Crowsnest Pass Research Articles

Legacy coal mining impacts downstream ecosystems for decades in the Canadian Rockies

Mountaintop removal coal mining leaves a legacy of disturbed landscapes and abandoned infrastructure with clear impacts on water resources; however, the intensity and persistence of this water pollution remains poorly characterized. Here we examined the downstream impacts of over a century of coal mining in the Crowsnest Pass (Alberta, Canada). Water samples were collected downstream of two historical coal mines: Tent Mountain and Grassy Mountain. Tent Mountain hosts a partially reclaimed surface mine that closed in 1983. Selenium concentrations downstream of Tent Mountain reached 185 μg/L in a lake below the mine spoil pile, and up to 23 μg/L in Crowsnest Creek, which drains the lake and the mine property. Further downstream, a well-dated sediment core from Crowsnest Lake records increases in sediment, selenium, lead, carbon, nitrogen, and polycyclic aromatic compounds that closely tracked the history of mining at Tent Mountain. In contrast, episodic discharge of mine water from abandoned underground adits at Grassy Mountain drive periodic (but short-term) increases in iron, various metals, and suspended sediment. These results underscore the lasting downstream impacts of abandoned and even reclaimed coal mines.

From trauma to fantasy and policy. The past in the futures of mining communities; the case of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta

We develop a novel perspective on the interplay between causes and effects of resource policy (and more generally development strategy) at local level. We do this by deploying a theoretical framework built around both psychoanalytic notions and concepts from governance theory to analyze the evolution and the construction of futures in the Canadian mining community of the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. It is argued that the growth and decline of mining created social identities and governance features which severely hamper the articulation of alternative futures. The case study highlights the importance of collective trauma, both stemming from rapid development and decline, in the understanding of fantasy as it plays out in evolving governance, the understanding of replayed scenarios of hope and disillusion. The case analysis contributes to the broader discussion of path dependencies in community development by multiplying the potential effects of key events in the development of the community, beyond effects on conscious collective memory, beyond institutional structures and processes. Freud's foundational idea of nachtragligkeit, the potential of events to steer development in a direction but also to resurface much later in the manner of symptoms limiting reflexivity and adaptation, is thus given a translation at community level, with special implications for resource communities and policies.

An evaluation of a citizen science data collection program for recording wildlife observations along a highway

Citizen science programs that record wildlife observations on and along roads can help reduce the underreporting of wildlife-vehicle collisions and identify and prioritize road sections where mitigation measures may be required. It is important to evaluate potential biases in opportunistic citizen science data. We investigated whether the opportunistic observations of live animals by volunteers along a 46-km section of Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass area (“Road Watch in the Pass” data collection program) in Alberta, Canada, had a similar spatial pattern as systematically collected data by the researchers along the same road section. A permutation modeling process that compared the number of observations between the two datasets for each 1-km segment, a randomization method that tested for and compared hotspot observation locations, and a bivariate Ripley's L1.2-function analysis along a continuum of spatial scales all showed spatial agreement between the two datasets. There was spatial agreement at a scale between 1 and 4 km, and three clear hotspots of wildlife observation activity were identified for both processes. This suggests that the data collected by the volunteers are reliable and robust enough to be used to help identify road sections that may require mitigation measures. In addition, volunteers proved to be able to collect a sufficient number of observations relatively quickly. Within one year, 24 volunteers collected 640 wildlife observations, and we found that using only 150 or more of these observations always resulted in spatial similarity with the systematic observations collected by the researchers. We conclude with recommendations for other citizen science data collection programs and for further research.

