Launch Date: Saturday, May 12
Location: Bragg Creek
We want the government to:
* Stop logging in the eastern districts of Kananaskis
* Create a park
We're asking you to:
* Get a free tree tag at businesses in Calgary or Bragg Creek
* Hang it in Kananaskis or on your property
Why?
* Protect the Elbow River watershed and Calgary's water supply
* Provide recreation and tourism opportunities for people and business
* Do something to preserve Alberta's natural heritage and habitat
Tag A Tree – The mouse that roared
Celebrate Kananaskis kick-off at the Bragg Creek Centre, May 12, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. with the official ceremony at 1 P.M.
Logging in Kananaskis will begin this spring. A small group of Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows residents (the mice) are trying to stop it. We need your help to make a roar! We’ve tried writing letters to our Member of the Legislative Assembly, Ted Morton. He is also the Minister of Sustainable Development, but he is not impressed by our concern that the forest is an important recreation area for people and businesses. He doesn’t seem to care that the City of Calgary’s water supply will be affected or that a critical natural habitat for wildlife will be wiped out. He is determined to see the logging proceed. Last year he cited the risk of forest fire as a reason, this year he plans to fight the potential threat of the pine beetle by cutting down the forest.
A careful examination of beetle impacts in BC leads us to conclude that the beetles will have far less impact here than in B.C., that our forest can’t sustain them, and that we should leave the forest to heal itself, not log it to protect a minority of its trees. When you see beetle killed forests, you’re seeing climate change. Our winters haven’t been cold enough to kill the beetles. If we let the big old trees die off, we’ll get a more diverse forest and the smaller canopy trees and trees in the understory will grow back quickly. While the old ones are dieing they’ll help moderate erosion from runoff so our water supply won’t get choked with nutrients and silt. They’ll help prevent floods.
We need a lot of help with our Tag A Tree project. We’re asking people to get a tag (a slice of a fallen tree with the “Save Kananaskis – It’s Worth It” logo on it) and hang it on their property or in unprotected areas of Kananaskis. That’s just about anywhere in the eastern districts except around parking lots, campsites, picnic tables and trailheads. Kananaskis Conservation Officers will confiscate any they find in protected areas. The irony that a Conservation Officer could charge you for hanging a piece of wood that says save the woods, in the woods, should be lost on no one.
With your support, the Tag A Tree campaign will increase pressure on the government to stop logging in Kananaskis and create a park. The campaign will run through the summer of 2007.
We will launch our campaign on May 12 at the Bragg Creek Centre. You can join the Redwood Meadows to Bragg Creek family bike ride by assembling at the Redwood Community Centre at 11:30 A.M. We’ll have environmental and outdoor groups and a lively gang of supporters at the Bragg Creek Centre when they arrive. We’ll have speakers including; David Swann, MLA Calgary-Mountainview, Ralph Cartar, President of the Bragg Creek Environmental Coalition and Brad Clute, Sustainability Coordinator for Mountain Equipment Co-Op. After the first official tree tagging, we’ll have nature walks, hikes, bike rides and a bus to get you out to Kananaskis to tag trails. Come celebrate and Save Kananaskis.
Pick up a free tag on the 12th, or visit MEC or Bow Cycle in Calgary, or one of ten businesses in Bragg Creek. Please visit our web site; www.tagatree.ca for more information.
