McIntyre Creek - Samurai Club June 2009

Some of the characters and creatures found playing along McIntyre Creek during the week.

The McIntyre Creek is used for nature hikes and education, as well as for events such as this where there is plenty of room for fantasies to be played out for the enjoyment of the participants, as well as people who like myself, came across them and wondered what these unusual creatures were doing dashing about in the woods.

Photos by Gerry Steers - Gerry's Computer Magic

Biodiversity Walk August 9, 2009 at 4:00 pm

Interested people should meet at 4 pm at the Kopper King parking lot on Sunday August 9th, 2009. It is posted on the website below or go to yukonwild.ca and follow the links.

http://environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/wildlifebiodiversity/wildlifetalks.php

Road from Whistlebend proposed through McIntyre Creek

http://whitehorsestar.com/archive/email-story/29881/
This site leads you to the Whistle Bend road access plans by the City of Whitehorse. The Friends of McIntyre Creek Board is asking for support from you by writing a comment letter to Mayor Bev Buckway, Mike Ellis, City Planner, and the Whitehorse Star newspaper. We believe the proposed road through McIntyre Creek is definitely an hindrance to the development of the proposed McIntyre Creek Park, and will impact the McIntyre Creek wildlife corridor.
I hope you will help with this project.
Dorothy

Whistle Bend will need expensive road changes

By Stephanie Waddell on June 15, 2009 at 1:55 pm

The city could end up spending anywhere between $20 million and $30 million on fixing up and building roads to accommodate the upcoming Whistle Bend subdivision.

The money would be spent on everything from making Mountainview Drive a four-lane road to building an access road between the Porter Creek neighbourhood and Range Road.

On Friday, officials with the city and consultant AECOM unveiled the city’s most recent transportation study which looked at how the city’s next major area for development on the Porter Creek lower bench would impact traffic throughout the city and what would be needed to handle the new volumes.

“It really impacts the entire city,” AECOM’s Bill Jenkins said, citing Mountainview Drive, Range Road and the Alaska Highway among the roads that will see the most impact.

Using current information and the number of projected residences for Whistle Bend, AECOM created traffic simulations for the neighbourhood, looking at how traffic would be moving when Whistle Bend starts up, then when it is halfway done, and finally when it is fully developed.

It also looked at the different possibilities for full population of the neighbourhood at 10,000, 7,500 and 5,000 people.

It was found that as the main corridor between Whistle Bend and the downtown core, Mountainview would see enough traffic to justify its being widened to accommodate four lanes, with more traffic signals at various intersections on the road.

“There is a new access proposed,” Jenkins told reporters, stressing the proposed access, about 150 to 200 metres from Tamarack Drive, would not impact McIntyre Creek.

The access would be built in a way that it could connect to another proposal that would see an access built between Mountainview Drive and the Alaska Highway from Pine Street to Kopper King.

As Jenkins pointed out, the growth of Whistle Bend is not going to happen overnight - it’s proposed to be done in nine phases - and, like the development improvements to roads leading to the neighbourhood, would be spread over time.

Even with lower population sizes than the 10,000 initially proposed for a full build-out of the area, AECOM’s Leah Libsekal said the study found the city’s major roads would suffer significantly, with travel times for residents using them increasing.

“People would have to sit and wait at intersections,” she said.

Much of the focus on Whistle Bend has been on sustainability, with the city moving toward a neighbourhood that has a higher density, is pedestrian-friendly and encourages transit use.

The study proposed the plans anticipating a more efficient transit system with more users, Jenkins said.

As the city moves ahead with the first two phases of zoning on the subdivision - up for first reading at tonight’s council meeting - officials will be reviewing the report and its recommendations, city manager Dennis Shewfelt said.

It’s likely any recommendations from the study would come forward as the development continues, depending on the needs at the time.

Botony BC at Muncho Lake - July 15th, 2009

For anyone interested in plants - there is an excellent opportunity to participate in BOTANY BC

BOTANY BC is an annual meeting of botanists and plant enthusiasts of British Columbia and is open to anyone interested in plants. Although BOTANY BC meetings are focused to British Columbia, we welcome all the plant enthusiasts from the neighbouring territories/states, and from elsewhere in the world.

