Riley Greer 

Hist 3991_SW3

November 19, 2024

Local Environmental History 

My home town is Fort St John. I lived on 114a avenue, at the north end of the city. The neighborhood was originally developed in the late 1960s and early 70s, during a time of massive expansion for the town, as the oil and gas industries grew in the area. 

Due to the time in which my neighborhood was constructed, it follows a very traditional suburban format. Streets are wide, with single family homes lining both sides. Kin Park is a large greenspace found less than two minutes away. There are no shops or amenities within the neighborhood, so one needs to head towards the city center to shop. 

The area the town now sits on is the traditional territory of the Dane-zaa and Sekani peoples, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years. Both belong to the Athabaskan language group. Less than 10 km northwest of Fort St John is the Charlie Lake Cave, which exhibits the oldest evidence of ritual acts in Canada, dating back 10,500 years. The cave is known to the local Dane as Tse’K’wa. According to the 2021 census, 2770 of the 21,465 citizens of the city self-identified as indigenous. 

Fort St John is the oldest European settlement in British Columbia. According to Wikipedia the original fort was established in 1794, after Alexander Mackenzie explored the area the year prior while searching for the Northwest Passage. The fort moved numerous times before finally settling at the current townsite spot in 1975. Because of this, much of the infrastructure of the original fort locations have been lost to time. 

Wildlife in the area include moose, deer, black bears, wolverine, elk and lynx among many other animals. It is not an uncommon site to see deer, moose and bear in the city, especially near the edges where I lived. During the ice age, bison were very common in the area.

The main economic drivers for the city are natural gas and oil extraction. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, oil and gas were discovered south of the town in 1951, leading to the first of many population booms. The oil and gas industry obviously has considerable environmental implications. The other large economic factor is farming. The north peace area is very similar to the prairie provinces in topography and climate, allowing the same grains to be grown. According to the BCAITC, 98% of the province’s canola and 75% of its grain crop are grown in the peace region. 

One of the largest detriments to the local environment in recent years has been the construction of the Site C dam. Originally conceived in the 1960s with the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon dams, Site C went through numerous delays and cancellations prior to construction officially beginning in 2016. The dam’s construction has been deeply controversial for decades, with opposition bringing up the environmental damage the new reservoir will create. The local indigenous community has also strongly opposed the construction, citing the diverse and ancient cultural sites the dam will destroy. The reservoir recently finished filling, with construction ending in the next two years. 

Despite the numerous negative environmental factors in the industrial sections of the city, recently there have been pushes in the urban design to create sustainable community staples. As shown on the City of Fort St John website, there are a number of community gardens throughout the city. In addition to these, a number of schools have set up gardens for the students and their families to utilize as well. The city has also started expanding its urban forestry plans. A study conducted by the city found only 1.2% of the city was covered by canopy. There have been pushes to bump this number up as the downtown corridor has been redesigned. 

If a sustainability survey were to be done of my neighborhood, or Fort St John generally, I believe it would score poorly. Walkability is frequently an issue, with sidewalks not being present, or amenities being a long distance away. The city is dependent on unsustainable industries, such as oil and natural gas extraction, hydro and forestry. Despite these current shortcomings, the city has prioritized increasing sustainability in its 2023 – 2027 strategic plan, hopefully ushering in a new, more sustainable future for the city.