Ed Sturzik, Journal Staff Writer,
Edmonton, The Edmonton Journal, February 21, 199

A local committee - which did not include oil and logging interests - thought it did the right thing for the environment by recommending a larger area to buffer this delicate Special Place. But all they did was anger Minister Ty Lund.

Michael Going was one of six people form the Kananaskis area who spent nearly four months last year working on a plan to include 109 sq. km. of the Sheep River watershed in Alberta's Special Places program.

What he and the local committee came up with was a plan that would triple the size of the proposed site to include a buffer zone north and east of the Sheep River Sanctuary, the proposed MacAbee Creek natural area, a significant portion of Death Valley, and other areas of ecological significance.

"There were some parts of the original proposal that were just too small or narrow from an ecological point of view to make any sense" says Going, who grew up on a ranch in the area. "We wanted to establish something that would keep the refuge functioning as a wildlife refuge, and something that would maintain the purity of water flowing out of the upper elevations."

The Sheep River watershed is located in the lower foothills of Kananaskis, west of Turner Valley. Its steep valley floors and grassy slopes provide critical year-round protection for deer, elk, moose and bighorn sheep. Cougars, wolves, black bears and grizzly bears move in and out of the region.

The Sheep stands alongside Elbow-Sheep Wildland Park, one of the largest remaining pristine landscapes in Alberta's Eastern Slopes.

Environment Minister Ty Lund has taken a lot of heat for giving too much power to local committees in determining the fate of Special Places throughout the province.

Critics note that almost all of them thus far have recommended sites significantly smaller than originally proposed, and most have allowed for resource development in the management plans.

Lund, however, is clearly unhappy that the Kananaskis group has come back with a proposal significantly larger than one envisioned by the Provincial Coordinating Committee.

"There is industry pressure."

Lund justifies his criticism saying the turnout at the open house the local committee staged was so low that some people didn't recognize that the "small sawmills would be out of business" as a result of the local committee's recommendations.

"That is why I have proposed another meeting," he said.

"I can see that they're heading to the same problems as with the Castle ... The local committee might not want to deal with it, but I don't think they see all the problems."

The Sheep River local committee was unique from the beginning in that the officials in the Municipal District of Foothills refused to appoint a local Special Places committee that represented all stakeholders in the area such as oil and gas, forestry and other economics interests.

"We didn't have years to sit around and fight" says Ron Laycroft, the municipal district counselor who chaired the committee.

"Not that we didn't get them to make representations. We just knew that there was no way we'd get consensus with so many competing interests."

What the Municipal District did instead was appoint two counselors to the committee and four other people from the greater community.

Laycroft believes the committee did a pretty good job coming up with a report that represented most people's desires. As many people as possible were offered the chance to state their case. He notes that apart from putting advertisements in newspapers, 80 individuals or groups were personally contacted, and 10 formal presentations and 20 written submissions were received throughout the winter months.

Laycroft says he is not going to pass judgment on the government until he hears from Lund formally.

Other members, however, are angry that the reaction so far has been so negative, and they believe that Lund is overstating the significance of the area to current resource interests.

"I think what he's been saying says a lot about this government's agenda on Special Places", says Going.

"They're only content if you give them what they want. And what they want is a program that maintains the status quo. They're not interested in protecting these areas."

The fact that the Sheep River is so close to rapidly expanding Calgary were the population is expected to reach a million in a little over a decade was a motivating force in the committee's desire to protect the area.

"People assume that a lot of Kananaskis country is protected," says committee member Lauries Powell, who operates a business in the area. "But that just isn't the case."

Powell points out that communities such as Turner Valley, Black Diamond, Longview and Millerville are staging areas for tourism opportunities in the region.

"Those opportunities will only come if we maintain the natural integrity of this area," she says.

"There are not going to be any economic benefits if all we have to offer is oil and gas wells and logging operations in the foothills and valleys."

Both Powell and Going insist there is little at stake as far as resource interests are concerned. They say the few oil and gas leases expire in 2003 and could remain until then.

They also point out that there are also no existing licenses to cut timber, although Spray Lakes Sawmills Ltd. has access to a small stand of timber which represents only about three per cent of its supply.

Going says alternative sources of lumber could be found for the company.

Lund, however, doesn't believe that the committee has got the whole picture. "It may be OK, but the way it stands today, there will be some people who have huge reductions in their forest allocations," he days.

"I suspect they don't know what is being proposed."