January
A speed limit change on Mînî Thnî Road from 80 km/h to 60 km/h speed reduction on Highway 133X aims to make the spur route through Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation safer for motorists, pedestrians and animals alike.
Cochrane RCMP responded to 10 fatal drug overdoses in Mînî Thnî for the second year in a row in 2023.
A trails master plan covering a large piece of provincial Crown land in northeast Kananaskis Country proposes 20 kilometres of new trails in response to increased visitation, environmental and public safety considerations.
Four provincial recreation areas in Kananaskis Country have been axed of their designations by Alberta Forestry and Parks, including Fir Creek, Eyrie Gap and Crane Meadow. The result transferred a total of 14 hectares to become Crown land. Also removed – but still protected under the Provincial Parks Act – is Big Elbow recreation area, which is fully overlapped by Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park.
February
Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda’a Terry Poucette is named director of Kiipitakyoyis (Grandmother's Lodge) in the University of Calgary's department of social work.
March
Chiniki First Nation’s elected officials emphasize the importance of collaboration between provincial, federal, and tribal governments to enhance community well-being over the next three years in office.
Lac Des Arcs’ speed limit was reduced to 30km/h from 40km/h throughout the hamlet.
A public survey launches for public transit in the MD of Bighorn and Kananaskis Country. Long have the municipalities gone without public transit such as buses.
Kananaskis Improvement District council adds two new provincial appointees – Kateri Cowley and former MLA Dave Rodney – after former Couns. Erum Afsar and Darren Enns’ terms ended in October 2023. Later in the month, Cody English was voted to represent non-commercial residents and ratepayers in what was the second-only election in the ward that was determined by vote and not acclamation. English won the byelection with 51 votes out of 69 valid votes.
April
Chiniki First Nation invests $10 million in the redevelopment of Symons Valley Ranch in Calgary. More housing is expected for the redevelopment of the land in the city’s northwest.
Goodstoney, Bearspaw First Nations receive more than $570,000 in business funding from the province's Aboriginal Business Investment Fund.
May
A planned logging operation in the upper Highwood River watershed in Kananaskis Country threatens critical habitat for at-risk trout species – bull and westslope cutthroat – raising concerns over increased erosion, sedimentation and altered stream flows that could harm sensitive fish populations.
The MD of Bighorn has adopted policy defining levels of service for fire response, which outlines responsibilities, service levels for various calls, mutual aid agreements, fire prevention services and role definitions within the MD.
June
Bearspaw First Nation signs a historic treaty with Canada, after two years of negotiation and will provide capital for housing, economic development initiatives and an operations manager of its Eden Valley reserve.
Stoney Nakoda RCMP launch a high-flying pilot program in Mînî Thnî, using three to four drones to get a bird’s eye view and swiftly respond to calls for service. Typically, they are equipped with an optical camera, but some also have thermal capability, loudspeakers, emergency red and blue lights, or sky hooks to carry emergency equipment like a cell phone or life jacket.
The province is pulling the plug on a Bow River dam proposed upstream of Mînî Thnî.
The estimated price tag to improve 2nd Ave in Dead Man’s Flats jumps to $3.5 million from $2.5 million.
Kananaskis Emergency Services standardizes its fire and rescue agreements across the region to better understand service delivery needs. To ensure timely response due to geography and terrain challenges, service provision is coordinated into several districts throughout Kananaskis between KID emergency services, the province, neighbouring municipalities and Indigenous communities.
A revised strategic plan for Alberta parks will identify options to manage growing recreation demand across 78 provincial parks, 34 wildland provincial parks and 193 provincial recreation areas.
Kieran Dowling resigns as Kananaskis Improvement District’s CAO.
July
The Stoney Nakoda community is on high alert after there were two fatal drug poisonings in three days. Nakoda Emergency Services said they had seen a spike in calls related to illicit drug use.
A ball python, a large snake, was spotted slithering around Kananaskis Country. Alberta Parks issued a warning about the reptile in the Rockies.