Acceptance of the Society of Economic Geologists Ralph W. Marsden Award for 2012

Thank you for those kind words, Harold, and for providing a direct link to your former professor, Dr. Marsden. President Arribas, fellow SEG members and guests: It is with the utmost pleasure and humility that I accept this award for service to the Society of Economic Geologists. When I look at the list of names and the professional statures of my predecessors in this award, I am truly humbled and awed that my peers would place me in the same company. I am of the fourth generation of my family to be involved in the North American mining industry. My maternal great-grandfather and my grandfather were underground coal miners in the Crowsnest Pass and Lethbridge districts of Alberta, my grandfather being one of the few persons from his shift to survive Canada’s worst mining disaster that took 189 lives at the Hillcrest mine, in June 1914. My father was in the gravel and road construction businesses in southern Alberta, and so I spent a lot of time in gravel pits. It is there that I became interested in all those weird and wonderful rocks that had been carried in from afar, and that, of course, led to my career as an economic geologist. I frankly do not consider anything that I have done for SEG to be exceptional or special. I helped raise some money during my term as President of the Foundation, and I helped streamline the Student Grants programs, but Doug Silver and John Thoms did the heavy lifting to establish and fund …

Crystal structure of a birefringent andradite–grossular from Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada

The structure of a birefringent andradite–grossular sample was refined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCD) and synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD) data. Electron-microprobe results indicate a homogeneous composition of {Ca2.88Mn2+0.06Mg0.04Fe2+0.03}Σ3[Fe3+1.29Al0.49Ti4+0.17Fe2+0.06]Σ2(Si2.89Al0.11)Σ3O12. The Rietveld refinement reducedχ2 = 1.384 and overallR(F2) = 0.0315. The HRPXRD data show that the sample contains three phases. For phase-1, the weight %, unit-cell parameter (Å), distances (Å), and site occupancy factor (sof) are 62.85(7)%,a = 12.000 06(2), average <Ca–O> = 2.4196, Fe–O = 1.9882(5), Si–O = 1.6542(6) Å, Ca(sof) = 0.970(2), Fe(sof) = 0.763(1), and Si(sof) = 0.954(2). The corresponding data for phase-2 are 19.14(9)%,a = 12.049 51(2), average <Ca–O> = 2.427, Fe–O = 1.999(1), Si–O = 1.665(1) Å, Ca(sof) = 0.928(4), Fe(sof) = 0.825(3), and Si(sof) = 0.964(4). The corresponding data for phase-3 are 18.01(9)%,a = 12.019 68(3), average <Ca–O> = 2.424, Fe–O = 1.992(2), Si–O = 1.658(2) Å, Ca(sof) = 0.896(5), Fe(sof) = 0.754(4), and Si(sof) = 0.936(5). The fine-scale coexistence of the three phases causes strain that arises from the unit-cell and bond distances differences, and gives rise to strain-induced birefringence. The results from the SCD are similar to the dominant phase-1 obtained by the HRPXRD, but the SCD misses the minor phases.

Five new species and three new subspecies of Erebidae and Noctuidae (Insecta, Lepidoptera) from Northwestern North America, with notes on Chytolita Grote (Erebidae) and Hydraecia Guenée (Noctuidae)

Several taxonomic issues in the moth families Erebidae and Noctuidae are addressed for Northwestern North America. Drasteria parallelaCrabo & Mustelin andCycnia oregonensis tristisCrabo in the Erebidae and Eudryas brevipennis bonneville Shepard & Crabo, Resapamea diluvius Crabo, Resapamea angelika Crabo, Resapamea mammuthus Crabo, Fishia nigrescens Hammond & Crabo, and Xestia perquiritata orca Crabo & Hammond in the Noctuidae are described as new. The following new synonyms are proposed: Chytolita petrealis Grote with Herminea morbidalis Guenée; Gortyna columbia Barnes & Benjamin and Gortyna ximena Barnes & Benjamin with Gortyna obliqua Harvey; and Hydroecia pallescens Smith with Hydroecia medialis Smith. The type locality of Gortyna intermedia Barnes & Benjamin is restricted to Lundbreck, Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada.

The Lost Creek Fire: managing social relations under disaster conditions

This paper examines some of the social processes associated with disaster conditions. Utilising an asset-based perspective of community capacity, it focuses on four types of normative systems to interpret the ability of communities to manage disasters through market-, bureaucratic-, associative-, and communal-based norms. Drawing on experience of a wildfire in the Crowsnest Pass region of southwest Alberta, Canada, in 2003, the tensions and compatibilities among these normative systems are evaluated through interviews with 30 community leaders. The results confirm the contributions of all types of social capital to resiliency, the necessity for rapid use of place-based knowledge, and the importance of communication among all types and levels of agents. In addition, they point to the value of identifying and managing potential conflicts among the normative systems as a means to maximising their contributions. The integration of local networks and groups into the more general disaster response minimised the impacts on health and property.

