A small but determined and passionate band of local environmental enthusiasts has added a provincial organization and an internationally recognized society to their roster of supporters, signalling renewed hope they will be successful in protecting the local creek and surrounding recreational area that bears their name.
A filmmaker from the National Geographic Society has produced a professional grade video for the Bighill Creek Preservation Society (BCPS), featuring vice-president Vivian Pharis and president Gerry Bietz enjoying the watershed with his grandchildren.
James Napoli, a 30-year veteran of National Geographic, took two years producing the eight-minute film, featuring the environmentally significant elements of the Bighill Creek area and the importance of protecting it.
The engaging video includes drone footage and touches on the natural history of the area and the threats it faces.
With a specialty in travel and wildlife productions, Napoli has been sent on assignment to remote locations from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
The BCPS website states Napoli “has a passion for the natural world and being out in the field getting stories of global efforts of conservation out to the public.” He works for Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
Formed in 1888, the National Geographic Society describes itself as “a global non-profit that funds the best and brightest individuals around the world dedicated to our mission to use the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world.”
To view the video go to bighillcreek.ca.
In addition to adding the prestige and expertise of the Society, the BCPS has also enlisted the support of the Alberta Wildness Association (AWA) as evidenced by their outreach specialist Lindsay Wallis’s sponsoring of a special educational program a couple of Sundays back.
The Eagle joined participants from Calgary and the Cochrane area in the four-hour walk-and-talk along the creek towards Cochrane from Bighill Springs Provincial Park on a day with fall colours at their peak.
Water quality expert Wendell Koning (formerly with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas) pointed out numerous springs along the way – all part of the watershed that feeds the creek.
Tako Koning, a geologist who spent four decades working in the petrochemical industry around the world, also paused the group sporadically to explain the geological history of the valley.
“We were heartened to have so many Cochrane residents join us for Sunday’s trip along Bighill Creek to experience this special place in their backyard for themselves,” Wallis said.
“It is so important to be able to connect people to these places and give them the knowledge about why they are so important so they can better stand up for them when they are under threat.”
Wallis said the AWA was excited to lend their support to the cause.
“When people love and understand these places they can be more effective in defending them so we can ensure they are protected for generations to come,” she added.
Adventures for Wilderness is AWA’s outreach, education, and engagement program for wilderness conservation.
“Big Hill Springs Provincial Park is unique and a well-loved natural retreat for people of all ages, as we saw when we visited. People were picnicking, kids were playing and families were taking photographs along the springs. Allowing anything to threaten this place that is enjoyed by more than 250,000 folks every year and recognized as a nationally significant spring is inexcusable,” Wallis said.
She pointed out that the need to protect watersheds from the proliferation of gravel mining is even more critical at a time of increased drought.
“The destruction of 13 wetlands and the risks the mine creates of heavy metals leeching into the springs and creek should be considered unacceptable.”
The AWA has also added their name to those appealing the province’s approval of the Mountain Ash Summit pit, which the BCPS has been opposing since it was initially proposed.
“It is almost three months after AWA submitted our appeal. Everyone who took part in our tour was witness to the bulldozers currently at work stripping topsoil from the proposed mine site while the appeal drags on,” Wallis said.
The addition of National Geographic and the AWA is significant for the BCPS in adding scientific background and research, which is expensive for the relatively small, Cochrane-based society to provide.
Besides maintaining trails and building a footbridge, the BCPS has secured grants and raised funds to study water temperature and sediment quality, riparian and stream health, fish habitat and suitability to reintroduce native trout.
They have been working to develop baseline studies on water quality in conjunction with researchers from the University of Calgary.
“We are totally aligned with the AWA in promoting the preservation of our wild spaces locally and across the province,” Bietz said.
“The Bighill Creek valley is a unique local example of lands which today are mostly unchanged since it was first occupied by First Nations 8000 years ago.”
Conflicts between adjacent landowners and groups like BCPS and counties and gravel extractors have been increasing in recent years. About a week before RVC approved the Mountain Ash proposal, a large group of vociferous landowners in Bearspaw packed a meeting and were successful in convincing council to reject a pit application near the Spy Hill landfill in northwest Calgary.
The approvals of the Mountain Ash and McNair pits on Highway 567 north of Cochrane are both being appealed.
There are about 20 active pits in RVC, accounting for about $1M in revenue generated for the County. The BCPS feels that total is not enough to even justify the increased wear and tear on roads.
In 2016, RVC began a forward-thinking Aggregate Resource Plan (ARP) that would have included environmental assessments. Council scrapped the nearly-completed plan in 2019. No reason was given at the time.
A new ARP has been in the works since earlier this year. The County recently convened an ARP Stakeholder Advisory Committee to suggest a direction forward for RVC council on gravel extraction policy. This committee, which is made up of local gravel industry representatives, residential stakeholders, and those with concerns about the environmental impacts of gravel extraction, has met twice so far with two meetings in September.
Opponents of the two new pits say the County should pause applications until the new ARP is approved, and they also maintain the county and the gravel companies are rushing the approvals process before the new plan will make it more difficult.
RVC responded to these statements via email this week, saying: “The previous Aggregate Resource Plan’s Terms of Reference was rescinded by Rocky View County council on September 25, 2018, due to a lack of consensus on the proposed plan. To replace the plan, council directed Administration to develop an Aggregate Resource Extraction Policy that focused on application submission requirements and performance standards. On April 30, 2019, Council voted to cancel the creation of an Aggregate Resource Extraction Policy and directed Administration to consider each future resource extraction application on its own merits through relevant land use and development permit processes.”
Bighill Springs Provincial Park was designated in 1957 after land was gifted from the estate of Senator Patrick Burns. The springs supply 50 per cent of the water in the creek. Ancient Indigenous use is evidenced by the presence of two buffalo jumps in the valley.
The County commissioned a recreational plan in 2011 that recommended park expansion, but that was not acted upon, and gravel interests are now closing in on the west and north flanks of the park.
