Please visit www.savekananaskis.ca for our current campaign
It's over
The Tag A Tree campaign wrapped up on Labour Day, September 3, 2007. It achieved considerable success in raising awareness of the plan to log Kananaskis and the need to create a park. We gave away 7,000 tags, opened lines of communication with hundreds of people, achieved recognition in the media and government. Through our tags, web site, printed materials, public appearances and the media we have reached an estimated 40,000 people.
Meeting with SRD Minister, Ted Morton, June 29, 2007
Tag A Tree grew out of frustration with the lack of consultation called for in the thousands of letters sent to the government in June, 2006. We got a meeting.
Media Centre
Download video or audio files and view photos. Video of the Maclean Creek clearcut and music by Scott Diehl.
Forest Mananagement Open House
Sustainable Resource Development held an Open House in Bragg Creek on June 12. They had an impressive array of displays showing they have good forest management practices. That's fine, just leave Kananaskis alone.
Some serious fun
Photos
Saturday, May 12, 2007
At the launch of the Tag A Tree campaign in Bragg Creek, people said "Save our Trees". Moms, Dads, kids, seniors and young couples turned out to support the move to Save Kananaskis.
What we hope to achieve
1. Stop logging in the eastern districts of Kananaskis
2. Create a park - see a map
Pickup a tree tag
*NOTE Please contact us if you want a tag. Stores don't have them
You can get a free tag at businesses in Bragg Creek and Calgary including Mountain Equipment Coop and Bow Cycle.
Click here to see a list of locations.
Our tags are cut from fallen trees. They are about 20 inches wide by 12 inches high and an inch thick. They're free.
Hang it
- in Kananaskis or on your property (no-go areas)
- where it will be seen
- where it won't interfere with people or private property.
- be careful with public property
- the tags are biodegradable and non-destructive
Why?
Protect the Elbow River watershed and Calgary's water supply
Do something to preserve Alberta's natural heritage
Provide recreation and tourism opportunities for people and business
The Mini-Tag
The mini-tags are about 5 cm (two inches wide).
We hope to build awareness of the project by handing out these tags. If you can help spread the word to schools, clubs, stores or wherever you think people might like to have one of our tags, please contact us.
Proposed Park
It's a nice idea, but it's not all that easy to make a park in this area. First you have to negotiate agreements to compensate all the lease holders in the area. The logging companies, gas companies, trappers and farmers will need to be accommodated. You can't just rip out all the gas wells and pipelines. Some leases can be traded, others will likely need to be purchased. I heard that the lease holders don't pay for the right to use the land, but do pay for the resources they take away.
Next you have to decide what kind of park it should be; a Wildland Park, a Provincial Park, a Recreation Area, or something else. What kind of park it is will determine what you can do there and who has access to it. Cyclists, hunters, off-highway-vehicle riders, horseback riders and others - all will want access and facilities.
Others may want different park borders. The Moose Mountain Wildland Park proposal, for example, was a smaller area, mostly in the Elbow Valley.
We thought it would be good to have a booth at the Calgary Folk Festival on July 28 and 29, but we had no idea how good. Our mini-tags became the fashion statement of the festival and we added about 1,000 names to our petition. Thanks to all those who stopped to talk to us.
Billboards on Hwy 22 near Bragg Creek were provided by Dwayne Zaba during the month of June, 2006.
We are a group of concerned residents and business people who live in Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows, Alberta.
Our Petition
Please download and print our petition. Get your friends and others to sign it and send it back to us.
Our Brochure
Download our brochure (Acrobat file)
New brochure published June 7, 2007. "Kananaskis is 36 km (20 minutes) west of Calgary. In 45 years (half the time it will take clearcuts to recover) the suburbs of Calgary will reach the Kananaskis border."
Other Documents
Send a letter to the government
Media Release - April 20, 2007
E-mail Article - Please forward
Map of proposed logging
Map of the 20-year plan to clearcut log in Kananaskis
Acrobat pdf format
The Waterton Experience
Here's an example of a worst case scenario - one where a widespread beetle infestation was left to run its course. The forest never lost its appearance or function as a forest.
Warning!
This could be illegal
The irony that a Conservation Officer could charge you for hanging a piece of wood, in the woods, with a message on it saying, save the woods, shouldn't be lost on anyone.
Why and where you can't hang tags in Kananaskis.
Land Use Framework Workshops
The Government of Alberta is in the process of developing a Land-use Framework to address a wide range of land management issues.
A State of Emergency
Ted Morton, Alberta Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, says logging will proceed despite repeated calls for an end to logging in the area from people in Calgary and Bragg Creek. On April 12, he declared a "State of Emergency" due to the threat from the pine beetle. SRD plans to spend $150-million to combat the beetle by studying and clearcutting the forest. Why not use the money to plant trees in affected areas? The national parks have the same problem with bugs, but they aren't clearcutting. They attack the beetle not the forest.
We hope public pressure generated through the Tag A Tree project will help stop the logging. We're asking people to get a slice cut from a fallen tree and hang it on a tree in Kananaskis or on their property where others can learn about our attempt to "Save Kananaskis (because) It's Worth It".
More Information
This site supports the Tag A Tree campaign only. There is a lot more information about logging and industrial activity in Kananaskis on the Bragg Creek - Gateway to Kananaskis web site. See What's New
