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Volunteer efforts destroyed by vandalism

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A mischievous act of vandalism destroyed hours of work put in by volunteers and organizations to restore and preserve Chipman Creek last weekend.

“It’s very disheartening. The watershed faces a lot of challenges, this shouldn’t have to be one of them,” said MD’s environmental services technician Lindsey Davidson.

About a dozen volunteers from Trout Unlimited Canada, the Oldman Watershed Council, the Oldman Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Municipal District of Pincher Creek worked together to rejuvenate a portion of the creek along a closed road allowance, Davidson explained.

The volunteers placed concrete barricades to officially close the road allowance to traffic, constructed bough layering and planted approximately 300 native plants in the riparian area.

But, sometime between Saturday evening and Monday morning, an individual, or group of individuals, destroyed the repaired site. The concrete barricades were pulled aside and the plants were driven over and obliterated.

“There have been other projects in other areas that have experienced vandalism, maybe not quite to this extent,” Davidson said. “I mean, literally the entire project was ruined. Everything we put into place was displaced.”

“But, we’ll keep going,” she added. “The objective now is to replace what can be salvaged and try to come up with ways to prevent this from occurring again.”

The area has often been used for motorized activities including mud bogging, but Davidson said due to its remote location and spotty cell service, the area is a dangerous place for that, adding that these types of activities are detrimental to the watershed and habitat.

“Access is difficult, so if there was to be an emergency situation it would be difficult to get a tow truck or an ambulance down in there, so it’s just kind of an all-around good idea to keep people out of there,” she said.

According to Davidson, the road allowance had been closed by the Municipal council for a few months as it is not a necessary road. The road was closed with the approval of neighbouring landowners who were properly notified.

“There are alternate routes to get from Point A to Point B,” she said. “There was no formal stream crossing there. Essentially, it was just a ford through the stream which was really inappropriate and detrimental to the habitat.”

However, Davidson said she and the other volunteers won’t let this destructive act get to them.

“We’re not being discouraged,” she said. “There are lots of opportunities where we can make improvements to the watershed.”

RCMP have been notified of the incident and are investigating. Anyone with any additional information is encouraged to contact the local detachment.

Davidson said this act of mischief illustrated an increased need for more public education regarding watershed protection.

“There are lots of people in the community that want to be involved in doing some of that work themselves, so it’s just unfortunate that a few individuals choose to basically vandalize what’s been done. There’s no benefit for anybody.”

 

cclow@postmedia.com

@echo_cclow

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