There is some good news to wake up to for campers wanting to spend the night in Dead Man’s Flats – the 36-site Three Sisters Campground will be restored to pre-flood conditions and continue to be an overnight camping destination.
Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) revealed the news this past June that its proposed redevelopment to change Three Sisters Campground into a daily and seasonal day-use area would not see the light of day, based on public feedback and further administration review.
“We’re looking at restoring 11 campsites to the north by where Pigeon Creek comes in,” said Thea Mitchell, Park Planner for Alberta Parks. “There are two sites on Pigeon Creek that we’re going to close and we’ll try to stick in a couple of double sites because some people and families like the double site feature. It’s not a lot of work, it’ll be a bit of construction.”
Construction is expected to begin following the September Long Weekend and funds would come from the Disaster Recovery Program.
The campground that hugs the Bow River suffered damage in June 2013 during the destructive southern Alberta flooding.
After assessing the facility post-flood, AEP, which has jurisdiction over the Bow Valley Provincial Park campground off Highway 1, proposed changes in Nov. 2016 to close the overnight campsite to avoid replacing infrastructure.
Concerns surrounding wildlife-human interactions were also identified as a reason to discontinue overnight camping.
The unexpected change of use caught local residents and businesses by surprise and negative reaction expanded the public consultation process soon after.
Campground signage was to be removed, as well as one washroom, a cook shelter and maintenance buildings.
A small traffic loop would be introduced near the watercraft hand launch and the addition of six public parking spots and six picnic tables, along with stairs to improve access to the launch site were part of the proposal.
According to feedback from 180 entries of email/mail to AEP, only five per cent were in support of the proposal, while 53 per cent were in favour of having Alberta Parks building more campgrounds and not closing them.
Twenty-four per cent of entries believed closing the site would have a social impact on the community, which included Paul Kalra, owner of Husky in Dead Man’s Flats.
“The campground is highly utilized by locals and they supported it, 100 per cent,” said Kalra.
“It’s more so highly utilized by local families that have been living in the area for a long time and we stressed that to higher authorities … Here and there it has (wildlife) conflicts, but where do you not?”
An AEP report stated Three Sisters Campground had higher grizzly and black bear occurrences compared to nearby Lac Des Arcs and Bow River campgrounds between 2002-15.
In that timeframe, Three Sisters had 34 bear occurrences, while Lac Des Arcs was at nine, and Bow River at three.
Other statistics from public feedback included eight per cent of entries stating that removing the campground would have an adverse economic impact on local businesses.
This potential to hurt local businesses was one of the stated reasons AEP chose not to go forward with its proposal.
Five per cent stated hazards from future floods were not a substantial enough reason to close the campground.
During a public information session, 31 per cent of people agreed that wildlife data in the area was too insufficient to close the Three Sisters Campground.
AEP is reviewing options for reducing human/wildlife conflict by first having a site-specific wildlife study implemented to monitor movement and potential conflict during operation.
AEP will also address any tree hazards to flood-affect and decaying trees in the area.
