A British Columbia forest corporation wants to log 1,000 hectares of forest in the Highwood River watershed but a group of Albertans concerned about fish habitat and water quality on the Eastern Slopes is trying to stop the clearcutting.
As The Rockies.Life previously reported, in 2023 Spray Lakes Sawmills built a bridge across Highwood River without getting the necessary permits from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO.) Photos published by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society show bank erosion, destroyed habitats around the river, and failed sediment control measures following the illegal bridge construction.
After an official investigation, DFO forced the company to remove the bridge. The order put a halt to logging plans. But the stoppage was short-lived.
West Fraser, the BC forest corporation that bought Spray Lakes Sawmills, applied for a permit for a new bridge across the Highwood. On Oct. 7 of this year, DFO gave the green light to the company in a decision that will kickstart logging operations in the upper Highwood.
Conservationists are furious. Two weeks after West Fraser got its permit, several dozen protesters built a wooden barricade to prevent construction crews from accessing the river at a spot they called Strawberry Camp. The blockade stood for seven weeks, however the group has just received news that Alberta’s Department of Forestry will be removing the wall this week.
Threats to water and and fish inspire Calgary artist to join the protest
Calgary artist Narda Ray is one of the people who traveled to the remote upper Highwood to stand up for fish and water. In an interview with The Rockies.Life, Ray said it was her first public protest.
She became interested in environmental issues in 2021 after the previous UCP government rescinded the 1976 coal policy and triggered a flood of new exploration applications on the Eastern Slopes.
After connecting with Slopes Studio Creative Resistance, a group of activists using art to defend the Eastern Slopes, she decided to join the protest in the Highwood.
She said there were people from all walks of life at the blockade, including a teacher, nurse, and psychologist. She said seeing the stream damage left behind by the Spray Lakes Sawmills bridge boondoggle was an eyeopener.
“The government tends to prioritize what corporations want. But really the amount of benefit in logging this area is like, the government will benefit a little bit and the logging company will benefit from it,” Ray said. ”But there’s actually billions of dollars to be benefited from leaving the area alone and keeping it as a wild space so that our water stays pure and, you know, we can enjoy it and our children and our children’s children can enjoy it and not have to clean up the mess down the road.”
She called the blockade a “joyful protest” and a “powerful experience” of Albertans coming together to protect land and water.
Are DFO and the province turning their backs on bull trout?
The Highwood River and some of its tributaries like Loomis Creek are recognized as critical habitat for bull trout under the Species at Risk Act. Bull trout is Alberta’s official provincial fish and it’s in trouble.
The bridge permit “flies in the face of the DFO’s own legislation” around species protection, said the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) in a media release.
“The permitting of critical habitat destruction in the Upper Highwood shows that DFO continues to put the profits of resource extraction companies ahead of the survival and recovery of listed species,” said Joshua Killeen, conservation science and programs manager for CPAWS Southern Alberta.
According to an Alberta government status report, bull trout have suffered serious declines and lost populations. The major threats are logging, oil and gas, agriculture, urbanization and sport fishing.
“Although controlling fishing pressure is important, conserving Bull Trout will require more effective management of land use in key watersheds,” the report states.
More than a year ago, CPAWS commissioned fish biologist Matt Coombes to survey the upper Highwood watershed for bull trout. Using soil and water samples, he confirmed the presence of this threatened fish upstream from the confluence of Loomis Creek and Highwood River.
David Blair, director of the Bow River Trout Foundation, had strong words for the provincial government following the study.“The results clearly show that bull trout use Loomis Creek as critical habitat for various life stages. If Alberta is to take a responsible approach to managing a species-at-risk (our Provincial fish after-all) these results should require a full reassessment of the forestry project that would irreparably damage habitat used by the remaining Bull Trout population,” he said in a news report.“It’s now up to resource managers to do the right thing; not only for species-at-risk, but also for headwaters management and for the protection of our water supply.”
