2015 MINISTER’S AWARDS FOR
MUNICIPAL EXCELLENCE

LARGER MUNICIPALITIES AWARD – SUBMISSION FORM

Thank you for your interest in the 2015Minister’s Awards for Municipal Excellence. This is a two-part application. The Practice Collection Form must be submitted to the Municipal Excellence team at for posting on website (

The submission form below is a supplement to the practice submitted to the Municipal Excellence Network (MEnet). By submitting the form below, your municipality will indicate the category you wish to submit your practice under and also provide any additional information for the Review Committee.

The Minister’s Award for Municipal Excellence evaluation criteria are based on the information in the practice posted to MEnet. The Review Committee members are interested in how well the practice has been planned, communicated, organized, implemented and managed. Information on the improvements experienced using the practice is very important as evidence of the success of the practice in achieving the stated goals.In addition to the practice form information, there are four additional qualities that are considered for every submission.

These are:

  • Sustainability- viability of the practice in the long run and documentation of efforts to evolve and improve the practice over time; how the practice supports the long term sustainability of the municipality.
  • Relevance – suitability of the practice to the local conditions, size of municipality and available resources
  • Transferability - effect the practice has or could have on local government throughout the province and the effort expended in order to assist other municipalities in understanding and implementing the practice.
  • Quality of submission - clarity, logic and completeness of practice document and supporting materials

The emphasis for the Larger Municipality category will be demonstrating creative solutions to the challenges that larger communities face, including and beyond, community safety, innovation and partnership taking into consideration the significant resources available. Larger municipalities are defined as those with a population greater than 500,000. Initiatives or policies that identify targets/goals and demonstrate improvement are especially significant. Points will be awarded for the degree of difficulty relative to available resources, scope of innovation and level of collaboration amongst partners as relevant.

Please e-mail your completed submission by noon on May 29, 2015 to .

If you have any questions, please contactCatherine Dunn, Municipal Excellence Advisor, at (780) 427-2225 or toll free: 310-0000 or by email at

Please read the questions carefully. Click on the grey boxes to answer the questions. The boxes will expand as you type. Thank you for your contribution to the Municipal Excellence Network!

Please complete the following questions for the Larger Municipalities Award:

Name of municipality: / City of Edmonton
Name of municipal practice: / Designing for Wildlife Passage in an Increasingly Fragmented World
Contact person (submitting this form): / Grant Pearsell, Director of Parks + Biodiversity /
Date: / May 28, 2015 /
Question 1 - Why do you believe this municipal practice should be considered for a Municipal Excellence Award? Please briefly list the reasons.
This City of Edmonton has made significant effort through innovation and long term vision in maintaining Edmonton’s ecological network through the design and implementation of wildlife passages. The same year the Wildlife Passage Engineering Design Guidelines (WPEDG) was released, a public opinion survey reported that 97% of Edmontonians recognized the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems and were interested in their protection and restoration. This public support required the City, private industry, and environmental NGO’s to become leaders in executing urban ecological passages.
At a time when wildlife collisions are on the rise in Alberta (Alberta Transportation, 170% between 1991 and 2008 with $240 million in damages), Edmonton’s data reveals a 51% reduction in wildlife collisions since 2007. While we are proud of this success, our ambitions are to continue to balance the expansion of Edmonton’s urban matrix while minimizing impacts and protecting our natural environment. This is particularly important as Edmonton recognizes its role in maintaining regional connectivity along the North Saskatchewan River.
This award application is about recognizing extraordinary achievements by Albertan Municipalities. The City of Edmonton has achieved that in protecting, preserving, enhancing and sustaining our environment using made-in-Alberta solutions for one of the Province’s significant issues: habitat fragmentation. As described by Parks Canada, the research done on wildlife passages in Alberta’s mountain parks has made them a world leader in highway wildlife mitigation. It would be fitting that Alberta’s Capital City be recognized as a leader for the application of this research in an urban environment.
Question 2 - How does this practice demonstrate an innovative and/or efficient use of resources for your community?
Edmonton’s unique model of wildlife passage planning and design was built upon three innovative requirements which were considered instrumental in maximizing the program’s success:
I. Application of the best available science in wildlife passage design adapted to a fragmented Urban Environment;
II. Communication of this information in a way that helps bridge the conversation between ecologists and transportation engineers; and
III. Integration of wildlife passage requirements into planning.
All of these items were achieved by the creation and implementation of the City’s Wildlife Passage Engineering Design Guidelines. These guidelines were uniquely designed to provide Municipal transportation engineers and decision makers with a set of tools that support transportation policies and positive ecological outcomes.
Since its release the WPEDG has greatly influenced how the City and its partners work together to achieve their initiatives and outcomes. It has transferred the conversation of wildlife passages from that of a last minute consideration at the detailed design stage to an elevated position that must be considered at the highest levels of municipal planning. By providing all partners with comprehensible and accessible information on passage design. The guidelines have accelerated Edmonton’s engineering and design community into a leadership role in the development of wildlife passage design within an urban environment.
Question 3 -What positive and tangible impact has this practice had on local government or delivery of services in your municipality?
The incorporation of wildlife passages intoEdmonton’s infrastructurenetworks is a long term project.Prior to 2010, it was a slow and piecemeal processas recommendations on passage design were spreadthroughout the scientific literature and not readilyavailable to transportation engineers. The City’s wildlifepassage goals were achieved with the production of theWPEDG which offered a practical approach to solvinghabitat fragmentation and human wildlife conflict issues byproviding a variety of options for design.The WPEDG was developed to be an educational, solutionsoriented tool for eliminating adverse impacts onEdmonton’s ecological network. Collaboration fromvarious city departments and external partners wasrequired for its formulation. The original WPEDG teamconsisted of 4 ecologists, 2 academics, 3 planners, 2developers, 3 environmental professionals, 2 drainageengineers and 6 transportation engineers.
The project’s largest success to date has been the councilapproved wildlife underpass at 215th street which has been designed for moose. This streetbisects regionally important habitat which is structurallyconnected to Big Lake. Outside of the National Parks, weare unaware of a similar wildlife structure in a Canadianmunicipality. The financial support provided for thisecological infrastructure by partners is an illustration ofhow the WPEG and Edmonton’s ecological connectivitygoals have been embraced by the public and privatesectors.

In addition to your practice being considered for an award, it is a very valuable tool in expanding the knowledge network offered through the Municipal Excellence Network website!

The information provided on this form will be used in support of the Minister's Awards for Municipal Excellence Program. It is being collected under the authority of section 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act and will be managed in accordance with the FOIP Act. If you have any questions about this collection, please contact the Municipal Excellence team, 17th Floor Commerce Place, 10155 - 102nd Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 4L4, (780) 427-2225 (Outside Edmonton, call 310-0000 to be connected toll free).