COLINTON — Residents of Colinton, the surrounding area, and the county at large gathered in a room of the valley hamlet’s community centre this April to learn more and provide input on a section of land managed by the federal government for more than 100 years, located right across the highway.
Molly Kirk, head of the Protected Areas Unit for Canadian Wildlife Services (CWS) prairie region, was joined by colleagues and Alberta Protected Areas Technicians Tiana Phillips and Joli Rumi Borah in Colinton April 11, for CWS’s first public-facing trip to the area since the area changed hands in 2019.
“The intent today is just an introduction so you can learn who we are and what this place is, and then what opportunities might be in the future to work together,” said Kirk.
“We’re not quite at the stage of starting that, because today we wanted to introduce ourselves to the community and re-establish some connections,” she added. “Of course, because it’s a Wildlife Area, we want it support habitats of birds and other wildlife, but beyond that, we’re open to hearing from community what you think this site should look like in the future.”
Open House
The focus of CWS open house event was the Meanook National Wildlife Area: 214 hectares, or more than 528 acres, of former fields and mixed-wood forest previously used for environmental research, located west of Highway 2 on Range Rd 230.
Kirk defined National Wildlife Areas as sections of land managed by the Canada Wildlife Act, with a decree of protecting habitats for migratory birds, species deemed at risk, and other wildlife significant to Canada’s ecological health and biodiversity.
Phillips, a born and raised Albertan herself, said their duties in areas like Meanook include collecting and monitoring data on the different species within the borders of the area, from bats and birds to deer, coyotes, and bears — even the plant life.
Approximately 10 attendees came and went during the two-hour session, which featured a presentation from Kirk and her crew detailing the history of the area, CWS’s mandates for National Wildlife Areas, and a Q&A period.
Participants asked Kirk and crew a range of questions, from what types of public activity are allowed in the Wildlife Area, and future plans for management of the land.
“National Wildlife Areas … are singularly intended for conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat,” said Kirk. “National Parks have a dual mandate, they’re for conservation of habitat and recreation. You’ve got your campgrounds, your hiking trails, all that jazz. We don’t typically have that type of infrastructure on our wildlife areas.”
Kirk’s team manages some 14 Wildlife Areas across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, four of which are located in Alberta. “It varies from site to site,” added Kirk. “Meanook is unique in that it’s closed to the public and there are no authorized activities, and in order to access the site, you require a permit.”
She noted that complete public restriction from Wildlife Areas in her crew’s jurisdiction is rare but is a remnant from the University of Alberta’s presence on the land, but the restriction of public access does not supercede Indigenous rights to access the area.
“From 1983 to 2013, the NWA (National Wildlife Area) hosted a biological research station that was run by the U of A,” said Phillips. “We don’t have a lot of the data that was collected during this time, but they had experimental ponds there where they did aquatic studies; they also had vegetation sampling equipment.”
History
According to Phillips, Meanook National Wildlife Area was established by in CWS, a branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada, in 1979. But the federal presence on parts of the three quarter-sections stretches back to 1916, when the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, now known as Natural Resources Canada, purchased four hectares for a geomagnetic observatory.
Between 1955 and 1976, surrounding land was purchased to act as a buffer to the observatory, but was subsequently declared a surplus. Three years later, CWS expressed interest in the land, and it became the National Wildlife Area still in existence today.
The University of Alberta entered into a 49-year licensing agreement in 1983 to establish a biological research station to study the natural ecosystems of northern Alberta on the parcel. The station saw students of all levels, from undergraduate studies to PhD candidates completing theses.
“In 2011, there was a fire that destroyed one of the research buildings in the old courtyard, and that fire, along with a declining interest in research within northern Alberta ecosystems, initiated the U of A to begin terminating their agreement,” said Phillips.
The university’s exit was officially granted in 2019, leaving the land back in the hands of CWS. Since the takeover, Phillips said naturalization work and cleanup of outbuildings left behind by the U of A have been done, but COVID put a hold on both management and enforcement in the area for several years.
“Since that time, we’ve been trying to decide on a direction we want to take Meanook,” said Phillips.
Next steps
Kirk and Phillips noted one recent development in future plans for Meanook’s Wildlife Area is the implementation of a weed and plant management plan.
“The most prominent issue is the invasive plant problem,” said Phillips. “So far we’ve identified 11 different species out at Meanook, the worst ones are common tansy and oxeye daisy.” Attempts to control the weeds via goat grazing were made in 2021, but Phillips said a new, customized plan was received recently, and will help prioritize efforts to tackle the problem.
CWS is also looking into reforestation plans in order to rehabilitate former agricultural lands, and Phillips said the hope is that weed management will play a role.
“The tree establishment (in a few areas) has been choked out by the invasive plants and the high litter (thatch) loads,” said Phillips. The removal of old, unnecessary fencing within the area, and repair of boundary fencing are also on CWS’s Meanook ‘to do list.’
“Our department’s approach right now is that it will be maintained as a National Wildlife Area, but in the next couple of years, we’re going to develop a management plan for this area, and we’re going to want community engagement on what that management plan looks like,” said Kirk.
“We’re not quite at the stage of starting that, because today we wanted to introduce ourselves to the community and re-establish some connections,” she added. “Of course, because it’s a Wildlife Area, we want it support habitats of birds and other wildlife, but beyond that, we’re open to hearing from community what you think this site should look like in the future.”
Kirk and crew said future engagement sessions will take place in the community, and another interested in being notified of times and dates of meetings can contact [email protected] or Kirk at [email protected]
