Thread by @N88TE

See the orange?

It's set to become one of 5 new suburbs in #yyc.

I found myself wondering what's in this orange area.

Turns out it's an intact riparian area, on the way to being destroyed because of our relentless outward growth.

A🧵on what we're losing 1/ #yyccc #abpoli

This is the former Ricardo Ranch. It's 570 hectares and was previously part of an Area Structure Plan engage.calgary.ca/RicardoRanch

As the maps show, environmentally sensitive areas are acknowledged, but barley mentioned in the plan, with few concrete promises of protection. 2/

Regardless, there will be 16,000-20,000 people planned to live in this sensitive, intact area. To see what the future holds, you just have to look across Deerfoot 3/

But what lives there now? A rich variety of native plants and species.

I took a long walk through the area Saturday morning, trying to document what I could to create a record of what will be lost.

Here's a small example of the richness this area holds 4/

First, there are the extremely productive wetland areas that, while they appear to be exempt from direct development, will be subject to increase pressures from regional pathways and parks.

As they are now, they are full of birds, plants and microorganisms 5/

Great Blue Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpipers and several Wilson's Snipes were all using the wetlands, but they weren't alone 6/

Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Savannah Sparrows and Northern Flickers were all enjoying the chance to bathe and drink from these spots 7/

Particularly concerning were the signs of Bank Swallow colonies throughout this area. These birds are a SARA-listed species with a Recovery Plan. Further evidence of these colonies could make this area Critical Habitat under the Act 8/

My walk made it clear that the diversity in this area was spectacular.

The riparian vegetation was very healthy, and even this late in the year, many wildflowers were still in bloom and the pollinators were busy (Bumblebee and Common Wood Nymph in 3 and 4) 9/

In the open areas, birds of prey were stalking their next kill while other songbirds were eating bugs out of midair or causing a ruckus in the deep undergrowth.

Merlin, Eastern Kingbird, House Wren (making his displeasure at my presence known), and a Red Tailed Hawk 10/

How can you look at this and not feel a sense of sadness about its destruction?

It's mind boggling that this area is not already protected.

Its value of it is right there in front of us, clear to see if you just look 11/

All this is to say, we're losing something we can never get back.

Why?

Because we refuse to take climate change seriously and continue to build like we've always built.

We're convinced there are no consequences.

What's worse is that the solutions are right in front of us 12/

So if you're like me and you get a pit in your stomach when you think about this, make your opposition known.

Pester anyone and everyone you can.

It might not be too late to preserve some of this area and protect it for generations to come.

It's worth fighting for 13/

I should add that unfortunately this isn't the end. 4 more areas are planned to be developed soon with more to come.

We need to stop this and start building within our existing footprint.

I've got more threads coming on the other areas, so stay tuned if you're interested 14/

cc: @Spencerfor12 @JyotiGondek @CWalcottYYC @kourtpenner

This isn't just specific to Calgary. All cities should be taking a close look at their remaining natural assets.

With the impending effects of climate change, we need places like this.

But as humans we also need places like this.

Once it's gone, it's gone 15/