NSRVCS Newsletter - September 2, 2021

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September 2, 2021

Edmonton concerned about coal mining impact on watershed and ecosystem
Edmonton City Council accepted the recommendations of its Utility Committee that the mayor write a letter to the provincial government underscoring the potentially “serious impact of coal mining on our regional watershed and ecosystems.”

Other recommendations direct the city manager and Epcor to make a submission to a provincial coal policy committee, and direct city administration to report back on both the status of the North Saskatchewan River Regional Plan and the need for a formal watershed management plan.

Epcor’s assessment noted two relatively recent tailings dam failures, one at the Obed Mountain coal mine in Hinton in 2013 and another at the Mount Polley gold and copper mine near Quesnel, B.C. in 2014, that contaminated water with mine waste.

Epcor recommended that a precautionary approach be taken in any assessment of potential coal mining. “Despite advances in treatment technologies, exposing rock rich in selenium and other metals has been shown to affect water quality for decades in downstream water bodies,” the report notes. Mitigation and remediation is cost prohibitive and difficult.” Read more at https://thenarwhal.ca/edmonton-drinking-water-coal-mines-report/

Manitoba Maple tolerates both flooding and drought
The native range of Manitoba maple is limited to the far eastern part of Alberta’s grasslands and aspen parkland as far north as the Battle River. However, the species is remarkably adaptable, and has thrived when planted in many other parts of the province.

Manitoba maple is rare in that it can tolerate both flooding and droughts. It is also moderately salt tolerant and grows well in full sun or partial shade. Manitoba maple does not sucker but it can nevertheless spread quickly by seed into large, thick groves that persist for decades as the species is long lived as well as fast growing

Manitoba maple is wind pollinated, so it does not provide food for pollinators. However, many birds and squirrels feast on its characteristic and abundant ‘helicopter’ seeds. Manitoba maples can also be tapped for their sap in the early spring when temperatures are above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. This sap can be boiled down into a sweet syrup that tastes very similar to the syrup made from sugar maples in eastern Canada.

A famous Edmonton Manitoba maple was planted by Laurent and Eleanor Garneau at the rear of their home, to which they moved in 1874. The tree was on 111 Street just north of 90 Avenue and was removed for safety reasons in September 2017. Read more at https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/edmonton_archives/emwalker-historic-trees

City ward Karhiio honours Michel First Nation
Karhiio is Mohawk for tall, beautiful forest and this ward was given its name to honour Louis L'Iroquois and his son Michel Caliheue.

Louis, a Mohawk from Kahnawake, was hired by the Northwest Company in 1800 as a canoe man and later a steersman. Louis' son Michel was born in 1823 and became the first Chief of the Michel band and signed an adhesion to Treaty 6. The band resided in what is now known as Calahoo and consisted of families of Mohawk, Cree, and Metis descent.

Michel First Nation was enfranchised in 1958. Enfranchisement is a process for terminating a person’s Indian status. This process was part of the Government of Canada’s plan to assimilate Indigenous people. Michel Band was the only one in Canada to be enfranchised during the twentieth century.

Since 1988, Michel First Nation is governed by an elected Chief and Council and has 750 status members. In the absence of band status, the Friends of Michel Society was formed to provide a legal entity. Watch a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL6i5L_8gWI

Bark cut off at the base of a beautiful birch tree
Trudy writes “I’ve been noticing a large, beautiful birch tree along the path behind Mayfair golf in Edmonton that someone is cutting the bark off at the base trying to kill the tree and have cut a lot more off lately. I’m wondering who would benefit from this and how do we stop or protect the trees?”

Thanks
Brian says “Thanks for the well researched and insightful articles. I always enjoy reading your river valley news.”

Comment or contribution
If you have a comment, concern, or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com Please also email us river valley photos or event information. Your friends, neighbours and colleagues can sign up for this newsletter on our web site.

Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712

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August 26, 2021

NSRVCS Newsletter - August 26, 2021

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August 26, 2021

Green energy vs Indigenous heritage in Edmonton
Epcor’s solar farm, a 51 acre, 45,000 panel operation is being built next to the North Saskatchewan River on what was a flourishing meadow rich in cultural sites. Epcor itself wrote “This site can be described as a multicomponent pre-contact period campsite which consists of a series of undisturbed cultural occupations from below the plough zone, approximately 30 cm below surface, to approximately four metres below ground surface.”

There appears to be multiple layers of occupation present, which speaks to ongoing and recurrent habitation. The geotechnical report for test pit TP17-08 notes cultural artifacts discovered at 1m, then again at 2.5 m. Indigenous people, before contact, would return to sacred places and spaces as a matter of practice. This evidence supports oral histories that speak to those practice.

