By Laura Keil, Publisher/Editor
Two landslides close to Valemount this year may be an unfortunate taste of things to come.
Scientists warn that melting glaciers, extreme temperature events and bigger rain storms will make landslides more likely around the globe, especially in mountainous regions.
We count ourselves lucky in Valemount to have access to clean and plentiful water. But a landslide can change all that in a heartbeat.
Major slides will change the way things are done, one way or another. They will strike with little notice and they will change the way we do business in anticipation of them.
Trail building, logging and road building all have an impact on soil stability. Where once we could dig up or clear the land with impunity we will now be forced to assess the future danger caused by thawed rain-logged soil, steep slopes devoid of stabilizing tree roots and areas scorched and pummeled by wildfires.
It is a two-front war: both on climate change and doing our best to mitigate the changes. Let’s hope we act quickly on both.
