Banff West Sulphur Mountain Fireguard

Project Overview

Building on existing fuel management units located on the west-facing slopes of Sulphur Mountain, the West Sulphur Mountain Fireguard Project provides an additional fuel break in the event of wildfire threat to the communities of Banff from the western reaches of the Bow Valley.

Fuel management units were designed to provide fire managers with options to slow down active crown fire and reduce fire intensities. This project incorporated surface, ladder fuel, and crown closure treatments.

CCI was responsible for the full scope of the project including preparation of an Environmental Protection Plan, Erosion and Sediment Control Plan, harvest area layout, whitebark pine protection, road construction, harvesting operations, structure retention prescriptions, slash pile removal, log haul and reclamation.

In addition to reducing wildfire risk to the community of Banff, the project developed foraging habitat for grizzly bears away from the railroad in support of Parks Canada’s primary deliverable stemming from the five-year Canadian Pacific (CP)/Parks Canada (PC) Grizzly Bear project. 

The clearing units ranged from 55 to 147 ha in size. CCI’s scope of work included the following:

• Develop a Site-Specific Environmental Protection Plan and Debris Management Guideline,
• Develop and maintain access (including in-block roads) for operations,
• Development of landings for storage of timber for on-site use during and after construction,
• Use of low impact equipment for harvesting operations,
• Processing of salvageable timber at the identified landings and skidding of salvageable timber to the designated landings,
• Hauling of merchantable timber to an approved location,
• Conduct activity in compliance with Parks safety and environmental requirements and plans.

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