Supporters of the project made much about the site being previously disturbed, farmed over and part of Epcor’s private holdings. These are the usual refrains used to depreciate the land and sell the idea of “no greater damage” so common when it comes to bulldozing Indigenous heritage sites. But we know that archaeological resources exist below the depth of a plow, and that the land was not always part of Epcor’s holdings.

Must Indigenous history, heritage, culture, and sacred sites remain off-limits for years more in order for a utility company to save money? Should archaeologists, experts and engineers be able to applaud themselves for getting a project approved that may destroy a place in the River Valley that has been proven to be occupied for a minimum of 9,000 years?

Read Robert Houle’s complete blog at https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2020/10/29/green-energy-vs-indigenous-heritage-in-edmonton/

Edmonton’s lost lake, creeks, and wetlands
Early Edmontonians had strong cultural connections to their water bodies. That was especially true of McKernan Lake, once covering about 30 acres and now covered up by the McKernan neighbourhood. The lake was a community gathering place in all seasons and included boating, swimming, picnicking, skating, and curling.

Many creeks were lost to road and bridge construction during the city’s building booms. Goat Creek was culverted, filled, and buried to construct Groat Road. Upper sections of MacKinnon Creek were culverted and paved to build residential neighbourhoods.

In the 1960s, MacKinnon Ravine was earmarked for a highway through central Edmonton. To this end, MacKinnon Creek and Ramsay Creek were culverted, filled, and packed down to create a roadbed. This roadway is now a walking and cycling trail.

Fulton Creek in east Edmonton illustrated gradual creek loss. Lower sections of the creek were culverted and filled to build Gretzky Drive and Capilano bridge. Current expansion of industrial areas encroaches on city’s remaining marshy areas. Text and information for this piece from Living in the Shed by Billie Milholland https://www.linkedin.com/in/billie-milholland-474a1639/?originalSubdomain=ca

City ward name calls for an equal future for LGBTQ2S+ community
The name tastawiyiniwak, is the nêhiyawak (Cree) term referring to the LGBTQ2S+ community. Its rough English translation is “in-between people.” The Cree heritage does not have a binary view of gender, or of traditional gender roles. In fact, the Cree worldview recognized eight genders, and each had their own role to play in the betterment of their community.

The Cree believe all people are unified by a single ahcahk (spirit). Each individual could choose where they belonged, what responsibilities they bore to their community, and were free to move between roles as they wished. This is the origin of the term tastawiyiniwak, or "in-between people."

The City of Edmonton ward tastawiyiniwak name calls for a more equal future for the LGBTQ2S+ community. Learn more by watching the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nc6cDzY2PA

Star-Flowered Solomon’s Seal great for a shade garden
This perennial is a member of the Lily family and grows from spreading rootstalks to form thick groundcover. Although it is slower to establish than the sun loving prairie wildflowers, this plant has staying power. It simply gets thicker each year and lives for many years.

This is an elegant wildflower with tall, arching stems. The narrow, grey-green leaves have long, noticeable veins. Leaf size and shape can vary, depending on where the plant is located. In bright light, the leaves are stiff; in shade, they are limp but tend to grow larger.

The white flowers have six petals and form a loose group at the end of each leafy stem. The species name, stellata, means “star-like” and describes the lovely white flowers. Berries are greenish with dark stripes, before turning red, and then nearly black, in early fall.

This plant prefers woodlands, open meadows, shores of sandy marshes and grows across Canada, including in Edmonton’s river valley. More at https://www.naturewatch.ca/plantwatch/star-flowered-solomons-seal/

Anirniq ward honours those who never made it home
Liz writes “I went to St Andrew’s school for 9 years. Across the street was the entrance of the Camsell hospital. We never knew what was happening. We were told the eskimos there were being cared for while they recovered from a very infectious TB. We could not visit them or ever see them. Thanks for this history lesson.”

Hermitage Park Disc Golf Course
Cass says “There is a new disc golf course being installed at Hermitage Park. The course design was released by the Edmonton Disc Golf Association https://edga.ca/courses/hermitage-park/ and it looks like 3 of the fairways-flight paths go through forests and even a ravine. How this made it past the city is beyond me. I worry players will lose discs in the ravine trying to throw across it, then scramble down. This is through our natural areas along the river. What about erosion and wildlife? This was such a scenic and quiet park for bird watching.”

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August 19, 2021

NSRVCS Newsletter - August 19, 2021

Guest User

August 19, 2021

Bylaw to preserve and protect trees in public spaces
On August 24, City Council’s Urban Planning Committee will discuss a proposed bylaw to preserve and protect trees in public spaces owned by the City of Edmonton. There is currently no proactive tree protection or preservation bylaw.

The city’s urban forest of 380,000 boulevard and open space trees and 3,000 hectares of natural stands provides environmental and ecological benefits by contributing to urban biodiversity, retaining water, providing wildlife habitat, and sequestering carbon. Trees enhance the livability and quality of life in the city’s neighbourhoods by cooling the streetscape, purifying the air we breathe, providing shade and creating a sense of well being in the urban environment.

