This is an article that uc/c wrote for the AAMDC’s Rural Routes magazine. It’s a profile of its newest member, the MD of Crowsnest Pass.

People Powered
A profile of AAMDC’s newest member: The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass

By Lucas Warren (uc/communciations) Rural Routes (Fall 2008) p. 2-4

I ask Crowsnest Pass Mayor Dr. John Irwin and its CAO Gordon Lundy what they would describe as their municipality’s greatest asset. The answer seems obvious: location, natural resources, or tourism. I was
wrong.

“Definitely, it has to be our people,” they both agree.

It seems a strange answer for an area surrounded by such severe natural beauty, with huge coal reserves and
a prime southern location near two borders. But, as I find out, while resources are important, they mean
very little without the right kind of people to use and promote them.

“A lot of what we do here – our events, our facilities – they’re mostly run by non-government organizations
and volunteers,” Lundy explains. “Without these selfless individuals, our municipality would look quite different; they’re a huge resource to the community. Venues and facilities like the Allison Wonderland Cross Country Ski Trails and the Pass Powderkeg Ski Hill and “Thunder in the Valley” would never survive without the time and effort donated by Crowsnest residents.”

It’s a theme that comes up frequently during our conversation and a testament to the volunteer spirit found
in this mountain community.

Mountain Freedom
Home to approximately 6,000 permanent residents and many more that simply vacation or work here, Crowsnest Pass is a growing municipality, with a rich history and an optimistic future.

“This is actually one of the first settled and industrialized areas of the province,” says Dr. Irwin. “The original settlers were diverse and multi-cultural and their legacy continues to flourish down to this day throughout the region.”

Well known for its vast coal resources, Crowsnest Pass is the site of the Frank Slide disaster, where on April 29, 1903, 82 million tonnes of limestone crashed from the summit of Turtle Mountain and killed an estimated 70 people in the Town of Frank. Today, visitors can tour the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, touring the historic buildings, the picturesque mine ruins as well read first-hand accounts of the event.

An outdoor enthusiast’s dream, the municipality offers a wide range of activities including world-class fly-fishing and more than 1,300 kilometres of mapped and marked trails for snowmobiling, mountainbiking, hiking and ATVs. The lakes and Crowsnest River are also excellent for canoeing and kayaking opportunities.

The region is also home to at least two major ongoing provincial research projects.

The Southern Rockies Watershed research project is a venture between a number of provincial and educational bodies to study the effect of natural and manmade disturbances on the landscape. The aim of the project is to study the water quality and ecological cumulative impacts of disturbances on the landscape. Overall, this will provide valuable information on regional cumulative watershed effects on water quality caused by disturbances on the landscape thus minimizing loss and increasing public safety in the future.

The second project began in 2004 when the Alberta Geological Survey began a long-term monitoring of
the structure and instability at Turtle Mountain. Using a network of over 40 state-of-the-art sensors, a continuous stream of data is provided to research that provides valuable insights into the slowly moving rock mass, its climatic effects and, most importantly, acts as an early warning system for residents
and infrastructure companies.

The Desire to Diversify
While mining remains an important part of Crowsnest Pass, the municipality is working hard to diversify its economy.

“A big part of our future will be tourism and we’re working hard to promote the region and all it has to offer,” says Lundy. “The beauty of the region pretty much sells itself, but we’re working with our economic development partners and looking to the examples of places like Canmore to make sure we’re doing everything possible.”

With this in mind, a Marketing Consortium was formed, comprised of representatives of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Economic Development; Crowsnest Pass Business Development; Frank Slide Interpretive Centre and the Ecomuseum Trust. Aside from marketing the region, the consortium’s goal is to create opportunities for local businesses to participate in niche market advertising opportunities.

While the emphasis may be on tourism, economic diversification remains a key to the municipality’s success.

“We continue to promote the area to industry and we’ve seen some tangible success with the Devon gas plant, Shell Canada’s natural gas explorations and the Arctic Spa plant,” says Lundy.

These major successes, along with a number of other industrial and commercial ventures have laid the groundwork for a solid economic base. The Crowsnest Pass Business Development Corporation and Crowsnest Pass Economic Development assists with information and statistics as well as with business plans. The Business Development Corporation is a Community Futures Development Corporation under the sponsorship of Western Diversification Canada that can provide loan funding and information to businesses in the Crowsnest Pass.

Growth, But Not at All Costs
All of this effort has started to pay off, creating building boom within the municipality. Last year, the Bridgegate resort development at Crowsnest Lake was announced – the ‘largest planned mountain resort in Canada’. In addition to that project, Bridgegate has announced plans for the 52 acres of land across from the Crowsnest Pass Golf and Country Club. This new River Run development will see a mixture of commercial development, including a large hotel, mid-density to low-density residential properties, as well as some municipal reserve.

Plans are also underway to develop a 100-acre, residential alpine village next to the Pass Powderkeg. Once
complete, the development will accommodate 300 new single family and multi-family dwellings.

Also in development for the Crowsnest Pass is the IronStone Lookout development. This development,
which is to feature duplexes, four-plexes and condos, is slated to be built in 3 phases. Construction has
begun on the first phase of this $35 million project.

“It’s important to promote development, but growth shouldn’t come at the expense of the natural riches and culture of this area,” says Lundy.

To ensure this, the municipality carefully looks at all proposed developments – developing various
policies, including one specifically design – to protect their water systems.

“There is a long and proud history of environmental stewardship in our municipality,” says Dr. Irwin. “We
continue to work with our neighbours, especially in the MDs of Pincher Creek and Ranchlands to ensure that
our policies on surface water and water allocation are progressive and mutually beneficial.”

“As for drinking water, we have some of the best water in Alberta, it actually needs very little treatment,”
comments Lundy. “With careful planning and progressive thinking, we’ll be able to maintain our natural
advantage for many years to come.”

Joining the AAMDC This year Crowsnest Pass was granted Specialized Municipality status by the Province of Alberta and soon thereafter became the newest member of the AAMDC.

“We’re excited about becoming a member of the Association,” comments Lundy. “The AAMDC will be able to help open certain doors on the provincial and national stage that, as an individual municipality, are difficult to gain access to.”

Behind one of the doors is the province’s new Land-use Framework (LUF).

“For us, the proposed framework has both positive and negative impacts,” explains Lundy. “On one hand,
we’re excited to see the continued accessibility to crown land, however the Province must provide control
and enforcement to protect the environment. On the other, we have some concerns about the regional groupings, especially when it comes to water access. That’s definitely one area we’d like to see looked at.”

Highway 3 presents another opportunity for advocacy. The most convenient way to go into BC in southern Alberta has, in recent years, become one of the busiest export routes for manufactured and valueadded
goods leaving Alberta. While more traffic is good for business, it also creates some challenges.”

“In the last few years, they have added some passing lanes, but with such heavy traffic, the highway needs to be widened,” says Dr. Irwin. “The biggest concern is safety so it’s become one of our priorities. We’re going to keep working with the province to help deal with the challenges of Highway 3’s growth.”

Overall, however, the opportunities far outweigh the challenges in this picturesque corner of Alberta.

“The future looks bright for the Crowsnest Pass,” says Lundy. “We face many of the same challenges found across the province, but we also have many unique advantages.”

“As a mountain community we are blessed with a beautiful environment and tremendous people,” concludes
Dr. Irwin. “We’ve always enjoyed a close relationship with our neighbours on both sides of the border. Now, as
part of the AAMDC, we look forward to sharing and learning from the whole membership.”

– Lucas Warren (uc/communciations)
– First published in Rural Routes (Fall 2008) p. 2-4