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| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Series | | No.: | PR2982.0009 | | TITLE: | W.G. Milne Architect, Kananaskis Country series | | DATE RANGE: | 1975-2000 | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | Bill Milne was a prominent Calgary architect and a passionate environmentalist. He had the idea to develop in the Kananaskis Valley a multi-use area where preservation, recreation and a working forest could co-exist harmoniously When the late Clarence Copithorne, then Minister of Highways in the Peter Lougheed government, unveiled a plan to create a paved highway into the Kananaskis Valley, Milne challenged the government to hold a meaningful public consultation process. In the 1960s, Clarence Copithorne had witnessed the growing impact of Calgarians looking for recreational opportunities in the foothills, and the pressure this placed on local ranchlands. Copithorne agreed with the public consultation, and more than 48,000 Albertans responded to a survey about the future development of the area, most coming out in favour of creating a park.
Consequently Milne and Copithorne secured the support of Premier Peter Lougheed after a helicopter flight over the valley demonstrated Lougheed the need to conserve a large part of the eastern slopes. Milne made a significant contribution to the plan for what is now Kananaskis Country by developing in the 1970s a proposal for a large multi-use area. The main goal was to protect wildlife and the ecological integrity of the area as well as to prevent commercial development from dominating this area. Milne carried out the project on the same basis as the Fish Creek Park, with public input and participation.
On September 22, 1978, Premier Lougheed officially dedicated Kananaskis Country as a multi-use area, balancing recreation and commercial opportunities with the protection of watersheds, wildlife habitat and landscapes. The provincial park also dedicated at that time was renamed Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in January 1986.
Located a half-hour west of Calgary, nearly two-thirds of the 4,200 square kilometre area in Kananaskis Country is now protected as a park, ecological reserve or recreation area. About 75 million visitors from Alberta and abroad have experienced the spectacular landscapes and wildlife in Kananaskis Country. The Evan-Thomas Alpine Village, designed by Milne, is a low density self-contained village, out of view, well removed from the Evan-Thomas creek and having no impact on the environment in any significant way. The trail running from the Evan-Thomas Recreation area into the Spray Lakes Provincial Park, formerly known as the Evan-Thomas Bike Trail, was recently renamed Bill Milne Trail.
The series consists mainly of records related to the Evan Thomas Alpine Village (correspondence, information and reports on the Kananaskis area, proposals, audience records, environmental impact information, policies, brochures, site plan, perspectives, sketches, golf course material, aerial photographs) and to the Kananaskis Alpine Villages (correspondence, site evaluations, location plan). The series also includes the elevation and detail drawings of an exterior 1997-1999 sculpture held at the Trans Canadian Trail pavilion.
| | LANGUAGE NOTE: | In English | | RELATED FONDS: | PR2982 (William (Bill) G. Milne fonds)
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