JUNE 2015 What’s wrong with this picture? Editor: CONTENTS Ian Urquhart JUNE 2015 • VOL. 23, NO. 3 Graphic Design: Doug Wournell B Des, ANSCAD Printing: Features Association News Colour printing and process by Topline Printing 4 The Sky Shouldn’t Be The Limit: 24 Anna Caddel… Winner of AWA’s Cattle in the Castle Calgary Youth Science Fair Award 7 Ranchers and Wolves: A Better Way 25 AWA Kids’ Camp Preview 11 The Inside Scoop: Looking Back at 26 Another Tremendous Success: the 2014 Martha Kostuch Lecture AWA’s 24th Annual Climb and Run For Wilderness 14 An Ecologist’s Optimism On the Proposed Introduction of Bison to Wilderness Watch Banff National Park 16 Lessons from the Crowsnest Pass 28 Updates BearSmart Program Departments ALBERTA WILDERNESS 19 Between the lines: Grizzly Recovery ASSOCIATION 20 Former Senior Parks Canada 30 Reader’s Corner “Defending Wild Alberta through Officials Speak Out Against Lake Awareness and Action” Louise Ski Area Expansion Events Alberta Wilderness Association is a charitable non-government Thinking Mountains: 22 organization dedicated to the An Interdisciplinary Initiative Summer Events 31 completion of a protected areas donation, call 403-283-2025 or Cover Photo contribute online at AlbertaWilderness.ca. No, the cover photo isn’t a product of Photoshop. Jim Wild Lands Advocate is published bi- monthly, 6 times a year, by Alberta Lucas took this photo of cows Wilderness Association. The opinions resting during their ascent expressed by the authors in this of Whistle Mountain in the publication are not necessarily those South Castle Valley. Windsor of AWA. The editor reserves the right Ridge and Castle Mt. Peak are to edit, reject or withdraw articles in the background. and letters submitted. PHOTO: © J. LUCAS Please direct questions and comments to: 403-283-2025 • [email protected] Subscriptions to the WLA are $30 per Featured Artist: Philip Kanwischer Philip is a wildlife and fine art photographer based in Calgary Alberta. He studied year. To subscribe, call 403-283-2025 at The Alberta College of Art and Design and through the course of experimentation or see AlbertaWilderness.ca. and influence from the environments that surround him he has honed his style and process. The majority of his work is rooted in representations of the wild. As a conservationist much of his work is a commentary on human influence and the fragility of nature. His use of models subverts the vulnerability we traditionally associate with the animals we take for granted. An intimate interaction between the subject and the animal is cast, equalizing them. His process is to fully immerse himself in nature, forming a connection and understanding with his surroundings that can only be unlocked with time. Patience is crucial. Art cannot be rushed, just as nature cannot be rushed or controlled. He sees each image as a triumph and as capturing a magical moment that cannot be predicted or replicated, each interaction with an animal is highly personal. He elevates these photos post-production using Box 6398, Station D, intricate compositing to reinterpret a wild image. Ultimately he wants to convey Calgary, Alberta T2P 2E1 the beautiful land we live in and encourage people to have respect for the wild 403-283-2025 and its beautiful inhabitants. Please visit Philip’s website at philipkanwischer.com Toll-free 1-866-313-0713 www.AlbertaWilderness.ca AWA respects the privacy of members. Lists are not sold or traded in any manner. AWA is a federally registered charity [email protected] and functions through member and donor support. Tax-deductible donations may be made to AWA at Box 6398 Station D, Calgary, AB T2P 2E1. Ph: 403-283-2025 Fax: 403-270-2743 E-mail: [email protected] www.AlbertaWilderness.ca ISSN 1192-6287 Fair Questions Familiar with Monty Python’s “Flying petroleum companies pay for their work More fair questions are raised by Jim Sheep” sketch? It’s the one where a passerby, on our public lands, Crown lands leased to Pissot in his report on a talk about the US noticing sheep in a rather peculiar location, ranchers. How much of this money should grizzly recovery efforts that Chris Servheen asks a farmer: “Why are they up in the trees?” ranchers get? Should any of the tens of delivered during May’s Black Bear Workshop “A fair question,” replies the farmer, “and millions paid in such compensation go into in Canmore. What should we learn from the one that in recent weeks has been much a Rural Conservation and Stewardship fund? American experience? on my mind.” It turns out that Harold, a Is it possible to ranch in predator-friendly Fair questions abound too in the open clever sheep, is responsible. Harold, you see, ways? That’s the question animating Carolyn letter reprinted here from former senior “realized