by Peter LaGrandeur
At the request of Rob Gardner of Alberta Trail Net, we mustered a work
party to clean up the remnants of a snow fence along
the right of way north of Acme, Alberta that had been
collapsing into the adjacent farmer's field. Apparently
the land owner had been losing the use of a stretch of land
along side the fence due to nails protruding out of the boards.
Guido, Randie, Jeff, and myself went out the next morning
expecting to find a few hundred feet of wood and wire
to have to dig out of the grass.
Fortunately the farmer, or another diligent soul, had already
gone to it with a tractor and dozer leaving us with a much smaller
task than what was previously anticipated. It still took us several
hours to wrap up the job to our satisfaction, including pulling rusty
barbed wire out of the tough grass and coiling it into manageable rolls.
We felt our visit to the site and our conscientious mopping up would
contribute to the relationship building that Trailnet has on its agenda
with the local land holders in the Kneehill trail vicinity. Even though
we did not get a full day's labour out of our trip, it was still a nice
visit to the area and an introduction to the pleasant corridor that
abandoned routes like those present. And the sale of the remaining thick
layer of gravel will add a much needed injection of cash to Trailnet's
coffers. Let's all hope that we can proceed in the near future with the
actual development of this route into a functional linear park.
Reference the following sites:
Alberta Trail Net
Trans Canada Trail
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