We are a group of three students from Rundle College Junior High. This is our super-fun school project for the whole year!
We are helping raise awareness of the environmental damage being done to the Elbow River/Bow River watershed because of off highway vehicle use in the McLean Creek area. We especially want to raise awareness of the pollution from off roading. We want to educate the trail users who probably don’t realize the downstream damage from erosion on the trails.
The deep ruts and gouges in the land along all of the trails are proof that the soil is no longer there. It didn’t just disappear. It was washed downhill along the rock hard trails that will not absorb water any more. Most of the sediment ends up in McLean Creek. Once in the water, it smothers eggs from fish, insects and amphibians. It clogs gills and less light penetrates for plant photosynthesis. The water becomes cloudy and turbid because of fine, suspended solids and the water quality decreases. This sediment is then carried down through the watershed and into the Glenmore Reservoir which is the drinking water source for Calgary. Please remember that after a day of careless off roading at McLean Creek, you may come home to a tall glass of mud one of these days.
Image 1: A small tributary creek being cut into by an off road trail.
Image 2: A tiny frog trying to survive in the sediment filled water downstream from the trail crossing.
For more information on protecting and preserving the Bow River Basin Watershed, including McLean Creek, please follow the links:
Elbow River Watershed Partnership
Respect the Land – Sustainable Resources Development
Ducks Unlimited, Alberta
Trout Unlimited Canada
Other good resources are: Bow River Basin Council; Alberta Management Site and Alberta Habitat Management/Cows and Fish.
