River Valley provincial park future uncertain
The Strathcona Science provincial park in the east river valley is one of 164 parks listed in the Alberta Government announcement of changes to the province's parks model. Two organizations affected are the Edmonton Nordic Club which runs the Biathlon Centre and Sunridge Ski Area which uses it as a ski hill overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.
Nordic Club president Chris Hanstock said the group wasn't consulted and he noticed the park on the list after reading a news story. "Total shock really. I mean it was totally out of the blue," Hanstock said. "It makes it very uncertain. I mean, we've obviously invested tens of thousands of volunteer hours into this facility."
The group has grant funding for upgrades to the Biathlon Centre but will hold off, until its future at the site is clear. Recently, close to 200 provincial athletes competed at the Edmonton Nordic Biathlon Centre in Strathcona Science Provincial Park. Learn more at
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/biathlon-parks-alberta-government-1.5487718
Want to express your concern about these changes? Sign the petition titled Protect our parks – don’t let Kenny privatize nature https://act.leadnow.ca/dont-let-kenney-privatize-nature/
City tree management policy update
On March 16, City Council’s Urban Planning Committee will consider a revised Corporate Tree Management Policy which affects all City owned trees. In April 2019, Council directed Administration to conduct further public engagement on the policy, with a focus on natural areas.
The key policy changes include adding “stewardship” and “public education and engagement opportunities” to the policy statement and purpose. Stewardship incorporates public and stakeholder feedback that emphasizes the importance of responsible care for Edmonton’s natural stands. Participants expressed the importance of education and engagement for the public and communities to better manage, grow, preserve and protect our Urban Forests.
To access the report and its four attachments, click on agenda item 6.5 at
http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=2655&doctype=AGENDA
People attracted to river valley since time immemorial
Early peoples were attracted to the river valley for the same reasons as animals: it offered shelter, fuel, and game in the winter; diverse plant resources in the spring, summer, and fall; and water and fish throughout most of the year. The valley’s geological history further enhanced its attractiveness by providing flat, well-drained sites for camping and a ready supply of quartzite for making stone tools.
When one looks at the size and incidence of archaeological sites within the Edmonton area, there is little doubt that early peoples preferred living near the North Saskatchewan River or along the edges of major creeks like Whitemud and Blackmud than in areas away from waterways. This pattern of land use appears to have persisted for thousands of years which forces one to question the traditional, Eurocentric portrayal of Edmonton as a wilderness prior to European settlement.
The Cree were experts at constructing and utilizing birchbark canoes and fish made up an important part of their diet. Anthony Henday reported that a small Cree band with whom he was traveling spent the winter hunting buffalo in the parkland before moving to an important canoe building site in the river valley just downstream of Edmonton.
Henday observed the Cree gathering bark from stands of birch, building canoes, socializing with a steady stream of newcomers, and going on short hunting trips. By the time his party was ready to depart on the long canoe voyage down the river to York Factory on Hudson Bay, the canoe-building site had grown into a large camp, which may well suggest that the Greater Edmonton area was an important gathering and staging place for Aboriginal groups. Learn more at
https://www.edmonton.ca/documents/PDF/Rossdale_Historical_Land_Use_Study_Feb_2004.pdf
Looking at the world upside down better for this bird
Like all nuthatches the Red-breasted Nuthatch has short legs, a flat body, and a large head. Its strong, rather long bill is slightly upturned. It inhabits mixed-wood and coniferous regions, preferring spruce-fir forests. This bird lives mostly on the branches of trees instead of on the trunks, and in this way resembles a chickadee.
The Nuthatch gets a special view of things by looking at the world upside down. It can descend head downwards on tree trunks and branches. This is how they search in nooks and crannies in bark for tiny organisms overlooked by other birds that glean food while moving in an upright fashion.
The seeds of conifers make up a large part of the Red-breasted Nuthatch winter diet. The bird pries open the scales of cones with its strong bill and extracts the winged seeds, which it eats after discarding the wing. Chopped nuts, seeds, and suet readily attract nuthatches to feeding trays in winter, and the birds often hoard this food, stuffing it in crevices in the bark of nearby trees. Learn more at https://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/red-breasted-nuthatch.html
Share river valley event, job posting, or news
If you have a river valley event, job posting, or news that you would like to see published in this newsletter, please send the info to nsrivervalley@gmail.com
Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712
nsrivervalley@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/NSRVCS/
http://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/