Town of Pincher Creek – Regional Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan

Overview 

Through a regional partnership, the Town of Pincher Creek and the Municipal District of Pincher Creek received $159, 913 for the completion of a Regional Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan. The project was funded by the Government of Alberta through the Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program.     

The project team contracted All One Sky Foundation to lead the work. The Plan was developed collaboratively with representatives from the Town and MD of Pincher Creek, the Pincher Creek Regional Emergency Management Organization, and the Piikani Nation Lands Department. 

Approach 

The Town and Municipal District of Pincher Creek are primarily ranching and farming communities in southwestern Alberta, both passionate about land stewardship and sustainability.  

This project was completed to better understand the climate risks within the region and to better prepare for future events. 

Led by All One Sky Foundation, the project was completed in four phases: planning, research, risk assessment, and adaptation action planning. Each phase involved several opportunities for community and staff engagement, including a community survey, staff risk assessment session, and open house for public feedback. 

Throughout the project the Town and MD also sought to engage with the Piikani Nation to hear their perspectives on key climate risks facing the region and to help identify climate adaptation actions that would benefit from collaboration between the Piikani Nation and the Town and MD. 

Adaptation action planning involved five separate engagement sessions with the MD, Town, and Piikani Nation, and other regional stakeholders. A final open house was held to share the results and present the final deliverables to community members and councillors. 

Results 

The final deliverables include a risk assessment, an economic analysis, a climate projections report, and an adaptation action plan.  

The highest risks to the community and region were river and creek flooding, wildfires, wildfire smoke, drought, water shortage, loss of winter recreation, and extreme heat. The adaptation action plan contains 35 recommended climate adaptation actions organized according to five themes (Health & Wellbeing; Disaster Resilience; Infrastructure; Parks & Environment; and Economy) and corresponding goals. 

The economic analysis supports the business case for adaptation by outlining the costs of doing nothing, or the costs that result from allowing climate change to continue without any new adaptation interventions, as well as the required investment to limit the impacts of these climate risks. 

Benefits

The community benefits from this work by having the risks explicitly identified so they can adjust their actions to prepare. This work will help to guide public planning, investment, and policy development to address regional impacts and reduce future costs due to climate events.  

The Climate Resiliency and Adaptation plan helps us to proactively understand the possible risks associated with climate events and put them into tangible economic values. The measures identified will help to guide future planning for our Municipality and help us safeguard our community.

Angie Lucas, CAO of the Town of Pincher Creek

The MD of Pincher Creek views the Climate Resiliency and Adaptation plan as an additional planning tool for the municipality as we look to the future. The plan process was very educational and has helped create an awareness in the community regarding the very real impacts that a changing climate may have on our region. To maintain a sustainable community, the plan helps us to both understand and plan for the possible risks associated with future climate events. The municipality can use the plan for future planning in order to sustain and develop a safe community.

Roland Milligan, CAO of the MD of Pincher Creek