Pelican Lake Phase In the Crowsnest Pass: a Locational Analysis

Pelican Lake Phase In the Crowsnest Pass: a Locational Analysis

Snowmelt energy balance in a burned forest plot, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada

AbstractForested headwater basins in western North America are subject to major change from natural and anthropogenic disturbance, including wildfire, insect infestation, disease, and forest harvesting. These changes have subsequent impacts on sub‐canopy snow processes, particularly snow accumulation and melt, with cascading effects on downstream systems. We apply a simple, process‐based point energy balance model to quantify differences in energy balance characteristics between a burned and a control plot. In the burned plot, more snow accumulated on the ground surface, there was more energy available for snowmelt, the snow melted more rapidly, and complete snowpack removal occurred sooner than in the control plot. Although results are comparable to cleared forest stands, standing dead trees in burned forest stands attenuate incoming short‐wave radiation, wind speed, temperature, and snow accumulation on the surface to a greater degree than is observed in cleared stands. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Three-dimensional slope stability analysis of South Peak, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada

South Peak is a 7-Mm3 potentially unstable rock mass located adjacent to the 1903 Frank Slide on Turtle Mountain, Alberta. This paper presents three-dimensional numerical rock slope stability models and compares them with a previous conceptual slope instability model based on discontinuity surfaces identified using an airborne LiDAR digital elevation model (DEM). Rock mass conditions at South Peak are described using the Geological Strength Index and point load tests, whilst the mean discontinuity set orientations and characteristics are based on approximately 500 field measurements. A kinematic analysis was first conducted to evaluate probable simple discontinuity-controlled failure modes. The potential for wedge failure was further assessed by considering the orientation of wedge intersections over the airborne LiDAR DEM and through a limit equilibrium combination analysis. Block theory was used to evaluate the finiteness and removability of blocks in the rock mass. Finally, the complex interaction between discontinuity sets and the topography within South Peak was investigated through three-dimensional distinct element models using the code 3DEC. The influence of individual discontinuity sets, scale effects, friction angle and the persistence along the discontinuity surfaces on the slope stability conditions were all investigated using this code.

Use of resource selection functions to identify conservation corridors

Summary Corridors are commonly used to connect fragments of wildlife habitat, yet the identification of conservation corridors typically neglects processes of habitat selection and movement for target organisms. New technologies and analytical tools make it possible to better integrate landscape patterns with behavioural processes. We illustrate the integration of resource selection functions (RSFs) and least‐cost path (LCP) analyses for the purpose of corridor planning for two large carnivores. We used RSFs developed from Global Positioning System telemetry data to predict the seasonal distribution of two large carnivores: grizzly bears Ursus arctos and cougars Puma concolor. We then applied LCP analyses to identify potential corridors in two fragmented montane landscapes – Canmore and Crowsnest Pass – in Alberta, Canada. Grizzly bear habitat selection in both areas positively correlated with greenness in all seasons and soil wetness and proximity to water in the summer when both variables were associated with bear forage. During spring, grizzly bear occurrence in Canmore inversely correlated with road density. For cougars, habitat selection varied by region: it negatively correlated with road density in Canmore during non‐winter and positively correlated with terrain ruggedness in Crowsnest Pass. Cougar occurrence during the non‐winter season in Canmore positively correlated with greenness. For each species, seasonal RSFs were used to develop a cost surface for LCP analyses to identify potential corridor locations in each study area. Overlaying the paths for the two species highlighted where the landscape could support corridors for both species and potential highway crossing zones. The telemetry data supported some of these modelled crossings. Synthesis and applications. We show how to integrate RSFs and least‐cost modelling to identify corridors for conservation. We focus on two large carnivores in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to identify potential corridors in Canmore and provide a framework for corridor planning in Crowsnest. We suggest that our approach is applicable to many other target species in addition to large carnivores in human‐dominated landscapes.

