| Alberta environmentalists say rapidly escalating development in the Bow Valley east of Banff National Park is reducing wildlife movement corridors and could begin jeopardizing the long-term survival of grizzlies and other wildlife.
The Bow Valley is considered a crucial wildlife corridor between Kananaskis Country and Banff National Park. Currently there are three large new developments that are close to being approved in the Bow Valley.
As Fast Forward reported this summer, Three Sisters Mountain Village, a Calgary company, is planning to develop 368 hectares of land at two different sites on the eastern edge of Canmore. If the two proposed developments are approved, Canmore’s population would increase by 2,000 people. The Town of Canmore will decide whether to approve the two developments at a September 21 council meeting.
Meanwhile, BHB Canmore is applying to develop 14 hectares of land north of the existing hamlet of Dead Man’s Flats, which is close to Canmore. The developer plans to build single detached residential housing on six hectares of land and townhouses on 0.87 hectares, with the other 6.82 hectares consisting of light industrial development. The Municipal District of Bighorn will decide whether to approve the development proposal on October 4.
The district council has already given the proposal second reading (three readings are required before the project can be approved). This is despite the fact that an environmental consultant hired by the district was critical of BHB Canmore’s environmental assessment of the project, which was done by Golder Associates. Wildlife biologist Garry Hornbeck wrote in his report that the wildlife assessment consisted of "generalized statements of impact and mitigation, some of which are too vague to understand" and that the assessment had "important information gaps."
Meanwhile, BHB Canmore has told the media that it has cut the size of its proposed development in half in order to address wildlife concerns. But that doesn’t reassure environmentalists.
"I think all of these (developments) are pretty horrendous when you look at them together," says Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wild Canada. "They really begin to doom wildlife in the Bow Valley."
Pissot says it’s getting to the point where politicians are going to have to start asking themselves, "Do we want to leave room for wildlife?"
He says the provincial and federal governments should be stepping in to ensure that wildlife concerns are being met in the Bow Valley.
Martin Buckley, CAO of the M.D. of Bighorn, says the lack of provincial responsibility for wildlife in the area is also a concern to the district.
"We don’t see it as a municipal responsibility to safeguard wildlife for all Albertans," says Buckley.
He adds that many people in the area are opposed to the BHB Canmore development, but says the project "has been in the works for 13 years."
"It’s hard to believe people think that council is moving fast," says Buckley. "The lands that are involved have always been zoned for development."
Residents in Dead Man’s Flats have mixed views about the proposed development in their community. Local gas station owner Inno Thomas, who has lived in the Bow Valley for over 40 years, says the new development will bring necessary economic development to the community.
"If you asked me what I wanted, I’d say let’s go back to the ’60s... but it doesn’t work that way. Development comes and it continues," he says.
He says Dead Man’s Flats has always been a commercial service centre next to the busy TransCanada highway and it’s never been a nature retreat.
"This is not Lake O’Hara," he says.
Meanwhile, some condo owners say they are worried that the peace and quiet they enjoy in the hamlet will end if the BHB Canmore development is approved.
"Personally, I like Dead Man’s Flats because it’s quiet and it’s away from town," says resident Bill Chiveldave.
A condo resident who didn’t want to be named says she’s worried about wildlife in the Bow Valley if the Three Sisters Mountain Village and BHB Canmore developments get approved.
"We get a lot of animals here. It is their home and the valley is only so big and it’s getting filled with homes," she says. |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.