Adventures for Wilderness, Save the Rosebud – July 6, 2024

July 7, 2024

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• Adventures for Wilderness
• Events
• Grasslands
• Species at Risk
• Wildlands

Text by Lindsey Wallis
Photos by Lindsey Wallis and Ruiping Luo

Almost 30 people met in the cute, artsy town of Rosebud early on a Saturday morning because they wanted to learn more about the Rosebud Valley and exactly what we stand to lose if a proposed racetrack is built. The group included local landowners, the NDP environment critic Sarah Elmeligi, biologists working on a bioblitz in the valley and concerned citizens from near and far.

The group started with a walk along the bluff to get a look a good vantage of the proposed racetrack site and the wetlands that it will be threatening. Unfortunately a summer thunderstorm the previous night had turned the soil to muck and we arrived at the overlook a little bit taller due to the mud platforms stuck to our soles. Wendy and Richard Clark, as well as Rick Skibsted spoke about the value of the wetlands and pointed out prairie falcon nest sites and a bank swallow colony – a Federally recognized threatened species.

Cliff Wallis speaks to the group with a bank swallow colony on the river bank behind him.

We also learned about Conservation Easements, and how almost all the landowners in the area have put these protections in place so their lands can never be developed and the biodiversity in this valley can continue to thrive. Wendy, Richard and Rick have been fighting this racetrack for years as it poses an enormous threat, not just to the peace and quiet of this valley, but also to many of the species that call this place home, which they are trying to protect. Currently they are awaiting a court date to appeal a recent decision of the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board, alleging bias in the process.

Driving to our next stop, we got a closer look at the bank swallow colony and saw dozens of birds swooping in and out of nests they have carved out of the steep mud banks along the Rosebud River. On the other side of the narrow dirt road is the proposed racetrack – an extreme threat to these birds, considering the highest cause of mortality is vehicle collisions. We also heard from Jason and Lauren, biologists who are conducting a bioblitz to learn what species are in the valley – and the answer is a lot!

Our final stop was an overlook on Rick’s property, where we could see miles down the pristine valley, while prairie falcons and kestrels soared overhead and a riot of flowers bloomed on the coulee slopes. Some folks left from here, but a number of hardy souls picked our way down into the valley and were treated to some of the most spectacular prickly pear blooms I have ever seen! We also found a hadrosaur bone-bed and saw one of the bat detectors that were installed last fall in the valley with the help of the Alberta Community Bat Program. These detectors have discovered that, not only does this valley have bats, they spend the winter here! In fact, their detector recorded the first bat of 2024 in all of North America – at just a few minutes past midnight on January 1.

As you listen to Rick talk about this place you can see how important it is to him, and all the participants have a small understanding of what makes this place so special. Being here to smell the warm prairie, hear the rustle of cottonwood leaves and feel the breeze in your hair connects you in a way reading about a place or watching a video never can. And that is the goal of our Adventures for Wilderness program – to connect people to these places in a meaningful way so they will fight for these wild places.