G8 Legacy manager urges MD to protect underpass integrity
The MD of Bighorn has taken a step towards considering what type of development, infrastructure and land use could be appropriate for municipally-owned land adjacent to the Dead Man’s Flats wildlife underpass.
Bighorn council approved a request for proposal Tuesday (March 10) that will be sent to planning firms interested in developing an Area Structure Plan for the 29 hectares of land the MD is seeking to swap with the province.
“(The) municipally owned land in Dead Man’s Flats … has been a topic of ongoing negotiations/discussions with the Province for a land swap over the past decade,” the RFP states. “The negotiations have not yielded a satisfactory resolution for the MD in the matter. The undeveloped municipal lands have development potential that has been deferred pending the outcome of the negotiations with the Province.”
The 29 ha of land wraps around the hamlet of Dead Man’s Flats from the east along the Bow River and has been recognized as part of the Bow River habitat patch.
According to the RFP, council wants to determine “the developability and financial value that could accrue to the MD if these lands were to be planned, zoned and developed.”
However, in a report provided to the MD by Bruce Leeson in February, the former-Parks Canada environmental scientist who oversaw the 2002 G8 Legacy Fund project that built the wildlife underpass, the underpass is a success and its integrity should be protected.
“It is an enduring duty and responsibility of decision makers and regulators to respect and sustain the successful accomplishments and prudent investments of their predecessors. The G8 Legacy wildlife underpass project at Dead Man’s Flats has achieved its goal to maintain and enrich a prized component of Kananaskis Country’s natural heritage,” Leeson wrote.
According to Leeson, the underpass at Dead Man’s Flats, completed in 2005 at a cost of $1.8 million, connects the Bow River habitat patch to “extensive wildlife habitat” that includes Wind Valley. Before completion of the underpass, the section of highway along Dead Man’s Flats saw the highest number of animal deaths on the Trans-Canada Highway from the east gates of Banff National Park through to Highway 40. Between August 1997 and October 2003, vehicles hit 368 animals; 60 of those occurred in a 5.5-kilometre section of highway at Dead Man’s Flats.
“Clearly a wildlife crossing structure and protective fencing on the TCH east of Dead Man’s Flats was a high priority to improve wildlife protection from vehicles and enhance habitat connectivity in the Bow Valley,” Leeson wrote. “Importantly, there were no existing or planned physical or human activity impediments to unimpeded wildlife movement through the his corridor.”
The wildlife underpass, between Oct. 2004 and Jan. 2007, was used 1,427 times. Of those, 98 per cent were complete passes. Deer, elk, bighorn sheep, moose, coyotes, black bear, cougars and wolves have all used the underpass, along with grizzly bears, red fox and snowshoe hares on rare occasions.
“In slightly more than two years the Dead Man’s Flats underpass was monitored, black bear use increased from one to nine through passes, deer increased by 87 per cent and elk increased slightly,” Leeson wrote.
Leeson attributed the success of the Dead Man’s Flats underpass to six reasons:
The underpass is well positioned at a location that wildlife have been using for decades to cross the highway;
Both sides of the underpass offer secure passage;
The north side of the underpass offers wildlife a direct line to a preferred location to cross the river;
High quality cover on both sides of the Bow River;
A well-used animal trail that runs along the south side of the river;
And, no human activity near the wildlife corridors that lead to or from the underpass that could lead to wildlife habituation.
“The duty now is to protect unencumbered the approach lands that are so crucial to the continuing success of the Dead Man’s Flats underpass,” Leeson wrote.
In a letter to council dated Feb. 13, Peter Poole, of Banff-based Arctos & Bird Management, said he was compelled to share his thoughts with Bighorn council to “encourage wise consideration of wildlife movement needs as you consider the merits of residential and light industrial uses in Dead Man’s Flats.”
Poole wrote that he had deep concerns about land development in Dead Man’s Flats as “one who helped invest substantial funds in the G8 Legacy wildlife crossing structure.”
Key among his concerns are the risk that land development at Dead Man’s Flats would create a cul-de-sac for animals attempting to travel beyond the underpass.
“Such a planning result would lead to risk and liability to the MD if cougars and bears have nowhere to go but into the backyards of our homes. It would fundamentally undermine the investment we have made so far,” he wrote.
Instead of developing the land, Poole suggested drawing on the many features of the Rocky Mountains that make the Bow Valley a favourable tourist destination.
“There is more than enough visitor demand from the region to enhance the economy of the MD if we continue to enhance our environment, protect wildlife movement routes, and make it easier for visitors to use multiple modes of transportation to get to know the beautiful gems in the district.
“We will be stronger overall if we work together,” he wrote.
A tentative timeline developed by Bighorn administration suggests the planning consultant would be chosen by April with public consultation process beginning in July. A draft ASP would be completed by November with a public open house in February 2015, first reading and a public hearing that spring with final adoption suggested by early summer 2015.
