Wildlife Corridors & Habitat Enhancement Areas

Provincial approvals for development of the Three Sisters Resort project and an associated Environmental Impact Assessment were completed and addressed through Alberta Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) hearings in 1992. Approval for much of the proposed development was granted by the NRCB that same year. As a condition of development approval, Three Sisters was required to designate wildlife corridors, as per NRB terms of delineation, within and adjacent to the property. The purpose of these corridors was to accommodate wildlife movement through the area.

Wildlife move through the Rocky Mountains along regional travel routes, or "wildlife corridors," linking such areas as the Bow Valley to Wind Valley, or Banff to Kananaskis Country. Three Sisters Mountain Village has set aside some 1,000 acres to preserve the corridors that cross Three Sisters Mountain Village property. Where roads intersect these corridors, crossing structures such as overpasses or underpasses have been developed primarily to allow wildlife to pass safely and undisturbed.

Planning for lands over which corridors travel and land near these corridors takes the special environmental considerations of these corridors into account. The Town of Canmore Municipal Development Plan and the Three Sisters Mountain Village Resort Centre and Stewart Creek Area Structure Plans contain policies that specifically address wildlife corridors and interface areas.

In addition to the designation of wildlife corridors at Three Sisters, habitat enhancement areas have been set aside. These areas, located within the wildlife corridors, are intended to increase grassland forage available to such animals as elk and deer. Human access to these sites is restricted to encourage the undisturbed use of these areas by wildlife.