HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM

A new wilderness trail near Nordegg

allows visitors to experience a forest
at different growth stages. D1
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014 www.rock-e.ca The Mountaineer | Rocky Mountain House, AB | C1
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BY BRITTANY FONG
SUMMER REPORTER
Hundreds of people turned
out at the National Historic Site
for the Canada Day celebrations
on July 1.
The all-day event included a
Lego contest, helicopter rides,
a commemoration to David
Thompsons wife Charlotte
Small, a celebration cake,
performances from bands
and First Nations groups, and
speeches from various levels of
government and special guests.
Member of Parliament for
Wetaskiwin Blaine Calkins
said, We have so much to be
thankful for; people from all
over the world want to come
here and be a part of what Can-
ada is today. It was 70 years ago
that Canadian troops stormed
Juno Beach and it was 100 years
ago this year that Canada cut
its teeth on the battlegrounds
of World War I in 1914, so we
have all these things that we
need to commemorate and
reect on that is great about
being Canadian.
Since the Constitution Act in
1867 that joined Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Ontario
and Quebec to form Canada,
Canada has spent 147 years
growing strong as a country.
In 1931 Canada was granted
full legislative independence in
the Statute of Westminster and
gained a new constitution dur-
ing the Canada Act in 1982.
We are a leader in the world,
not just in our peacekeeping
forces, but in our democracy
and in our economy, and Alber-
ta leads that for Canada. These
are tremendous attributes of
who we are and what we are,
said MLA Joe Anglin. So for
all our young people and all the
history we are putting together
now, I think its a special occa-
sion to celebrate and I want to
congratulate you.
We have a great history in
these communities, so when
youre celebrating today,
think about the history thats
happened over the years and
whats coming in this commu-
nity, said Reeve of Clearwater
County Pat Alexander who had
all of his grandchildren come to
visit him for Canada Day. Its
great for the whole community.
Canada Day is a wonderful rea-
son to get together and enjoy
your family.
Rocky Mountain House
Mayor Fred Nash said he was
not only so proud to be Cana-
dian but also proud of Rockys
spirit leading up to and during
the celebrations on July 1.
Currently we have a very
strong town council, town
administration and town staff.
We are trying to give predict-
able government for investors
to invest in this area and we are
seeing some of that with the
Main Street project, the arenas
and curling rink, but youre
going to see results. So we want
predictable government and
were going to give that, said
Mayor Nash.
It is an opportunity coming
our way, and we want to make
sure that all the young people
here will have jobs, and their
children and their grandchil-
dren will have jobs. So if we do
this right, well make Canada
even prouder and have a qual-
ity of life that were very proud
of.
Forty-six years after Canada
became a country, Rocky Moun-
tain House was established.
Finally, Susan Kennard of
Parks Canada, who visits Rocky
on a regular basis, said, I am
so impressed by the community
spirit in this community. If you
want to grow your tourism, you
have the community spirit and
volunteer oomph, so I think you
are well on your way.
Rocky celebrates Canada Day
Emily Rowe and the French Immersion Choir of Rocky Mountain House sang O Canada both in French and English.
Reeve of Clearwater County
Pat Alexander spoke in front
of Rocky residents and his
eight grandchildren who came
to spend Canada Day with
him.
MP Blaine Calkins, who spoke
to attendees at the Canada
Day celebration, said that
there is much to reflect on
and commemorate about
being Canadian.
Rocky Mountain House Mayor
Fred Nash says he is vouching
for a more predictable
government to make
Canadians more proud.
Heritage Programs Manager
for Parks Canada Susan
Kennard, who organizes
programs for Banff as well
as the Rocky area, said that
she was impressed by the
women power shown here in
honouring Charlotte Small.
MLA Joe Anglin said that
Alberta is a leader in Canadas
economy.
17-year-old Daniel Anderson,
an accomplished bagpiper,
performed at the Canada Day
celebration at the National
Historic Site on July 1.
Tim and Pat Frayn provided live entertainment for the afternoon celebration
on July 1. PHOTOS BY BRITTANY FONG | THE MOUNTAINEER
Hamlet the Clown and his chosen assistant Atlas entertain
children at the National Historic Site.
Attendees lined up for cake to celebrate Canadas 147th birthday served by
members of the Clearwater County Crime Watch Association.
Festivities held at the
National Historic Site
LOST ITEMS?:
R The Whats Up page may be your
guide to nding your missing keys or
attending a community meeting. D10
Outdoor Life Outdoor Life
Tuesday, July 8, 2014 www.rock-e.ca The Mountaineer | Rocky Mountain House, AB | D1
Ph. 403.845.2861
www.rockycreditunion.com
Whether you're a new entrepreneur or a seasoned business person, Rocky
Credit Union wants to help you meet your long and short term financial
goals. Financing is available to businesses, big and small, for purposes such
as operating lines of credit, inventory and capital purchases, or expansions
and acquisitions.
Call us at 403-845-2861 to speak with a Commercial or Ag Lending
Specialist based in Rocky today.
Building a Shop or Office?
BY BRITTANY FONG
SUMMER REPORTER
A new wilderness trail near Nordegg
has some unique qualities that provide
visitors with more than just a hike.
