Bow Valley Community Fireguard

Planning for a Resilient Future

Wildfire remains the top-rated hazard to life, property, and critical infrastructure within and around the Bow Valley.

In the spring of 2024, the Town of Canmore, in partnership with the Municipal District of Bighorn, Kananaskis Improvement District, and Alberta Forestry and Parks successfully submitted an application for Phase 1: Planning of the newly-created Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) Community Fireguard Program. 

The successful application allowed for substantial collaboration between Bow Valley municipalities, wildfire behaviour experts, municipal emergency and disaster planners, Alberta Forestry specialists, and Alberta Parks biologists who specialize in human-wildlife coexistence to develop a conceptual plan for building a fireguard to protect the Bow Valley from fast-spreading wildfire. 

Phase 2: Construction of the Community Fireguard Program is now open for submissions. If the application is successful, construction of the Bow Valley Community Fireguard will begin as early as October 2024.

Why Here? Why Now?

What we have grown to see as a natural landscape in the Bow Valley --an abundance of mature trees and decadent forests-- is not a natural landscape at all. Decades of wildfire suppression has resulted in a human-made environment that poses a great threat to Canmore and the surrounding communities; wildfire spreads more quickly and intensely through mature forest. Compounding the dangers posed by a mature forest, Bow Valley communities are developed well into the wildland-urban interface, meaning that there is little to no separation between development and the forest. 

The Bow Valley used to see wildfires on a more regular basis, but it has been over 100 years since the last wildfire came through. If we do not manage our forests, nature will manage them for us. 

Building a Fireguard

To help protect Canmore and the surrounding areas from wildfire, a fireguard from the East Park Gates to Dead Man's Flats will be constructed in phases over a period of three to five years. Construction of the fireguard will use a combination of mechanical tree removal and forest thinning. While the fireguard will protect the Hamlets of Harvie Heights, Dead Man's Flats, and the Town of Canmore, the majority of the work will be completed on provincial land. 

The treatment areas shown on the map were selected as locations that will best help slow the progress of a future wildfire, locations where work is feasible and accessible, as well as locations that augment and complete ongoing previous work, like FireSmart vegetation management and fuel reduction. 

The landscape will look different once the work is complete

What's First?

Work is anticipated to begin in October 2024.

While every area within the Bow Valley is vulnerable to wildfire, work is being prioritized first at Stoneworks Creek, Harvie Heights, and the East Park Gates because typical wind conditions and topography suggest that wildfire will spread more quickly in these areas. South-facing slopes pose a greater risk than other slope directions as south-facing vegetation is exposed to more sun and dries out faster. 

Improving Ecological Integrity

In addition to increasing community resilience to wildfire, the construction of a fireguard improves ecological integrity.

Mature, continuous forests are not good habitat for an array of species, especially ungulates (e.g. deer and elk) and bears. By harvesting and thinning trees, the fireguard will open the forest canopy and improve the habitat conditions for decades to come by increasing forage and providing edge habitat. 

Harvesting may result in a short-term displacement for wildlife, but this will be exceeded by the long-term habitat enhancement. To ensure the integrity of the construction of the fireguard and its impact on wildlife, specialists in human-wildlife coexistence have been engaged in the planning of this project, and a wildlife and avian survey was completed to account for migratory and cavity-nesting birds. 

This project is in line with the recommendations from the Human Wildlife Coexistence Report and from the Human Wildlife Coexistence Roundtable.

Forests are designed to burn

Natural Resources Canada notes that after a wildfire, forest generation begins with the establishment of pioneer species such as aspen, white birch, and lodgepole pine. All of these species require full sunlight to thrive, and all are well-adapted to landscapes where fires regularly occur. 

Aspen and birch can re-establish quickly by sprouting from stumps and the roots of burned trees. These species recolonize burned sites by producing abundant seeds that can be windblown over long distances.

Lodgepole pines depends on fire to regenerate because they have serotinous (protected by a waxy coating) cones that require extreme heat to release their seeds. Wildland fires produce favourable conditions for these seeds to germinate by:

• releasing nutrients in the soil
• exposing mineral soil
• eliminating competing species
• increasing the amount of sunlight on the forest floor

Frequently Asked Questions

As we continue to work on this project, a list of frequently asked questions will be developed. Check back soon for more information. 

For specific questions about this project, please contact communications@canmore.ca

For media inquiries, contact media@canmore.ca