A Big Lake wetland got a splash of cash from an international oil company for World Water Day.
Shell Canada said Monday that it would donate $100,000 to Ducks Unlimited to build the John E. Poole interpretive wetland by Big Lake. The donation, given under the company’s environmental fund, coincided with World Water Day.
The grant is one of four similar ones awarded this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Shell’s environmental fund, said company spokesperson Ed Greenberg. Shell’s environmental fund has awarded $15 million to projects across Canada since its creation in 1990.
Ducks Unlimited announced the Poole project last June. When built, it will create an educational raised walkway in a small wetland near the Riel Park stormwater pond and the new Hole’s Enjoy Centre. The project is linked to the $5-million John E. Poole Conservation Fund that was also established last June.
This is a major commitment to the project, said project manager and St. Albert resident Dave Kay, one that will free up cash in the fund to protect other wetlands in central Alberta. “It’s great to have that kind of corporate commitment.”
The grant’s timing was also appropriate, Kay said, given the many links between wetlands and water. “When we restore wetlands, we sequester carbon, improve groundwater quality, help to prevent flooding … there are a lot of ecological services that wetlands provide society.”
Construction of the walkway was supposed to start this winter, Kay said, but is on hold pending completion of a land deal with Beaverbrook Developments. That deal should be signed this year, he said, with construction following next winter.
St. Albert would take a hands-off approach to wild animals under its proposed wildlife management plan.
City council received a draft of its new wildlife management guidelines Monday. The draft, created in response to a council motion last September, set out rules for how the city should deal with wild animals within city limits.
Wild animals provide a number of social, economic and ecological benefits, the draft reads, but can also clash with people. Beavers gnaw trees, for example, while crows eat baby songbirds. Any response to these clashes should be ecologically sound and based on science, according to the draft, with an emphasis on education.
The draft creates rules for beavers, foxes, coyotes, deer, moose, ground squirrels, skunks, porcupines, crows, magpies and geese. Domestic animals are explicitly excluded. Most of the rules note that the city will only act on an animal if it is on public land.
The proposed fox rules are a typical example. Noting that foxes have been around St. Albert since pre-settlement times and help control pesky rodents, the draft says that they should be left alone unless they are rabid or aggressive. If they are, the city will call in a professional to deal with them. Staff should advise people to keep food sources (such as pet food) out of reach to avoid attracting foxes.
Coun. Carol Watamaniuk approved of the plan, saying that it was far more detailed than she expected. “I have a little problem going under the heading of ‘pests,’” she added, as some of the animals in the plan (such as deer) are welcome visitors to many people.
The draft looks good so far, agreed Mayor Nolan Crouse. “I think the fact that we have to have wildlife guidelines is a good problem,” he said.
The draft now goes to the environmental advisory committee for review, and is scheduled to come back to council this June.
The draft can be read at www.stalbert.ca/council-meetings-minutes under the minutes of the March 22 meeting.