For a fun filled weekend check out:

http://members.shaw.ca/BotanyBC/

Bruce Bennett, Wildlife Viewing Biologist
Environment Yukon
Wildlife Viewing Program V5N
Box 2703
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Y1A 2C6
tel: (867) 667-5331
fax: (867) 393-6263
http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/viewing/index.html

Flowers Along McIntyre Creek Hiking Trails

Except for the purple crocus (center top), which is the first flower we see in spring, this is a composite of the June flowers currently in bloom along the hiking trails surrounding McIntyre Creek. The Wild Roses should be the next flowers to blossom, and will enhance the hiking experience with their wonderful fragrance. There are carpets of tiny mauve flowers that almost appear as ground cover, growing in and around rocks, and in the clay soil. I don't need to know the names of these flowers to enjoy them on my hikes. Now is a great time to experience the McIntyre Creek trails and enjoy our wilderness City.

Photos by Gerry Steers
Gerry's Computer Magic

Hot days in June at McIntyre Creek

It may only have a rocky gravel shoreline for a beach, but Whitehorse citizens and their canines are happy to cool off playing in the McIntyre Creek waters on a hot June day.

Article in Whitehorse Star, June 5, 2009

By Julius Debuschewitz on June 5, 2009

As some of you know, quite some time ago, I wrote a column about the day my wife, Deborah, and I “discovered” McIntyre Marsh. I told of how we were simply overwhelmed by the beauty of the marsh, the canyon and the wetlands along Fish Lake Road near the Alaska Highway.
Since then, we have gone to that area about once a week, summer and winter, to see what is happening, spot birds and other wildlife, and take photographs.

This beautiful piece of wilderness - literally minutes away from our home - provides us with a place to relax and observe all kinds of creatures, usually in very peaceful surroundings.
We are, of course, not the only ones to take advantage of these amazing wetlands.
Every so often, we run into like-minded people, be they bird watchers, fellow photographers, outdoor enthusiasts, or just folks out for a leisurely walk.

Most of the time, these “users” of the area will stop to exchange not only pleasantries, but also to tell each other about birds and plants they have discovered while out there.
This exchange of information has enabled me to take some nice photographs I would otherwise not have been able to get.

You are probably wondering by now why I am telling you all this. Well, it appears that some folks are bound and determined to develop this area - ducks, birds, coyotes and nature lovers be damned.

Apparently, we have not enough room in the city to build more houses unless we encroach on the few unique wilderness areas we have left around town.

The current city council has already demonstrated its short-sightedness by wanting to build a road through existing greenbelts around Porter Creek to connect with a new housing development in the Whistle Bend area.

I gather broadening existing roads or building a proper connector road to downtown is not in the cards, so walking trails have to go instead.

Now our city fathers have their sights set on the so-called Fish Lake development, which will encroach on the same wetlands I mentioned at the beginning of this column.
The so-called “consultation with residents” is laughable.

Moreover, the city wants to do away with the Green Space Referendum Bylaw, claiming it prohibits changes in the existing Official Community Plan (OCP).
More importantly, Mayor Bev Buckway has apparently pointed out that the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce wants the bylaw to disappear.

Sadly, it seems that greed by developers may once again win out over common sense.
The latter would dictate that we must preserve certain parts of the city to enable wildlife to thrive and residents to recreate close to home.

The whole McIntyre Creek and McIntyre Marsh area teems with wildlife, big and small, and it is also a wildlife corridor. Should we really destroy such an important part of our local eco-system in order to slap up a few more housing units?

Change is inevitable, and our city continues to grow. Alas, growth should be controlled and channeled properly.

Surely there are less sensitive areas fit for development. There seem to be tracts of land along the Alaska Highway in both directions that could be developed with less impact on wildlife.
Why is it that developers have the ear of our city fathers, while the common citizen has to fight for the right to be heard?

Is the lure of a fast buck that tempting? Are citizens so unimportant that their concerns are simply ignored?

We all chose to make our home here in this beautiful part of the world and - for the most part - still beautiful city. Yet, there are some who cannot leave well enough alone.
Whitehorse is not a huge metropolis where park space is at a premium. We are surrounded by beautiful wilderness, which attracts most of us to live here and also is a boon to tourism.

Eroding that beauty, even little by little, might bring short-term gain to some, but in the long run, it will leave us with a much less desirable place to live and to visit.

I know that these pleas will most likely fall on deaf ears. City council has shown time and again that it gets what it wants, regardless of what the citizens of Whitehorse might think.
What our city fathers do forget, however, is the fact that they are elected to serve us.

Arrogance and ignorance will not carry the day, as some of them may find out to their detriment come civic election day this fall.

The writer is a Whitehorse resident.

Wild Life Viewing in the Yukon

http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/wildlifebiodiversity/wildlifeviewing.php

Check out the above link