Re: Clyde Fen Natural Area - Threatened by Recent Development without Due Process

From: Alberta Native Plant Council
P.O. Box 52099, Garneau Postal Outlet, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2T5

October 15, 2010

Honourable Rob Renner
Environment Minister
10th Floor, Petroleum Plaza South Tower
9915 - 108 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2G8

AND

County Administrator, Edward LeBlanc
Director of Environmental and Community Services, Dennis Mueller
Manager of Planning and Development, Laurie Strutt
Westlock County
10336 - 106 Street
Westlock, Alberta  T7P 2G1

Re: Clyde Fen Natural Area - Threatened by Recent Development without Due Process

As the President of the Alberta Native Plant Council (ANPC), I would like to bring your attention to events that took place this year at the Clyde Fen Natural Area in Westlock County. The construction of an industrial grade road through the fen without appropriate assessment or planning has impacted the fens in this natural area, by altering the hydrology of the fen (flooding) and causing some erosion of adjacent peatland soils. The Natural Area contains at least three provincially rare vascular plant species, including two rare orchids, and populations of pitcher plants. Clyde Fen is not only a stewarded Natural Area, identified as a Protective Notation (PNT) site under the Public Lands Act and Land Titles Act, but it is also a wetland identified under the Water Act and covered under Alberta Environment’s Wetland Compensation Guide[1].

Details of the history of Clyde Fen, the road installation and the regulatory process are in the appendix to this letter. ANPC has identified gaps in the process that should be addressed on provincial, regional and municipal levels.

Through ongoing discussions within the ANPC membership, we have identified the following gaps in the process:

• The Municipal Government does not understand wetland policy,
• The Provincial Government has not educated the Municipal Government on wetland policies (and potentially on other environmental matters),
• The Public Land Titles system lacks safeguards for certain notations, and
• The Municipal Government did not take into consideration the notation on the land standing report, a step that would have identified stakeholders requiring consultation.

The ANPC hopes that in response to this letter, the immediate outcomes from your Ministry will be the following:

• Circulation of this document to the Regional Advisory Councils and Watershed Planning Advisory Councils (those that currently exist and those that will be formed in the future),
• Circulation of this document to the Land Use Secretariat,
• Support of municipalities to identify Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) in their jurisdictions and to include the ANPC in the consultation process to determine these ESAs, and
• Circulation of a memo instructing the RAC/WPAC committees to consider these gaps in their plans and to incorporate, as appropriate, the following specific suggestions on a regional level.

Specifically, the ANPC strongly recommends the following steps be taken to ensure ongoing conservation of Clyde Fen Natural Area:

• Undertake a hydrologic assessment of pre- and post-disturbance surface run-off volumes for the Clyde Fen catchment area and a 1:100 year flood scenario assessment (paid for by the proponent) to support design of the road and culvert system.
• Submit the subsequent report to the municipality and Alberta Environment, Water Act approvals coordinator. Any recommendations within the report should be implemented by the proponent to restore pre-disturbance hydrological conditions.
• Require the proponent of the road construction to hire a qualified wetland ecologist to monitor the condition of Clyde Fen and make recommendations for follow-up work, if required.
• Submit each subsequent report, on an annual basis, to the municipality, Alberta Environment, Water Act approvals coordinator and the ANPC.
• Carry out monitoring over the next five years.
• Conduct a rare plant survey in spring and summer of 2011, and submit the subsequent report to the municipality, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation, and the ANPC.
• Raise the protection status of Clyde Fen from a PNT to an Order-in-Council (OC).
• Develop a process of communication and liaison involving the ANPC and all government departments (e.g., municipal, ASRD, Parks, LUF committees) that have responsibility for the welfare of Clyde Fen.

Yours sincerely,

Alberta Native Plant Council

Kelly Ostermann

President

KO/lh

cc.

Cindy Ady, Member of Legislative Assembly

Kali Hennessey, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development

Doug Bowes, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation

Fran Maddell, Westlock County

Attachments

Appendix: Summary of the History of Clyde Fen Natural Area, Recent Road Installation Activities, and Regulatory Process

Background

Clyde Fen is a PNT (protective notation) natural area, consisting of 3 quarter sections: SW 15-Twp 60-Range 24-W4M, NE 16-60-24-W4 (contiguous) and SW 27-60-24-W4. It is located in the municipality of Westlock County and in the Dry Mixedwood Natural Subregion of the Boreal Forest Natural Region. The natural area presumably received its notation to preserve the fen ecosystem that extends beyond its borders. The fen is of the intermediate type (i.e., not strongly calcareous) but is very wet with abundant sedge, bog bean and pitcher plants, interspersed with bog birch and islands of tamarack and black spruce. Adjacent to the fen to the east and north is an extensive series of sand/gravel pits that are being exploited. (Ecosystems consisting of sand dune ridges alternating with peaty depressions that may be treed or open are relatively common in an arc extending from northeast to northwest of Edmonton. They encompass a considerable amount of diversity because vegetation adapted to well-drained soils exists in close proximity to plants that are adapted to very different, poorly drained organic soils.) Sandy areas at Clyde are populated with jack pine and extensive patches of blueberries.

The quarter section SE 16 was once a fen, also, with abundant pitcher plants (containing possibly as much as 50% of the total population) and a hilly island of deciduous forest, but this land (not Crown) changed ownership and the current owner cleared it in 2003 (see note below) for “recreational purposes.”  This quarter contained the first record of Malaxis paludosa for the fen, although another location has since been found at the site (see below).

History

The Alberta Native Plant Council established itself as a steward of Clyde Fen Natural Area in 1989, with Derek Johnson acting as lead representative.