City trees are damaged or lost by soil compaction from vehicles, heavy equipment, and storage of construction materials over tree roots that can reduce pore space in soil which leads to limited water and air flow to the roots causing decline in the overall health and resilience of the trees. It is critical that tree assets, especially existing mature trees, are responsibly managed, preserved and protected for current and future generations.

Mature trees provide the largest ecosystem benefits, but their inventory is relatively small. City-owned mature trees make up 15 percent of the total inventory for boulevard and open space trees, excluding natural stands. They are estimated to have a monetary value of over $900 million and annual ecosystem benefits of over $10 million. When mature trees are damaged or lost, their many benefits are degraded or lost for decades.

To present to the Committee on this issue, register with the City Clerk at 780.496.8178 or city.clerk@edmonton.ca Read the reports at Agenda Item 6.2 https://pub-edmonton.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=e2a9adbb-058b-4ed5-b5d9-2f199fb024be&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English&Item=23&Tab=attachments

Proposed coal mining upstream of Edmonton a risk to our drinking water
City Council’s Utility Committee at its August 27 meeting will discuss the potential impact on Edmonton’s drinking water from four provincially approved coal mining projects. Activity that happens in the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River is a matter of vital interest to the City of Edmonton and every Edmontonian.

Five percent of the North Saskatchewan watershed upstream of the City of Edmonton is currently held by coal leases, and poses a risk to source water, aquatic ecosystem health, and industrial and agricultural users if development occurs.

The North Saskatchewan River is currently Edmonton’s sole source of drinking water and provides Edmontonians with recreational opportunities including fishing, swimming, and boating in addition to being an important ecological system for wildlife. A basin wide, comprehensive risk assessment and integrated land use and water management plan does not currently exist.

EPCOR conducted a risk assessment of upstream coal mining in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed that suggests risks to drinking water and assimilative capacity of the river under normal operating conditions is low, and risks to water quality for aquatic ecosystem health within Edmonton is medium-low. However, in the event of a rare catastrophic mine failure, such as a tailings dam failure, there would be an extreme impact on downstream water quality.

To present to the Committee on this issue, register with the City Clerk at 780.496.8178 or city.clerk@edmonton.ca Read the City and EPCOR reports at Agenda Item 6.1 https://pub-edmonton.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=0cfd3d5e-d0e0-46af-8916-336acf259964&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English&Item=21&Tab=attachments

Rhubarb originally valued for medicinal purposes
Although rhubarb is a perennial vegetable, it is often put to the same culinary uses as fruits.The stalks are the only edible part of the rhubarb plant. They have a rich, tart flavor when cooked. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are toxic, they contain an irritant called oxalic acid, so be sure not to eat them.

The Chinese call rhubarb "the great yellow" and have used rhubarb root for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. During Islamic times, it was imported along the Silk Road reaching Europe in the 14th century. The cost of transportation across Asia made rhubarb expensive in medieval Europe. It was several times the price of other valuable herbs and spices such as cinnamon, opium and saffron.

The high price, as well as the increasing demand from apothecaries, stimulated efforts to cultivate different species of rhubarb on European soil. Certain species came to be grown in England. The local availability of the plants grown for medicinal purposes, together with the increasing abundance and decreasing price of sugar in the 18th century, galvanised its culinary adoption. Rhubarb came to North America with European settlers. Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb

Photo of EPCOR solar power plant construction
Garry writes “Another good weekly newsletter. Just a quick comment about the caption describing it as reindustrialization. A solar farm possesses none of the problems we commonly associate with industrial sites. Once operating solar farms produce no audible noise, traffic, odours, dust, nor stray light. Hardly the characteristics of an industrial site.”

Melanie says “I’m so gutted to see the solar panels going up. Will you share an update on what the heck happened with the court injunction or whatever legalese was trying to hold this up that absolutely failed? Want to make noise about this around elections and such.”

Harry states, “I appreciate your informative newsletter. I see that EPCOR is aggressively moving forward with it’s industrial-scale solar farm in the river valley. I think there will be a lot of very disappointed users of the river valley in this area, when they see the finished result. There will be a significant loss of aesthetics, not to mention ecological impacts.”

Apology re Mountain Bike Concerns headline
Feedback has been received from many Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance members concerned this headline unfairly blamed their sport for unsanctioned trails in the river valley. We accept this criticism and apologize for the headline. Illegal trails can be made by runners, hikers, dog walkers, homeless encampments, etc. A better headline would have been Unsanctioned Trails Concerns.

Readers should note that unless we explicitly state it, articles and reader feedback in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the position of NSRVCS.

Photo by Louisa Bruinsma of a bald eagle at Rundle Park.