Open house takes place to
talk about local watersheds
Lindsay Goss photo
An open house took place at the Elks Hll in Blairmore to discuss local watersheds. The open house was hosted by the University of Alberta, and had members of Sustainable Resources Department (SRD) present.
LINDSAY GOSS
Pass Herald Reporter
An open house, hosted by the University of Alberta, was held in Blairmore last week and focused on studies that may be conducted in the future and to present studies that have already been done regarding local watersheds.
Professionals from University of Alberta, University of Waterloo, and Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) were present at the open house to answer questions and speak to guests at the open house.
Duncan MacDonnell, a communications representative for the SRD said scientific research regarding three different harvest methods is currently taking place. The purpose of these studies is to look at different methods to harvest what might be more suitable for local watersheds.
He explained that the Lost Creek Wildfire has had a tremendous impact on watersheds and largely impacted the hydrology of watershed, thus becoming a large part of studies on watersheds for the past ten years.
“We want to evaluate three harvest methods to see which one is best to pursue,” said McDonnell.
“This area, due to the watersheds, needs methods other than conventional harvest methods.”
McDonnell explained that these studies are a way for SRD to learn what will happen if we use other methods and how harvesting will be conducted in the future.
However, not everyone left the open house feeling satisfied with the information presented.
Local biologist David McIntyre was present at the open house and said that he thought it was, simply put, a cover up.
“In two words, I thought the open house was a smoke screen,” he said, “I think it was an event to hide the real reasons of logging in Star Creek.”
McIntyre said that he did not like how the information was presented to the people and felt that the open house would be more effective if it was in a question and answer format.
“I felt I was virtually outnumbered by the government of Alberta people, “said McIntrye.
The open house took place at the Elks Hall from 2 p.m.-9 p.m. at the Elks Hall in Blairmore on Tuesday, June 4th.
