County may take over Highway 24 boat ramp

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County is looking to take over a boat launch on the Bow River near Carseland made inaccessible by the province.

The boat launch, located next to the Highway 24 bridge, has been used by fishermen and boaters for decades to access the waters of the Bow River. But Alberta Transportation fenced it off to avoid liability sometime in the past few years, explained Matt Boscariol, Wheatland County’s general manager of community and development services.

There was no notice from the province about this change. Division 3 Councillor Donna Biggar said she has received numerous complaints from residents in response to the launch being inaccessible and has also received a call from the office of Bow River MP Martin Shields about such complaints.

Besides affecting recreation, the boat launch being closed is also having an economic impact, said Biggar.

“There’s actually businesses that need that boat launch; they do fly fishing tours,” she said. “The Bow River has the most famous fly fishing in North America, and we’re cutting off tourism to our own businesses and our own residents.”

The province made the change without consulting residents or the county, she added.

There has been no communication from Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer on the issue, said Division 5 Councillor Scott Klassen. 

“I want to know why they took it away,” he said. “I want the MLA to tell us why they did this.”

In response, the county has asked the provincial government how to reopen the boat launch. The government responded by saying Wheatland County could enter a “caretaker agreement” with the province to take over and maintain the area.

There are two options for the county to manage the area: it could either obtain a temporary field authority permit, in which case the boat launch would operate as it was and no upgrades would be required; or it could obtain a license of occupation permit, which would allow the launch to be upgraded to a fully functional launch with a concrete apron.

County administration will pursue the temporary option.