Skip to content

New partnership preserving wetland

Forty-six acres of land that’s become a popular nature destination in the Sheep River Valley is now protected from development.

Forty-six acres of land that’s become a popular nature destination in the Sheep River Valley is now protected from development.

The riparian land directly west of Black Diamond along the flood plane of the Sheep River, commonly referred to as the “beaver ponds,” is being donated to Western Sky Land Trust by a landowner who wishes to remain anonymous. The area will be called Black Diamond Riverside Park.

Twenty acres is located within the town and 26 acres are in the MD of Foothills.

“It’s a very special project,” said Jerry Brunen, executive director of the Western Sky Land Trust. “It helps us to maintain a healthy vibrant stretch of the river that can allow floodwater to flow unimpeded as well as helping with the effect of drought.

“Riparian vegetation helps to absorb water. Our plan is to conserve it in its natural form while allowing the public to enjoy it as well.”

Western Sky Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization that offers permanent protection to donated land, conservation easements or property purchased through fundraising in the Rockyview, Foothills, Wheatland, Big Horn and Calgary regions.

Brunen said Western Sky Land Trust’s ownership of the land means a personal commitment to conserve it in its natural state.

He said the watershed will be a natural park and a stewardship fund will be created to cover the cost of maintaining or adding to it, such as interpretive signs and benches.

Rod Ross, Black Diamond planning and development officer, said Town administration has been meeting with Western Sky Land Trust and will maintain an ongoing relationship with the organization to continue providing public access to the land.

“We are really thrilled that Western Sky has been able to negotiate this with the landowner to provide public access,” he said. “It’s land that town residents have been using informally over the years for passive recreation and this is an opportunity to formalize that access and provide a better quality of access.”

Ross said the intention is to preserve the land in its natural space and allow for public access so people can enjoy nature along the river.

“It has never been developed or put to any kind of use,” he said. “It’s a bit of an island bound by the main channel of the Sheep River on the west and a subchannels on the east.”

Black Diamond Town council agreed to support the initiative during a meeting in June when Ross explained the land trust’s intention for the property.

While the land was previously private property, Ross said foot traffic from users created a rough walking trail over large berms, created to prevent erosion, over the Westend Sewage Commission pipeline southwest of the Oilfields Regional Arena.

“The 2013 flood saw significant erosion of those lands, but most of the time it’s not flooded and it’s suitable for low level, non-intrusive recreation like walking and looking at nature,” he said.

Ross added that the Town maintains a garbage receptacle at the trail head and monitors the land on occasion for potential safety hazards.

“Something we want to work on with the land trust is improving access to the land,” he said. “The Town is working with them on an agreement on not just access but very basic level of maintenance and inspection. We don’t foresee developing any trails at this time but in the future we might develop some walking paths.”

The Town has a similar relationship with the Westend Sewage Commission for land the public has been allowed to formally access since 2009, said Ross. It’s now considered the town’s off-leash dog park.

Western Sky Land Trust owns and has land easements that total about 13,000 acres, with the closest to Black Diamond being 133 acres along the Highwood River about seven kilometres upstream of the Bow River.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks