| | Michael Barr
Ducks Unlimited Canada
About 30 km east of Edmonton lies a hummocky, wooded landscape liberally sprinkled with wetlands and supporting a rich variety of plants and animals. Called the Beaver Hills, this area is facing increasing pressure from urban, country-residential, industrial and other types of development. Now the Beaver Hills Initiative (BHI), a multi-agency partnership, is using an innovative approach to simultaneously sustain the area’s natural qualities and its social and economic well-being.
The 1570-km2 Beaver Hills area includes portions of the counties of Beaver, Lamont, Leduc and Strathcona as well as many parks and other protected areas, such as Elk Island National Park, the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Grazing, Wildlife and Provincial Recreation Area, the Ministik Bird Sanctuary, and Miquelon Lake Provincial Park. The BHI, established in 2002, is taking what is defined as a ‘Protected Landscapes’ approach to this multi-jurisdictional landscape.
In this approach, the protected areas are complemented and supported by a conservation-oriented approach to the surrounding lived-in and working landscapes. By assessing aspects like wildlife linkages, water bodies and critical habitat for the entire area, the BHI partners hope to guide change in their own jurisdictions.
“The Protected Landscapes approach provides a process to protect biodiversity and the natural capital of an area in conjunction with enhancing an area’s social and economic viability and the quality of life of the community. It is this balance that is the central theme to the BHI and one which will help to sustain the essential character and sense of place of the Beaver Hills,” explains Dr. Guy Swinnerton, a member of the BHI Co-ordinating Committee and a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta.
Swinnerton has studied protection of natural areas in lived-in and working landscapes around the world for many years. He notes, “To have a Protected Landscapes approach, you have to have around the table, the complete mosaic of interests involved who have either direct or indirect effects on the use, planning and management of that area.” In the case of the BHI committee, representatives from 18 agencies are at the table (see box), working by consensus.
“You can’t do this alone; it’s got to be a group effort,” says Ray Lopushinsky, the chair of the BHI committee. “We’ve had tremendous support from the whole group. The partners all have something at stake – the results from the initiative help them do their daily work.”
Rather than creating a formal land use plan, the BHI has developed a strategy based on a common vision, mission and guiding principles. Its vision is that “the Beaver Hills Initiative values the region for its natural beauty and quality of life, and supports co-operative efforts to sustain the quality of water, land, air and natural resources, and community development,” says Lopushinsky, who represents Lamont County on the committee.
The BHI’s vision provides a reference point for decision-making. As well, the initiative provides another key to making effective decisions – consultants and many of the partners collect data on the area’s physical, biological and socio-economic characteristics to provide a comprehensive, shared database.
“We want to give the partners the information they need to make the best decisions they can. That’s the key to the whole thing. When you are looking at any type of development, you have to have that basic information,” notes Lopushinsky.
The initiative is also looking at opportunities to co-ordinate services among the partners, like fire protection and controlling invasive weed species, insect pests and diseases. Lopushinsky says, “We want to use a collaborative effort for co-ordinated, cost-effective services.”
Although the Protected Landscapes approach is used in other countries, “the recognition that lived-in landscapes can make a contribution to the protection of biodiversity is new to much of Canada and North America,” Swinnerton says. “We have the opportunity [with the BHI] to provide a useful template or case study that could be applicable elsewhere. At the end of the day, there will be difficult decisions, and hopefully those will be made within that spirit of consensus and acknowledging the unique resource that we have in the Beaver Hills.”
BHI partners
Beaver County, Lamont County, Leduc County, Strathcona County, Elk Island National Park, Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA)/Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Nature Conservancy of Canada, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, Alberta Fish and Game Association, Alberta Community Development, Alberta Municipal Affairs, Alberta Environment, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Northeast Capital Industrial Association, Alberta Industrial Heartland |
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