the sheep’s life consists of standing Campbell’s examination of the pioneering Parks Canada officials about the Lake Louise around for a few months and then being efforts of Joe Engelhart and Louise Ski Area Guidelines; Niall Fink tells us eaten” – a pretty depressing realization for Liebenberg. What will it take to nudge this these questions were plentiful during the an ambitious sheep like Harold. Learning to vital Alberta industry in that direction? Thinking Mountains 2015 conference in fly is how Harold and his followers plan to In a similar vein Sean Nichols looks at Jasper; Brittany Verbeek offers a preview of escape the stew pot. the very successful BearSmart program in what this summer’s AWA kid’s camp will Escaping the slaughterhouse – I could the Crowsnest Pass. Can we manage bear invite the next generation of conservationists sympathize with such an explanation for behaviour in ways that reduce the number of to consider asking in their search for a more the mountaineering cattle featured on this bear kills, the number of bear relocations, the sustainable life. month’s cover. Alas, that’s not the case. As number of bear encounters, and the amount Here’s hoping that in the August issue we’ll Nigel Douglas points out in his article on of time spent dealing with bear complaints? be reporting on some fair answers to these cows in the Castle the cattle are in the alpine The Crowsnest BearSmart program speaks and other fair questions AWA has posed to because government allows it. The alpine very well to how we might better share the industry and government. environment is about as well adapted to cope land with wildlife. -Ian Urquhart, Editor with grazing cows as sheep are to flight. Why Last issue we introduced you to Lu Carbyn’s does the government allow cattle into the reservations about trying to reintroduce front range canyons of the Castle? Seems like bison into Banff National Park. This month a fair question to me. we offer you a more optimistic ecological My summary of former Progressive appraisal by Dennis Jorgensen who works on Conservative minister Ted Morton’s 2014 bison issues for the World Wildlife Fund and Martha Kostuch lecture invites you to the International Union for the Conservation consider asking a question or two about of Nature. Is bison reintroduction a good who gets to pocket the compensation fees idea? Tell us what you think. The Sky Shouldn’t Be The Limit: Cattle in the Castle By Nigel Douglas he Front Range Canyons of Draft South Saskatchewan Regional Plan: Castle Wildland Provincial Park southwestern Alberta’s Castle re- High Rock Wildland Peigan Provincial Park gion are special places; deeply-cut 5 4 3 2 1 Timber T Limit "B" valleys run in parallel from the high moun- O l d tains westwards out towards the prairies. m a n Atlas PLRA 22 R X i v Hiking up one of the canyons takes you on e Chinook PRA XMcGillivray PLRA r Livingstone Range Chinook Provincial 8 Wildland a steady and continuous climb from the sub- Park Expansion 40 Provincial Park Coleman alpine valley bottoms, through increasing- Oldman Dam Provincial d Lake Crowsnest Coleman PRA Recreation Area RA ly-scattered trees until you emerge into the Lake PRA 510 Te nt Mt. X Blairmore glorious open vistas of the high alpine. PLRA 3A Cr Lundbreck ow s Falls PRA Castle Wildland n e Take a look at a map of the Castle Wildland s t 7 Provincial Park R i v Cowley e Provincial Park as proposed in the South Sas- r 3 katchewan Regional Plan (dark green on the map), and the eastern edge of the park shows Pincher Lynx Creek Flats Creek er a series of (paler green)“fingers” of land en- Public Land Riv le st Recreation Area a croaching into the protected Wildland. These X C 6 507 Lynx Creek PRA are the Front Range Canyons, which are all Castle Falls PRA Upper Castle Flats 775 subject to the lower level of protection afford- Public Land Recreation Area ed by “Provincial Park” status. This lesser lev- X Castle River Bridge PRA 774 Beauvais Lake el of recognition to some extent reflects their Provincial Park Syncline 5 Syncline Provincial PRA Beaver Mines e PRA industrial heritage with oil and gas access Park Expansion Lak roads carved deep into each canyon. But an- West Castle Wetlands other factor may be a history of over grazing ER B R which has served to diminish the canyons’ I T # I S Castle Mt. Resort 4 natural values, suppressing native flora and H replacing them with a host of invasive plants C O and placing a very heavy burden on these L U M crucial watersheds. B I For many years AWA has offered guid- A 3 Castle Wildland Castle ed backpacking trips into the Castle’s Front Conservation Provincial Park Area Range Canyons and dozens of visitors have had the opportunity to experience this WATERTON LAKES 2 breathtaking landscape.