Plant species have been recorded for the natural area since 1990, and in the 1990s a list was published in the Watchable Wildlife Series for the Clyde Fen and Bridge Lake Natural Areas (the latter is located to the east of Clyde Fen) that includes over 190 species, to which a further 24 have since been added for Clyde Fen – an impressive number. Rare species include:

• pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea (Status: Vulnerable) (GoA 2010),
• Loesel’s twayblade, Liparis loeselii (Status: Critically Imperiled) (GoA 2010). Note that this is only the second record of Loesel’s twayblade for Alberta, the first being made north of Fort McMurray on June 17, 2006 (Allen 2009),
• bog adder’s-mouth, Malaxis paludosa (Status: Critically Imperiled) (GoA 2010),
• flat-stem spike-rush, Eleocharis compressa (Status: not ranked),
• Back’s sedge, Carex backii (Status: Vulnerable) (GoA 2010), and
• bald sedge, Carex tonsa (Status: Vulnerable) (GoA 2010).

These species have been confirmed repeatedly at this site, as a May Plant Species Count of Species, which documents all species in flower, is conducted every year at the end of May in Clyde Fen.

Basic History of Clyde Fen:

In June 2001, a fire swept through the area and burned most of SW 15 and NE and SE of 16 but not SW 27, burning the trees down to mineral soil (Johnson 2001). The steward discovered the burn during a site visit on August 28, 2001. There had been no prior notification of the ANPC, and neither did Alberta Sustainable Resource Development inform Parks staff (in Alberta Community Development) of this damage to the natural area. During this burn, loss of pitcher plant populations took place, but the open conditions revealed the existence of another location of Malaxis paludosa in unburnt moss.  Burning of a fen is unusual, but conditions were extremely dry in 2001.

In 2002-2003 the ANPC wrote to Ken Kowalski, MLA for the Westlock area, asking for the natural area to be given formal legislated protective status (i.e., by Order-in-Council) and asking also that the government purchase the adjacent lands “important to ensure the long-term survival of the fen.” The letter was forwarded by Mr. Kowalski to Mike Cardinal for review. Gene Zwozdesky, Minister of Community Development, replied that “the government may support an order-in-council for protection of both the Clyde Fen and the adjacent area.” (Johnson 2004) This did not happen.

During a May 25, 2003, site visit, ANPC discovered that the private property in SE 16 that had been up for sale the previous year had been cleared, and fencing had been installed between this quarter and the natural area in SW 15. This clearing removed most of the fen vegetation, including extensive populations of pitcher plants. Again, there had been no prior notification of this change to the ANPC by any government department.

Recent Road Installation

On June 30, 2010, the ANPC steward discovered the constructed gravel road adjacent to the fen and observed flooding of the fen on the east side of the road that had occurred because no culvert had been installed. This information was communicated by email to Parks staff (in Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation), and included pictures that showed a new gravel road constructed on the municipal road allowance (previously a drainage channel vegetated with fen species) between quarters SW 15 (the natural area) and SE 16 (the private, cleared land previously referred to), leading to a “large open pad” in NW 15. Parks staff contacted Westlock County and requested that culverts be installed immediately, with which the County complied (by July 12). Westlock County denied all knowledge of the existence of the fen and its ecological significance.

Details of Regulatory Process

• A gravel pit operator/contractor obtained a permit from Westlock County to build the road, to provide access for his gravel trucks. It was built during the winter when the ground was frozen (obviously, since the ground would have been too wet to build at any other time). This in itself should have prompted some concern. The contractor wanted this access route because he had received objections to his proposed alternative northern route from acreage owners who feared excess dust and noise.
• The County, with no awareness of the existence of the fen, issued the permit.
• It was not practical to install culverts in the winter and the County was remiss in not following up to ensure compliance when ground conditions would permit.
• Municipalities are not required by legislation to inform the province when they build on their road allowances; therefore, SRD had no knowledge – as far as we know – of the road construction. Even if it had, SRD would not have been required to inform Parks, because Clyde Fen is covered by a PNT and SRD is responsible for management of the site. Hence, ANPC had also not been notified. It should be noted that SRD had not previously communicated to Westlock County the existence and sensitivity of the fen.

Going Forward

Westlock County has hired a person to develop an inventory of sites in the County that have environmental and/or recreational value. Information on Clyde Fen is being provided to them. The ANPC looks forward to developing a positive relationship with Westlock County with beneficial results for the fen.

Photo 1     Damage to Clyde Fen from road installation

Photo 2     Industrial use of road adjacent to Clyde Fen Natural Area (NA on left)

Photo 3     Ineffective installation of culvert under road

References

Allen, Lorna. 2009. Loesel’s twayblade–a new orchid for Alberta. Alberta Native Plant Council, Iris #59. Edmonton, AB. Pp 5-6.

Government of Alberta. 2010. Alberta Conservation Information Systems Complete List of All Elements in Alberta. Accessed on Sept. 23, 2010. Available at: http://tpr.alberta.ca/parks/heritageinfocentre/datarequests/default.aspx.

Johnson, Derek. 2001. ANPC Stewardship Site: Fire in Clyde Fens Natural Area. Alberta Native Plant Council Iris, #40. Edmonton, AB. Pp. 7-8.

Johnson, Derek. 2004. Clyde Fens Natural Area: 2003 site inspection and May Species Count. Alberta Native Plant Council Iris #46. Pp. 7.

[1] Government of Alberta. 2007. Provincial Wetland Restoration/Compensation Guide. Alberta Environmental Protection, Edmonton, AB.