Alexander Wilderness Park vandals leave torn-down fence, ATV tracks

LETHBRIDGE — Alexander Wilderness Park has been a nature reserve since 1985, and a popular place for enjoying the Lethbridge landscape—but it’s also a popular spot for vandalism.

The damage, caused by off-roading, was noticed and reported to police and the city two years ago, and not for the first time. The city addressed the problem by restricting the land with a gate, but that only lasted until just over a month ago.

In late September, Becky Cousins, a member of the Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society, noticed damage including torn-down fences and ATV tracks.

“The vehicle tracking was a lot worse because there had been the rain in September and the off-roaders were really chewing up the coulee slopes, and, again, when I followed this road back, the gate was missing entirely.”

Since then the city has set up a new gate and put a lock on it, but the vandalism seems to continue, as those taking illegal advantage of the Alexander Wilderness landscape simply went through the fence instead.

According to the Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society, the current damages are a big concern, but so is the fact that these grasslands will take a long time to heal.

“What a lot of people don’t recognize is that we have very fragile grassland ecosystems that take that impact and take years, like hundreds of years, for that grassland to bounce back,” said Curtis Goodman, president of the society.

Given the devastating repercussions, it’s not easy for those with a personal connection to the city’s coulees to come to terms with the damage.

“I love the coulee lands. I think they’re the saving grace for living in Lethbridge really, when we don’t have mountains nearby,” lamented Cousins. “The coulees are priceless and I do not believe that they should be allowed to be destroyed by illegal vehicle activity.”

Anyone who sees illegal activity in Alexander Wilderness Park is asked to alert the city at 403-320-3850, a 24-hour line.