The FireSmart Trail, located in the
Fish Lake Provincial Recreation area,
allows for visitors to experience a forest
at different growth stages to understand
a forests working ecosystem.
Visitors can walk, bike or cross-
country ski in the winter through 12
kilometres of well-developed forest and
clear-cut forest as seen after wildres.
Wildre Ranger and information
ofcer for Alberta Environment and
Sustainable Resource Development
(ESRD) Barry Shellian says, Wildres
have been naturally occurring in these
forests for thousands of years; its a part
of our ecosystem. In fact, we live in a
re-dependent ecosystem and the forest
depends on it here.
Wildres allow for old, unhealthy
forests to regulate the accumulation of
organic matter and put fertilizer back
into the soil to regrow into a healthier
forest.
Visitors will witness the dynamic
forest growth and change both
seasonally and yearly, says Shellian.
Tim Taylor, program manager at
Frontier Lodge, says that he is happy
to be a part of this project. Youre
never building trails for right now; its
a legacy, and this trail is going to be an
incredible legacy. Its going to get better
and better throughout the years.
Since planning began on the trail three
years ago when the FireSmart treatment
began, the ESRD in partnership
with Clearwater County, Mountain
Equipment Co-op, Tourism Parks and
Recreation, Alberta Conservation
Association (ACA), Western ATV
Association and West Fraser reclaimed
and built a new trail through Fish Lake
Provincial Recreation forest.
There was approximately 900 feet of
new boardwalk put in with a total of
nearly 1500 man-hours from ESRD staff.
The partnerships have been
incredible, and it has been fun to watch
how many people are interested in
creating accessible trails for people to
use, says Taylor.
Various donations and grants were put
towards this project. To name a few, the
FireSmart provincial program funded
$6,000 to jump-start the project and
Clearwater County donated gravel to
line the path.
As for public use, Taylor says that
hikers and bikers are welcome to use it
while the nal stages are being nished.
The trail corridor is built, so that
corridor gives us access and the next
stage is the bufng and ne-tuning
stage.
Shellian says that there will be signs
put along the trail to guide and educate
the public about the signicance of the
project.
FORESTS AND FIRE
When viewing a vast area of the
forest, Shellian says that there should
be different shades of green from the
different stages in its lifecycle.
The forest should be a mosaic,
puzzled shape of different ages and
different species of trees, says
Shellian. And they are all important at
different ages to a working forest.
In Alberta, forests regulate their
lifecycle through wildres since it is
hard for a forest to properly decay
during the shortened summer season.
Fires reduce the threat of large-scale
res, maintain visual qualities of the
landscape and restore nutrients back
into the soil.
The big res happen, but in a
natural working forest we wouldnt see
that as often because it would be more
of a cleansing re to pick up the debris
as a forest gets older, says Shellian.
Fire frequency is how often a natural
re would occur in an area. Naturally-
occurring res, depending on the
location of the forest, range from every
eight to 900 years, but the average is
about every 80 years. The area of the
FireSmart forest near Frontier Lodge
had a re departure rate of 2.5-3, which
meant that if a re was to break out it
would be severe and difcult to control.
The First Nations were doing
prescribed res for hundreds of
years for all the reasons we do them,
like to reduce hazard to their own
communities, says Shellian. What
were going to see at FireSmart is
that weve taken an old forest out and
turned it into a healthy one.
Since April 2014, there have been
over 700 wildres in Alberta that have
burned over 1,800 hectares of forests.
A TRAIL FOR THE FUTURE
Both Shellian and Taylor hope to see
more visitors coming out to experience
the trail. Were just taking gravel to
some wet areas and doing some ne-
tuning to the bridges, but the trails are
in, says Shellian.
Generations to come will be able
to experience the forest regrowth.
According to Shellian, there are three
human generations for every one forest
generation.
We will be taking photographs and
documenting this over a lifetime from
now on to watch the forest grow back,
says Shellian.
As for maintenance once the trails
are complete, Shellian hopes that the
public will in part step up. There are a
lot of trails to maintain, so thats where
were encouraging volunteer groups
and the people who use them to help
out. Its all a part of a social obligation
now. If people come out here and ask
whos going to x it, maybe the answer
is you.
Frontier Lodge will be hosting its
annual mountain bike Fat Tire Festival
at the site August 1-4. In addition,
there will be guided bike tours and
educational lessons available for
visitors to experience.
More information about the festival
can be found on the Frontier Lodge
website.
FireSmart Trail shows visitors
stages of a working forest
The 12-kilometre
trail is located just
west of Nordegg
The big res happen, but in
a natural working forest we
wouldnt see that as often
because it would be more of
a cleansing re to pick up the
debris as a forest gets older.
Barry Shellian
ESRD Information Officer
The trails lead through a portion of clear-cut forest to show visitors the stages of a forest. Barry Shellian says that it is important for a forest to go through the
cycle of being cleared so that it can regrow into a healthy ecosystem once again. PHOTOS BY BRITTANY FONG | THE MOUNTAINEER
The FireSmart Trail is a 12-kilometre hike or bike in and around the Fish Lake provincial recreation
area that shows visitors different stages of a working forest.
Tim Taylor, program manager of Frontier
Lodge, is happy with the partnership in creating
the trails as he says that it will be a legacy to
the area.