12 Mile Coulee Management Plan and Open House

May 1, 2006

After an extensive planning process involving a wide variety of stakeholders, the City of Calgary has finallized the Twelve Mile Coulee Natural Environment Park Management Plan (.pdf 1037k). Please review the plan and send any comments to info@cmbalink.com.

An Information Session on the Draft 12 Mile Coulee Recommendations will be held at the Tuscany Club (212 Tuscany Valley Way NW, Calgary, AB T3L 2A7) on Sunday June 25th, 2006 from noon to 4pm. Please plan on attending to lend your voice to those of other bikers working to keep the park open to all.

CMBA has worked with representatives and other stakeholders to develop the plan for 12 Mile Coulee. It is our opinion that the proposed plan supports the key CMBA principles of:

  • the environment and safety take priority. Realizing that natural areas are intended for human usage.
  • trails should be multi-user, except in extenuating circumstances.
  • all users cause some damage and that bicycles do not cause any more environmental damage than walkers and runners.
  • all users should have equal access. If an area or trail is to be closed, it should be closed to all users.
  • trails should be evaluated on a trail by trail basis.

As you can see from the extract from the Management Plan below, the key issue for the park is the conflict between conserving the area's natural vegation, wildlife, and terrain with the desire for active park space that welcomes a range of activitities from bird watching to biking.

"A significant problem in Twelve Mile Coulee Park is the damage to vegetation and fragmentation of habitat caused by the proliferation of undesignated trails Access to the park will be limited to the regional pathway and designated trails. Informal undesignated trails will be closed and re-vegetated when they occur. It is important to identify priorities for vegetative rehabilitation of disturbed and impacted areas in the park, as park improvements will need to be staged over time.

Priorities for restoration to be undertaken are as follows:

  • Closure and rehabilitation of undesignated trails in spruce vegetation zone
  • Closure and rehabilitation of undesignated trails leading towards the wildlife underpass. Educational signage explaining the restricted use of the underpass for wildlife only will be included at the closure locations.
  • Clear identification of the designated trail system
  • Construction of the creek crossings - the major missing link in the designated trail system. The designated trail route crosses the creek 30 times. Due to the topography of the area (steep and narrow ravine) and desire of users to move through the coulee, other feasible designated trail routing options that limited the number of creek crossings were not identified.

    Creek crossing structures are a high priority for construction to complete the designated trail system and reduce impacts to the creek and surrounding vegetation. The areas surrounding the creek crossings require restoration.

    The design of the crossings will be in keeping with the character of the natural area. Railings may be required in some instances for safety reasons."