Amelanchier alnifolia var. Pumila (Rosaceae) in Alberta, with Notes on its Classification and Identification

Abstract Amelanchier alnifolia var. pumila (Smooth Saskatoon, Dwarf Serviceberry) is reported as new to Canada from the Crowsnest Pass and Castle Mountain regions of the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Alberta. It occurs in open prairie habitat in cool montane parklands. Completely glabrous with prominently toothed leaves, and with a discrete distribution including the Rocky Mountains and adjacent plains, A. alnifolia var. pumila is a distinctive taxon worthy of recognition. At the Canadian sites it occurs with A. alnifolia var. alnifolia and a range of putative hybrids. The Canadian collections are described, and compare well with the type material. A key to the Amelanchier taxa of Alberta and British Columbia is included.

The Imaginary Colliery Project

This work specifically examines a transition from resource based industries to a tourism economy in the Crowsnest Pass. The Imaginary Colliery Project proposal complicates this movement from mining to tourism and suggests that authentic histories, architecture and culture can be fabricated to suit the necessities of tourist industries.

The southern termination of the Western Main Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, near Fort Steele, British Columbia: stratigraphy, structure, and tectonic implications

Abstract The Wild Horse River map-area is situated near the Crowsnest Pass cross-strike discontinuity, which marks the southern termination of the Western Main Ranges subprovince of the Southern Canadian Rocky Mountains. The Crowsnest Pass cross-strike discontinuity is a transverse northeast-trending tectonic feature marked by profound changes in structural style and in Paleozoic stratigraphy between the Laurentia craton and the Cordilleran miogeocline. Cambrian and Ordovician strata in the Wild Horse River map-area accumulated on the northwest side of the discontinuity in two contrasting tectonostratigraphic domains. One domain consists of an incomplete stratigraphic succession that was deposited on the Windermere high, a high-standing fault block within the Paleozoic miogeocline that was intermittently tilted eastward. The other domain contains a thicker more complete shaly succession that accumulated adjacent to the margin of the Laurentia craton. This latter succession contains local intercalations of diatreme-related volcanic rocks, the emplacement of which may have been controlled by basement faults that defined the margin of the miogeocline. The east verging Lussier River thrust fault separates the two domains. The dominant structures east of it are the Porcupine Creek anticlinorial fan structure and the east-verging Ruault Lake thrust fault. The Ruault Lake fault has been synformally backfolded in the west flank limb of the Porcupine Creek fan structure; both it and the fan structure are truncated by the out-of-sequence Lussier River fault. All convergence-related structures are cut and thermally overprinted by approximately 111 Ma granitic stocks that date all the thrusting and folding as pre-Albian. The transverse Boulder Creek fault, which branches from the Lussier River fault, may be a dextral tear fault that was reactivated as a down-to-the-north normal fault during Tertiary displacement along the Southern Rocky Mountain Trench fault.

Citizen, Science, Highways, and Wildlife: Using a Web-based GIS to Engage Citizens in Collecting Wildlife Information

Road Watch in the Pass is a citizen-science project that engages local citizens in reporting wildlife observations along a 44-km stretch of Highway 3 through Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta, Canada. The numbers of wildlife vehicle collisions and a recent proposal to expand the highway have raised concerns from both human safety and wildlife conservation perspectives. Through the use of a web-based GIS, interested citizens can contribute information that will be instrumental in making final decisions concerning measures to mitigate the effects of highway expansion. Currently, 58 people have contributed over 713 observations to Road Watch. We performed a preliminary comparison of 11 months of Road Watch observations and wildlife mortality data for the same time period to demonstrate that the use of citizen science not only augments more conventional approaches, but also results in the emergence of new knowledge and insights. A Kappa index of agreement of 14% indicates poor agreement between the data sets, highlighting that wildlife successfully cross the highway in areas not identified by the wildlife mortality data. This has important implications for design and mitigation efforts for Highway 3 and other roadways.

