A compelling new report shows that maintaining the status quo in land-use planning in the Southern East Slopes of the Rocky Mountains will lead to slow but certain environmental degradation of the region — and we are not well-equipped to cope.

This report is timely as the province completes the consultation period in a process to develop a Land-Use Framework. This Framework will define land-use priorities and ideally lead to improved integrated decisions around land and water decisions. The southern foothills report lends ammunition to those participating in the process who support stronger restrictions on human activities on Alberta's landscape and more coordinated decision making around water and land use.

The Southern Foothills Study (SFS), lead by Dr. Brad Stelfox, used landscape simulation modeling to create a comprehensive picture of what is happening presently and what is projected to happen on the landscape of the Southern East Slopes. In other words, the study sought to explore what the environment of the Southern East Slopes of Alberta would look like 50 and 100 years from now if development and approval processes remain unchanged.

What the study found was that "Business as Usual" will lead to slow but steady environmental degradation of the Southern East Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. In the SFS's "Business as Usual" scenario, the human population of the study area will more than double, the number of cattle present on the landscape will increase by approximately 56%, the cut-block edge will increase from 2,500 km to 6,500 km, 300-500 km of seismic lines will be added annually, and the number of wells on the landscape will increase by approximately 25 times all in the next 50 years.

The results of the "Business as Usual" scenario were presented to 1400 members of the public through a series of seven public meetings and by a telephone survey. Feedback from both the written survey (distributed at meetings) and the random sample telephone survey indicates that the projected decline in environmental health is a "significant concern" to people who live and work in southern Alberta and that there is "broad support for a requirement that land-use planning take cumulative effects into account". The written and telephone surveys also indicate that watershed protection was the "primary concern" of respondents. Over 70% of all respondents were "very concerned" about the diminished water quality and quantity predicted by the "Business as Usual" scenario.

» The full report is available from the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society's website

Overall, the surveys showed that people have significant concerns about the current piecemeal approval process for development in southern Alberta. Unfortunately, researchers warn, as a society, we are not well equipped to deal with "incremental, non-crisis, resource management problems". Yet, if we don't find a way to do so, the ecosystems of the Southern East Slopes will disappear "not with a big bang but with a long drawn-out whimper".

The final product of the SFS and public surveys is a report entitled "The Changing Landscape of the Southern Alberta Foothills", released in June 2007 by the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society. The authors hope that this report will lead to an increased awareness of the incremental threats to our landscape and encourage discussion that will examine and improve land management practices in southern Alberta.

To read more about the Southern Foothills Study and obtain a copy of this important report, visit the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society website.