Editor: I’m concerned about the health of Alberta’s wetlands, along with the watersheds of which they are part.
Yet when I express my concerns, I’m told, “Alberta’s government cares about watersheds. Just look at the Watershed Resilience and Restoration Program (WRRP).” But what is the Watershed Resilience and Restoration Program (WRRP)?
After Flood 2013, the provincial government established this program “to increase the natural ability of watersheds to reduce the intensity, magnitude, duration and effects of flooding and drought through watershed mitigation measures.” The WRRP promotes restoration of degraded portions of watersheds and promotes the ongoing stewardship and preservation of key components of Alberta’s watersheds.
This all sounds very good. This all sounds very promising. It’s something I could get behind.
Except for one thing: the rapid pace of industrial-scale clearcut logging in our upstream watersheds.
Even as other North American cities take bold steps to protect their watersheds, we make plans for logging watersheds upstream of Calgary. At this very moment, the Ghost Valley west of Calgary is bracing for acceleration in clearcut timber harvest. Logging is currently underway in several harvest areas throughout the Ghost Valley. Yet for some reason, the South B9 harvest area, initially planned to occur over 20 years, will now be compressed into just two years.
The Ghost Valley is rich in water resources. Abundant seeps, springs and wetlands represent a complex interplay between surface water and groundwater. Yet, wetlands in Alberta’s “Green Areas” (forested areas) such as the Ghost are not protected. Logging companies are not required to maintain a buffer between wetlands and clearcut harvest areas.
Sadly, for the Ghost Valley, this Watershed Resilience and Restoration Program seems to be a classic double standard. Even as government says, “We protect and steward watersheds,” the government-sanctioned harvest plans to strip the trees from the watershed’s hillsides – and this in a watershed upstream of Calgary, home to 1.5 million people, economic centre of the region, and site of expensive infrastructure. How can the government promote watershed protection while at the same time, approve clearcut logging in our Eastern slopes watersheds?
Enough of the double talk and double standards. If the Alberta government is serious about flood mitigation, then clearcut logging has no place in watersheds upstream of Calgary. Protecting watersheds is of such critical importance that we must get it right, not just talk about it and pretend all will be okay.
Gordon MacMahon,
Calgary
