University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Richard Parker Professorship Repository Calgary Regional Partnership Documents 2009 Calgary Metropolitan Plan Environment Report: Strategies and Actions: Part 1 O2 Planning + Design Inc. O2 Planning + Design Inc. Calgary Regional Partnership. (2009). Calgary Metropolitan Plan Environment Report: Strategies and Actions: Part 1. Calgary: O2 Planning + Design Inc. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/107163 report Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca CALGARY METROPOLITAN PLAN ENVIRONMENT REPORT: STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS Presented to: CALGARY REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP Presented by: O2 PLANNING + DESIGN INC. 2009 October 2010 Version Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 5 2.0 Existing Environment ............................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Land ................................................................................................................................. 8 2.1.1 Natural Regions and Subregions............................................................................. 8 2.1.2 Landforms .............................................................................................................. 12 2.1.3 Landscape Units .................................................................................................... 14 2.1.4 Vegetation and Land Cover ................................................................................... 29 2.1.5 Designated Protected Areas ................................................................................. 35 2.1.6 Scenic Resources .................................................................................................. 38 2.2 Water ............................................................................................................................. 39 2.2.1 Watersheds ............................................................................................................ 39 2.2.2 Alluvial Soils and Shallow Aquifers ........................................................................ 42 2.2.3 Precipitation ........................................................................................................... 44 2.3 Air ................................................................................................................................... 44 2.3.1 Calgary Region Airshed Zone ................................................................................ 44 2.4 The Green Network of Ecological Infrastructure ........................................................... 45 2.4.1 Large Patches of Natural Vegetation .................................................................... 45 2.4.2 Regional Corridors ................................................................................................. 47 2.4.3 Riparian Corridors ................................................................................................. 47 2.4.4 Stepping Stones .................................................................................................... 50 2.4.5 Wetlands and Wetland Complexes ....................................................................... 50 2.4.6 Slopes & Ridges .................................................................................................... 50 2.4.7 Badlands ................................................................................................................ 54 2.4.8 Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) ............................................................. 55 2.5 Biodiversity .................................................................................................................... 55 2.5.1 Wildlife Species of the Calgary Region ................................................................. 55 2.5.2 Species of Concern ............................................................................................... 57 2.5.3 Vertebrate Species Richness ................................................................................ 57 3.0 Strategies and Actions to Conserve Land Resources ....................................................... 59 3.1 Agricultural Lands .......................................................................................................... 59 3.2 Parks and Open Space ................................................................................................. 63 3.3 Scenic Resources .......................................................................................................... 69 4.0 Strategies and Actions to Conserve Water Resources ...................................................... 74 4.1 Watershed Planning ...................................................................................................... 75 4.2 Wetlands ........................................................................................................................ 76 4.3 Water Conservation ....................................................................................................... 77 4.4 Alluvial Aquifers ............................................................................................................. 78 4.5 Groundwater Resources................................................................................................ 79 4.6 Major River Corridors .................................................................................................... 79 4.7 Low Impact Development / Stormwater Management ................................................. 80 5.0 Strategies and Actions to Conserve Air Quality and Climate ............................................. 81 5.1 Air Quality ...................................................................................................................... 82 5.2 Climate ........................................................................................................................... 83 5.3 Carbon Sinks ................................................................................................................. 84 5.4 Resilient and Adaptable Communities .......................................................................... 84 6.0 Strategies and Actions to Conserve Ecological Infrastructure .......................................... 85 1 6.1 Large Patches ................................................................................................................ 86 6.2 Regional Corridors ......................................................................................................... 87 6.3 Riparian Areas ............................................................................................................... 88 6.4 Slopes and Ridges ........................................................................................................ 88 6.5 Badlands ........................................................................................................................ 89 6.6 Mitigation ....................................................................................................................... 89 7.0 Strategies and Actions to Conserve Biodiversity ............................................................... 90 7.1 Species Richness .......................................................................................................... 90 8.0 Recommended Implementation Strategies ........................................................................ 91 8.1 Conservation Tools and Programs ................................................................................ 91 8.2 Funding Strategies ........................................................................................................ 94 8.3 Cumulative Effects Management .................................................................................. 95 8.4 Improve Coordination to Conserve Environmental Resources ..................................... 96 8.5 Undertake Additional Regional Planning ....................................................................... 96 9.0 Glossary .............................................................................................................................. 99 10.0 References ................................................................................................................... 102 11.0 Appendix One: GIS Methodology ............................................................................... 105 2 List of Maps Map 1. Original Calgary Metropolitan Plan Boundary Map 2. Natural Subregions in the CALGARY Region Map 3. Landforms in the CALGARY Region Map 4. Landscape Units in the Calgary Region Map 5. Land Cover in the Calgary Region Map 6. Land-use / Land Cover in the Calgary Region Map 7. Natural Vegetation Distribution in the Calgary Region Map 8. Native Prairie Locations in the Calgary Region Map 9. Designated Protected Areas in the Calgary Region Map 10. Visual Value Rating in the Calgary Region Map 11. Watershed Sub-basins in the Calgary Region Map 12. Alluvial Soils within the Calgary Region Map 13. Large Natural Vegetation Patches within the Calgary Region Map 14. Natural Vegetation Patch Size in the Calgary Region Map 15. Regional Corridors within the Calgary Region Map 16. Stepping Stones within the Calgary Region Map 17. Wetlands and Wetland Complexes in the Calgary Region Map 18. Slopes and Ridges in the Calgary Region