Mountain View County (MVC) councillors say they have been fielding numerous calls from residents concerned about the provincial government’s $40-million Bighorn Country proposal.
The proposal would create a number of new provincial parks and protected areas along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, including west of Sundre.
Councillors held a lengthy discussion around the proposal during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
Peggy Johnson is the councillor for Division 6.
“I’ve looked through the available online information as many people in our area have and I think there is a high level of concerns about what the unintended consequences are going to be,” said Johnson.
“I think this is being forced through with not nearly enough public engagement. There are lots of consequences that haven’t been considered and that’s a huge concern.”
The Bighorn Country proposal would create several new provincial parks, including the Ya Ha Tinda Provincial Park.
An online survey is now underway to garner public input and a number of open houses are planned, including in Sundre next month.
The province is also holding invitation-only meetings and information sessions with various industry and government stakeholders.
Deputy Reeve Angela Aalbers, the councillor for Division 5, said she has heard from residents concerned with the proposal.
“I got some phone calls from residents who are very concerned about the proposal and not really understanding what is going on,” said Aalbers.
“They are having concerns that this was going to be pushed through and then they were going to lose things like their operator's rights, their grazing rights, their rights for trapping.
“The big concern is the lack of information and the speed at which this is going through.”
Aalbers has been in contact with area MLA Jason Nixon, the reeve of Clearwater County, the reeve of Big Horn County, West Fraser Mills officials and others on the matter, she said.
Aalbers and representatives from other area municipalities met with representatives from Alberta Environment and Parks on Dec. 4.
“They gave an overview of the proposal,” she said. “They have stated very clearly that there is going to be no impact to the forestry industry. There will be no negative impact to the trapping industry.
“The main purpose of putting this (proposal) together is to increase environmental control and better management of recreation in the West Country. So that’s what they’ve told us and that’s what we’ve heard so far.”
Municipalities are concerned about the potential impacts the changes could have on public services, including health care, fire response and cell coverage, she said.
“There are so many aspect of this plan that they haven’t thought of because their engagement isn’t going deep enough,” she said.
Al Kemmere is the councillor for Division 7. He is also the president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), which represents 69 rural municipalities.
“Consultation is the one concern we are hearing continuously, the fact that this popped out of the sky almost,” said Kemmere. “Where is the stability in knowing what is going to happen in the future and will it be a moving target once they set boundaries?”
The RMA board will be discussing the matter at its Dec. 20 meeting, he said.
“We are trying to gather input from our various members. It does have a lot of attention already. It is coming at us fast and furious,” he said.
Greg Harris is the councillor for Division 2.
“I have a sense of utter disappointment that once again the province is following a course of so-called engagement that I note is contrary to the engagement that they mandated on municipalities some time ago,” said Harris.
“Once again it creates an uncertainty and it creates a lack of trust and a fear that there is a hidden agenda here.”
During the Dec. 5 council meeting, councillors accepted a letter from Alberta Environment and Parks Assistant Deputy Minister Rick Blackwood.
In the letter he states that Mountain View County has been identified as a targeted stakeholder and therefore eligible to have one-on-one talks with government officials regarding the plan.
The letter reads, in part: “Your input is requested to identify opportunities to enhance the recreational user experience, identify resource values that need protection, establish current-use patterns and areas of conflict, and ensure that adequate and appropriate recreational experiences are maintained, such as motorized and non-motorized trail designations.”
Reeve Bruce Beattie and councillors Dwayne Fulton and Duncan Milne did not attend the Dec. 5 council meeting. See more Bighorn Country on Page 6.