A brazen black bear was shot and killed by provincial wildlife officers after fearlessly seeking food from campers at Spray Lakes West Campground in Kananaskis Country on the Canada Day long weekend.
Alberta Parks is putting up a parking lot at Highwood Meadows day-use area in Kananaskis, with construction beginning in July and could take until November 2025 to complete, closing the new parking zone and surrounding affected areas.
Exshaw Mountain Gateway subdivision development receives approval, paving the way for 44 new lots in the MD of Bighorn hamlet.
Two new wildlife crossings are planned by Exshaw and Canmore on Highway 1A.
New Indigenous preschool is proposed for Mînî Thnî (Morley).
The historic Stoney Medicine Lodge burns down. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Wildfires threaten the safety of people and structures in Kananaskis, MD of Bighorn and Stoney Nakoda.
August
Police search for a naked man, who was spotted wandering through camping areas in Kananaskis Country over the summer.
Paddle boarder Jackie Stefaniuk saves a drowning dog in the cold Kananaskis River.
OHS investigates the death of an employee of Kananaskis Country Golf Course. An injury following a crash on a golf course left the man in his 50s in critical condition.
A bridge over the Highwood River in a largely untouched area of Kananaskis is coming down, used for logging, is welcome news to recreationalists and conservationists alike, including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, but it comes with a pinch of uncertainty.
The last remaining payphone in Kananaskis is removed in favour of a free emergency phone in its place.
Wild turkeys are seen wandering around Kananaskis Country. There have been restoration and reintroduction efforts across the United States and Canada since the population was nearly wiped out in the early 1900s. As the population continues to grow, in Alberta, there is a keen interest in hunters to bag the big birds.
Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation is working with Parks Canada on a new pilot project that reconnects Indigenous peoples to sacred places in Banff National Park, including the Lake Louise area is being used as a model to support Indigenous-led cultural and interpretation activities.
September
Chiefs, dignitaries and community members with the Goodstoney, Chiniki and Bearspaw First Nations reclaim the original name of Mînî Thnî, formerly Morley, which marks a milestone for the Goodstoney, Chiniki and Bearspaw First Nations which identify under Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation, in reestablishing sovereignty and self-determination.
Alberta Forestry and Parks slapped a strict temporary firearms use ban on the Ghost Public Land Use Zone in a bid to curb reckless shooting in the popular Crown land region.
Planning is in the works for fireguards in Kananaskis Country to help protect infrastructures and housing.
October
A fatal plane crash in Kananaskis Country that killed six people in July 2023 is determined to have likely been caused by poor weather and pilot decision-making to go forward despite the conditions.
A low-carbon fuel facility at Lafarge’s Exshaw plant that has drawn ire from some residents since it was first proposed is now operational after years of planning. The facility is set to divert up to 120,000 tonnes of construction demolition waste from landfills annually by burning approved materials including shredded wood, non-recyclable plastics and asphalt roof shingles.
November
After much-needed upgrades, Powderface Creek trail is open to the public. A popular multi-use trail in Kananaskis Country located between Highway 66 and Powderface Trail, it recently saw a reroute of a 2.6-kilometre section to provide better grades, improved drainage, and a more sustainable trail design.
Bearspaw First Nation launches a class-action lawsuit against the federal government over Treaty 7 rights. In the aftermath, Chiniki and Goodstoney First Nation opt not to take part in the lawsuit.
December
MD of Bighorn approves a shift in ward boundaries. Lac Des Arcs, Rafter Six Ranch and the former Seebe townsite join Exshaw in Ward 1 and maintains two councillors. Ward 2 will continue to have Harvie Heights and Dead Man’s Flats, and Ward 3 and 4 will remain the same.
CORRECTION: The original story had Rafter Six Ranch and the former Seebe townsite joining Ward 3, but it will join Ward 1. The Outlook apologizes for the error.