A pop-up structure exposed in the outer foothills, Crowsnest Pass area, Alberta

ABSTRACT Recent mapping in the Blairmore East-Half map area indicates a pop-up structure transected by the Crowsnest River, near the leading edge of Eastern Cordilleran deformation. At scenic Falls, the sub-horizontal attitude of the Santonian Virgelle Formation (Milk River Group) is anomalous in comparison to fault-bounded slices to both the east and west, where strata display steep to moderate dips more typical of Foothills structures. The relatively broad (750 m across strike), flat-lying structure exposed at Falls is bounded downstream to the east by a foreland-directed thrust placing Virgelle Formation on Campanian Formation (Belly River Group). To the west, this sub-horizontal structure is overridden by a steeply west-dipping, foreland-directed thrust carrying Milk River and Belly River strata in its hanging wall. Stratigraphic offset across this thrust fault is apparently small to negligible at the Crowsnest River, but increases at higher elevations to the north and south. On either side of this thrust fault, north of the Crowsnest River, two anticlines involving the Virgelle Formation face each other. These atypical relationships suggest that, at the river and adjacent low elevations, the sub-horizontal structure may be bounded to the west by a cryptic, west-directed backthrust that is overridden up-slope by the foreland-directed fault just described. These features are inferred to comprise a pop-up structure, similar to those interpreted elsewhere within the triangle zone in the subsurface, but never before described in outcrop in the Foothills of Alberta. Although they appear to be very rare in the Foothills, the inferred backthrust is not alone in this immediate area. Two kilometres downstream, the hinge of an upright anticline, involving a well-exposed section of Milk River Group strata at the classic Lundbreck transition outcrop, is removed to the north by another west-directed backthrust. This backthrust could also be associated with a pop-up structure, as suggested by its configuration in restored cross-sections. An association between the pop-up structures and the triangle zone is implied by their proximity, but relative timing relationships are unclear. The recognition of these structures, using a refined stratigraphy in an area mapped previously, suggests that pop-up structures associated with the triangle zone may be more common than published studies indicate, and therefore may be more important features of the Outer Foothills belt than is widely appreciated. End_Page 139------------------------

Additions to the lichen flora of Alberta, Canada from Crowsnest Pass

Additions to the lichen flora of Alberta, Canada from Crowsnest Pass

The Cold War and Working-Class Politics in the Coal Mining Communities of the Crowsnest Pass, 1945-1958

