EDMONTON- A local conservation group is pushing to preserve a section of land, located deep in southwest Edmonton, it believes is the city’s best kept secret.
The Big Island-Woodbend Natural area is home to numerous animals- including deer, moose and amphibians- and holds the Capital Region’s largest wetlands.
The North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society (NSRVCS) is worried the area is being threatened by development and would like to see the 400 hectare section of land purchased and designated as a protected natural area.
“We would like to see the land purchased, either by the city or through the River Valley Alliance… or through the Edmonton (and Area) Land Trust,” said Stephen Madsen of the NSRVCS.
“We’d love to see it developed into a natural area. So not really developed in a sense of like a big open park, but kept natural in parts that are natural so that you can allow that wildlife to continue.”
Three quarters of the land is privately owned, but city council has received two requests in recent years to turn the area into a gravel pit. There are policies in place that restrict new development on the river valley land however, Madsen says there are always loopholes.
“When the first gravel pit was stopped we thought, okay that’s it, the message is there. But no, it came forward again and there’s no reason why it can’t come forward again as a request,” he said. “If you own the piece of land, sure there’s zoning that says you can’t, but you can still ask right?”
While there are currently no development plans in place, the group is worried because there’s always interest in undeveloped land.
“There’s always pressures and in an urban area the pressures tend to increase and the prices tend to increase,” explained Pam Wight, executive director of the Edmonton and Area Land Trust (EALT). “If some of it is able to be conserved next year, or in a couple of years or in five years, it really doesn’t matter as long as it’s conserved over time.”
City Councillor Karen Leibovici supports the move, saying protecting this area should be a “fundamental priority,” as part of the city’s commitment to the protection of the river valley.
“We have this vision of the ribbon of green from Devon to Fort Saskatchewan. This is a huge piece that is missing out of that ribbon of green,” she explained. “Over the years, a lot of land within our river valley was, at one point in time, within private hands and is now within the public realm.”
The cost to purchase the land could cost upwards of $25 million.
The conservation society is hosting a reception at the Petroleum Club Wednesday evening at 6:00, in hopes of gaining support for the protection of the land.
With files from Fletcher Kent.
Follow @CaleyRamsay
Comments