“I felt deflated,” stakeholder says of cancelling Bighorn meetings

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The response to the move has been a mixture of disbelief, outrage, anger, and even derogatory names directed at Phillips.

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“We don’t agree with that, it’s just not right,” said Reed. “From both organizations I’m with, we denounce that completely.”

Reed says he attended both a closed-door meeting and a public information session in Rocky Mountain House on the Bighorn plan. He says at those times he did not see anyone being intimidated, bullied or harassed, although that doesn’t mean it did not occur.

“I’m not saying it didn’t happen there, but I have no knowledge of it. I did not see it happen. People are passionate. People want to look after their backcountry, but I did not see harassment or bullying,” he said.

“I did see the Assistant Deputy Minister of Parks reach out and grab a gentleman who got up on a chair and try to pull him outside to talk to him. I did see that happen. But other than that, the open house – I was there for the whole time – was respectful.”

However, Reed does believe many people are upset, and that their right to question the government’s plans and decisions is being stifled.

“It’s our chance, our opportunity to voice our opinions. And it’s just been taken away from us,” he says.

Reed says he understands that safety must be a priority, but he also believes the province is not following the proper process of the North Saskatchewan Regional Development Plan for the Bighorn area.

That plan is a provincial initiative intended to balance environmental, economic, and cultural well-being across a landscape that encompasses a diversity of land-uses. According to a news release from the provincial government dated March 7, 2018, the plan includes:

“Public feedback (to) will help the Alberta government develop the final North Saskatchewan Regional Plan (NSRP), which will ensure government policies guide natural resource development, support local economic growth, enhance recreation opportunities, respect traditional Indigenous land use and protect the environment.”

A news release from the province dated November 23, 2018 also indicated that the Bighorn area proposal would support:

“All current recreation activities (such as camping, hunting, hiking, fishing, climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding and off-highway vehicle use) that have been enjoyed by local user groups for years and would ensure these activities continue for generations to come.”

Reed feels that public consultation process should be allowed to continue because he says they were assured trails would remain open in the Castle Parks, but instead, most have been closed.

“She (Phillips) told us that the trails would remain. That the ATV use would remain. She then sent a letter to the president of our club stating that, and hand-signed it. And then just a very short period of time later, her and Premier Notley stood up and closed it all.

“They said everything would be closed down within three years and now, within all of that there are some trails in the wildland park, but the provincial park has supposedly one kilometre of trail left to access the airplane crash site. They’ve continuously told us something different than what happens. And that has people very concerned.”

He also questions the impartiality of biologists the provincial government has referenced in the past, calling for more restrictive conservation measures.

“When you have biologists paid by the government, as the public, we have the right to question their findings. There was a letter posted that 37 biologists had signed off on it, well they all worked for the government at one point in time.”

Asked whether those biologists’ objectivity could be or may be compromised, Reed answered “possibly.”

“We go out in the backcountry. Look at what the Quad Squad has done down there in the Castle area, and the way of putting bridges in and repairing trails and working with the government people. All of this stuff was done with the proper approvals…we question a lot of the information that’s coming out.”

Reed also wonders whether the Nordegg meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 8) will go ahead. He says he’s tried reaching out to the province about it but has so far not received either confirmation that it will go ahead, or that it has been cancelled.