(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Preparing for Canada Day

City of North Battleford responds to concerns about fireworks impact on wildlife

Jun 29, 2023 | 5:46 PM

A local resident is worried the fireworks display planned for King Hill in North Battleford on Canada Day will upset the wildlife in the vicinity.

Jim Krentz, a member of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Saskatchewan, asked to have the event moved to a city park or another location instead.

“Fireworks can be extremely harmful to the local wildlife,” he said in an email to battlefordsNOW. “Considering King Hill is only a few hundred meters from a bird sanctuary and the river valley, the noise from the exploding fireworks can have very harmful effects.”

Krentz noted this is the peak of nesting season for the birds around the wetland area. This includes ducks, geese, grebes, coots, bitterns, marsh wrens, blackbirds, cedar waxwings, barn swallows, Red Tailed Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks, and great horned owls.

“Many studies show the effects of fireworks exploding can cause panic in the birds, resulting in them fleeing in panic and abandoning nests or leaving hatchlings to starve or die from exposure,” he said. “Also, from some of the studies I read, the loud noise has a very negative effect on mammals such as deer, moose, and even coyotes that live nearby.”

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Krentz suggested having the display launch from one of the city parks or school grounds, which would have much less of an impact on the wildlife.

North Battleford City Manager Randy Patrick appreciated Krentz’s concerns.

“No matter where you [put on] fireworks there is going to be disruptions to animals,” he said.

At the start of a fireworks show, flares will be set to go off first. Then, there will be a break before the fireworks themselves will actually be released.

“There might be one or two flares go off,” Patrick said. “That’s to let the animals know something is happening. So, they are not surprised. One of the things you do is you hire professionals to deal with it.”

The aim of the flares is to let the wildlife know the fireworks are coming, so they receive an advance warning, to help diminish the impact.

Patrick mentioned if the fireworks display was held in city parks instead, there would be issues with dogs and cats in the area being disturbed, as well as coyotes.

He added the City doesn’t hold fireworks shows all the time, only once or twice a year for special occasions, because it’s cognizant of the impact on both wild animals and domestic animals.

On another issue addressed in the email, Patrick said the fireworks are not going to launch in the direction of the pond below the hill.

“If you are looking from the Don Ross Centre, they are not going over that way,” he said. “They are going up in the other direction. We are not trying to shoot them off over the [pond] itself. We’re trying to put them up high. That’s one of the reasons King Hill is a good location.”

Patrick adds the City tries to mitigate the impact however it can.

“It won’t be entirely successful, but it does help,” he said. “It is one of the reasons the City doesn’t try to do it themselves. We bring in people who do this all the time. That’s part of what they are supposed to be looking at.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW