I read with interest a recent article in the Gazette wherein the River Lot 56 Society reported a growing concern with rampant illegal logging in the protected natural area.
Intrigued by this blatant attack on what seems to be conceived as an impregnable fortress, I made a detailed tour of the area, accompanied by my specially trained log-sniffing dog. (Unfortunately he does not read as well as I would like and he therefore ignored the prohibitions against his presence.) We found no evidence of logging — no stumps, machine tracks or gouges in the ground where logs could have been dragged away. However we did discover areas where large animals appear to have suffered gruesome, bloody deaths while entangled in barbed wire, particularly along the east-side fence. We also noted that this "protected natural area" continues to be subject to commercial cultivation.
A cynic might conclude that this "story" of logging was a piece of deliberate misinformation by the society to justify their ongoing fascination with ridiculous, dangerous and exclusionary fencing and signage. When a small and unaccountable group make unreasonable decisions that affect the recreational options of a large population of an entire area and adversely affect the wildlife they are meant to protect, it is time for the province, or better yet, the City of St. Albert, to take over the administration of this resource.
Gordon Mazurek, St. Albert