This paper is concerned with the resilience of socialist workers' movements during the early years of the Cold War in Canada. Our study compares the workers' movements on either side of the BC/Alberta border in the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains between 1945 and 1958. These are interesting movements because, although they were equally strong at the end of World War II, in the period in question one movement was very resilient (BC) and one suffered an electoral collapse. We found that the Cold War eroded the Labour Progressive Party's (LPP) electoral base in exactly the same way on the Alberta and BC sides of the Crowsnest Pass. Anti-communism was certainly promoted by extra-local sources of news and analysis such as newspapers, radio and movies, and was based upon international and national events. However, there were important local processes that amplified and concretized the more general forces, such as joint organizing against the LPP by a CCF leader and the Catholic Church in the Alberta Crowsnest, the recruitment of anti-communist miners from Eastern Europe, and the anti-communist stance of a roster of ethnic organizations. The resilience of the socialist workers' movement in the BC Crowsnest between 1945 and 1958 was due to a labour unity strategy which allowed Labour and the Left to deflect Cold War pressures and maintain mass electoral support among workers. It is significant that the strategy was built around a local organization (the Fernie and District Labour Party) which involved all of the unions in the area, and a local politician (Thomas Uphill) who had built up a dense network of personal support during his many years as MLA and mayor. The socialist workers' movement in the Alberta Crowsnest might have proven to be much more resilient in the 1950s had the LPP attempted to duplicate the successful labour unity strategy it had stumbled on in the BC Crowsnest. Resume Cet article se rapporte au caractere resistant des mouvements des travailleurs socialistes au cours des premieres annees de la Guerre froide au Canada. Notre etude fait la comparaison des mouvements des travailleurs des deux cotes de la frontiere de la Colombie-Britannique et de l'Alberta dans le passage Crowsnest par les montagnes Rocheuses entre 1945 et 1958. Ce sont des mouvements interessants car, bien qu'ils soient egalement importants a la fui de la Deuxieme Guerre mondiale, dans la periode en question, un mouvement etait tres resistant (celui de Colombie-Britannique) alors que l'autre avait subi un echec electoral. Nous avons decouvert que la Guerre froide avait erode la base electorale du Parti progressiste travailliste exactement de la meme facon que des deux cotes de la frontiere de la Colombie-Britannique et de l'Alberta dans le passage Crowsnest. L'anticommunisme faisait certainement l'objet de la promotion par les sources de nouvelles et d'analyses, en dehors des localites, telles que les journaux, la radio et les films, et il etait base sur des evenements internationaux et nationaux. Toutefois, il y avait des processus locaux importants qui amplifiaient et concretisaient les forces plus generales, tels que l'organisation conjointe contre le Parti progressiste travailliste par un chef de la Federation du Commonwealth cooperatif et l'Eglise catholique dans le passage Crowsnest de l'Alberta, le recrutement des mineurs anticommunistes de l'Europe de l'Est, ainsi que la position anticommuniste prise par de nombreux organismes ethniques. Le caractere resistant du mouvement des travailleurs socialistes dans le passage Crowsnest de la Colombie-Britannique entre 1945 et 1958 s'etait developpe grâce a une strategie de l'union ouvriere qui permettait aux mouvements ouvrier et gauchiste de detourner les pressions de la Guerre froide et de maintenir l'appui electoral massif parmi les travailleurs. Il est significatif que la strategie soit elaboree autour d'un organisme local (le Parti ouvrier de Fernie et District) auquel participent tous les syndicats de la region, ainsi qu'une personne politique sur le plan local (Thomas Uphill) qui avait etabli un reseau complexe de soutien personnel depuis des annees quand il etait membre de l'Assemblee legislative et maire. Le mouvement des travailleurs socialistes dans le passage Crowsnest de l'Alberta aurait pu etre plus resistant dans les annees 1950 si le Parti progressiste travailliste avait essaye d'adopter la meme strategie de l'union ouvriere qui avait eu tellement de succes dans le passage Crowsnest de la Colombie-Britannique.

Slickenlines and the kinematics of the Crowsnest Deflection in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada

In the vicinity of the Crowsnest Pass, in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, the strike of the structural grain deviates significantly from the regional 325° Bow Valley–northern Montana trend. This deviation is known as the Crowsnest Deflection. The preferred azimuths for slickenlines on bedding north and south of the deflection is 056°; that is almost exactly perpendicular to the Bow Valley–northern Montana trend. Within the deflection, however, the preferred azimuth appears to be composite, ranging from 051° (Beaver Mines) to 082° (Frank, Alberta). The temporal relations of intersecting striae in the coal measures of Bow Valley would suggest, moreover, that these preferred slip directions are not sequential but may be partially or wholly concurrent. These kinematic fabric data, in conjunction with the alignment of remanent magnetic dipoles in mid-Proterozoic (Helikian) rocks, support the hypothesis that within the Crowsnest Deflection the curviplanar shape of contraction faults in the eastern Cordillera of Canada was controlled by the ancestral shape of the Cordilleran shelf-miogeocline. The proposed origin and tectonic significance of the Crowsnest Deflection may be similar to that of other great arcs, including the northeastward salient of the Mackenzie Mountains in the northern Cordillera of Canada, and of the northwestward salient of the central Appalachians of Pennsylvania.

Treadsoftly: adopting environmental management in the start‐up phase

Illustrates the importance of a strong, implementable environmental plan and control system for the start‐up phase of a back‐country mountain biking company in the Crowsnest Pass area of Alberta, Canada. Careful planning showed that a commitment to the environment allowed the founder access to the necessary trails on public land. The key was to consider where company goals overlapped with stakeholder goals and incorporate a plan to achieve these goals. By developing a simple but effective monitoring and control system, the company was allowed to self‐regulate. The Land and Forest Service felt that the only regulation needed for Treadsoftly was adherence to its own environmental policy and monitoring its progress through its own control system. The company’s environmental management system was instrumental in receiving speedy approval for other permits and licences needed to operate in the area.