Whenever I head west on Highway 3, a point at about the Lundbreck turnoff invariably brings a smile. On Highway 5, I can feel whatever facial tension I have easing just past Magrath when the full view of the Rockies emerges. In fact, the rural landscape in the shadow of Our Mountains has such a pull, my thoughts invariably take a quantum leap from simply being in awe about the place to fantasies of living there. Lorelei Hanson of the University of Alberta, who presented a paper on the Upper Oldman River Basin – from Waterton to the Whaleback – to the Canadian Congress on Leisure Research in 2002, noted, ”Like many other 'last great spots' in the Rocky Mountain West, the Oldman watershed faces the very real possibility of being transformed from a place of agricultural production into one of primarily consumption in the forms of leisure, tourism and recreation.” The area has seen rapid change in the past two decades which, she suggests, can “create new conflicts between acreage owners and ranchers about the land and livelihood.” This week at Lundbreck, Pincher Creek MD convened a public hearing into a proposed subdivision in the Burmis-Lundbreck Corridor that would provide another five acreages along the Crowsnest River downstream from the Highway 3 bridge west of Lundbreck. The area is governed according to a plan revised in 2000 for the corridor as “an area experiencing country residential development pressures due to both its proximity to recreational areas for (among other pursuits) trout fishing in the Crowsnest River, skiing at Westcastle and the natural attributes offered in the area.” A second plan for the nearby Oldman River Reservoir also seeks to “protect both the natural, environmentally or culturally significant areas and the man-made habitat improvement features from incompatible uses.” Matthew Sherwood of Lethbridge, who is planning the subdivision through Sherwood Developments, says he hopes to maximize land use while minimizing effects on natural attributes. “The area is attractive because the price of land is not as high as it is nearer Calgary and it’s close to the mountains but not right in them,” says Sherwood. He hopes to have the acreages ready for sale by spring. Neighbors seem resigned – subdivision and development will continue – but see some consolation in the fact the quarter section will be split into only five parcels and not 16. Other land in the area sits ready for subdivision. Members of the public who use the river, owned by the public along with at least six meters of land above the high water mark, would see concerns of access and an environmental reserve along the river addressed. But, they’ll have to accept the reality that the experience they’ve been accustomed to – the sheer beauty of the rural landscape and a space that allows them to rejuvenate – will be interrupted with new houses in the line of sight. Examples abound that show the very open-space attraction that draws urbanites to recreate or take residence in a rural paradise can be diminished by their presence if it’s not controlled. |
