabitants' psychological well-being
  • and many more important services
  Without the benefits of the natural environment, Whistler cannot truly be a healthy community.

• Inherent worth of our natural heritage - More and more people are recognizing the inherent worth of habitats and ecosystems, beyond human use.  Therefore, is important that species' biological diversity (or biodiversity) and the ecological integrity of ecosystems be preserved.

As the draft for Whistler's Protected Areas Network asserts:

"Biodiveristy is an inherently valuable part of our natural heritage, and high species diversity and functioning ecosystems preserve our natural heritage into the future and ensure that the ecosystem services that we rely on exist indefinitely" (Protcted Areas Network draft pg. 1).

The dedication and hard work of the founding members of this community has paid off.  Now it is time for the future generations of Whistler to use that same energy and creativity to preserve the most important aspect of Whistler, what we cannot live without: nature.

Click here to read about Whistler's comprehensive environmental strategies and why they are integral to Whistler's future.

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