Cougar a shy and occasional river valley wanderer
In Alberta, cougar sightings have been confirmed across the entire province, although they are most common in the mountain and foothill regions. In recent years, sightings in the prairie, parkland and boreal regions have become more frequent.
Cougars are adaptable and can survive in any location that provides them with cover and a food source, such as deer. They normally do not prefer open terrain, but cougars may use river valleys, ravines and other travel corridors that pass through open terrain
Though rare, cougars have been sighted in Edmonton’s river valley. A May 6 Reddit post describes seeing one on the north side of 98 Avenue as the person was driving up the big hill. “I have never seen a cougar before and I thought it was cool to see one in our river valley in Edmonton!” In October 2018, a cougar was spotted at the Terwillegar dog park and in September 2015 a cougar was killed in a back yard near 107 Avenue/151 Street.
A healthy cougar population is an indication of a thriving local ecosystem. They are efficient hunters that prey on deer, elk, moose, sheep, and other mammals. They may also occasionally feed on domestic pets and livestock. They can be active any time of day but most often hunt at dusk, night, and dawn. Learn more about them and what to do if you meet one at https://www.albertaparks.ca/media/4477103/preventing_conflict_with_wildlife-cougars.pdf
How our urban public spaces challenge and connect us
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society board member, Dr. Raquel Feroe was featured in a recent article in the National Post. She wrote “Now that I’m older, my days often start the same way — a walk in Edmonton’s Dawson Park with both my two-footed and four-footed housemates.”
“People ask if I get bored going to the same park every day. To which I answer: Does life get richer with time? Can relationships grow? People can be in good relationships with the land and learn how to be in better relationships with each other by just being in a park. I am left wondering if urban parks could become a model for how we could shift to a new view of prosperity, too.”
“One that: Better respects nature and people; Offers more blue and green ‘infrastructure’ such as modeled by beaver; Creates opportunities for more park attendants, park ambassadors and interpreters; Gives priority to people power (labour) instead of carbon (two-stroke engines); and Stops the war on weeds and embraces coexisting in the right relationship with nature.”
“I am going to keep thinking about this possibility and what it might look like. I am going to think more about the question: What is a park?” Read more at https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/a-day-in-the-park-how-our-urban-public-spaces-challenge-and-connect-us
Raspberry one of river valley’s wild resources
Raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the rose family. They are perennial with woody stems. Various kinds of raspberries are cultivated around the world from hardiness zones 3 to 9 and can also be found in Edmonton’s river valley. Rubus idaeus, the wild raspberry native to Alberta, bears fewer and smaller fruits but they are of exceptional taste.
Raspberries propagate using extended underground shoots that develop roots and individual plants. They can sucker new canes some distance from the main plant. For this reason, raspberries spread well, and can take over gardens if left unchecked. They are often propagated using cuttings and will root readily in moist soil conditions.
Raspberries should not be planted where potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or bulbs have previously been grown. These crops are hosts for the disease verticillium wilt, a fungus that can stay in the soil for many years and can infest the raspberry crop. Raspberries in Alberta fact sheet at https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex817/$file/237_20-1.pdf 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/