Before the rubber hits the road, the bulldozer blade hits the turf.
And if a group of native wildflower enthusiasts get their wish, their spades and pails will hit the ground at the construction of the new interchange at highways 1A and 22 before the 'dozers destroy the ancient habitat.
Mathis Natvik and Blake McNeill belong to an active Facebook group of environmentalists who share information about native grasses and wildflowers.
They hope they’re not too late to salvage some pristine, mature plant specimens from the south-facing hillside just above where a bulldozer began stripping away the turf two weeks ago. If all goes well, they will be granted access in time to dig up some ancient plants without slowing down construction timelines.
The grassland is being removed to construct a new northbound on-ramp at the intersection. Removal of native plants from private land, government land or parkland is illegal, so the only opportunity to do something like this is on sites where construction will be removing the top layer.
McNeill contacted the Town of Cochrane, the provincial government, and the engineering firm handling the project, who he is waiting to hear back from. He said they have all been very accommodating, and he accepts the fact that wildflower and native grassland enthusiasts are late to the game.
He says mature plants are so valuable because they are established, and growing them from a seed is a struggle.
“Those are old plants. I can start a crocus from seed but I’ll never live to see it flower like that,” he said.
They hope it is not too late to get people involved to go out and gather samples for relocation, should they receive the approval this week or next. As with any construction site, there are safety issues.
Town of Cochrane Capital Projects Engineer Ray Predika spoke with McNeil on Tuesday, and they are waiting to hear back from the project engineer and Alberta Transportation.
Predika says there is a lot of interest. He is cautiously optimistic.
“We’re looking to come up with a plan over the next week or two, to coordinate some of the salvage operation,” he said.
The primary area of concern is west of the cowboy statue at Cochrane Ranche Park, just up the hill and adjacent to where a bulldozer is currently stripping turf. The area stripped last week is not a native grassland site – it is on the site of the old brick factory.
Natvik is a professor of landscape architecture at University of Calgary and a grassland specialist who works closely with the City of Calgary's parks department to preserve native species wherever possible. He says the ecosystem as it existed where the highway work is going on is a unique and valuable resource, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
The group might have missed learning about the opportunity all together if it were not for Natvik hiking up on the hill during the first week of April. He posted pictures and commentary to the Facebook group. Under the headline 'Ancient Grassland to be Destroyed' he identified 21 species of native wildflowers and four native grasses located on the site.
“Outside of Cochrane, most of the ancient grasslands have been sown into European grasses used for hay and pastures. This grassland has never been plowed. It will be sad to see this small piece of irreplaceable grassland go,” he wrote in his post. “There are very few high-quality grasslands like this left in the Foothills Parklands around Cochrane, and most have been destroyed for housing developments.”
In an interview, Natvik said the area is special.
“That’s some of the most beautiful grassland left. It was made about 9,000 years ago and it can’t be replaced – that kind of diversity takes 6,000 years to mature,” he said.
Natvik is also involved in a native grassland restoration project on two acres of land at University of Calgary, where the goal is to recreate native grasslands.
