SEPT 2019 Editor: CONTENTS Ian Urquhart SEPT 2019 • VOL. 27, NO. 3 Graphic Design: Keystroke Design & Production Inc. Doug Wournell B Des, ANSCAD Features www.keystrokedesign.com Printing: 4 Citizens: Putting the “C” Into Association News Topline Printing Conservation MIX Paper Jill and Basil Seaton - Jasper’s ® 7 A Family Trying to Help Save 30 FSC C013747 Humanity Refined Firebrands 10 Celebrating and Honouring the 32 Wild West Saloon Stewardship of Water: The 2019 Keepers of the Water Gathering 34 Owen Duke’s Wild Lemonade ALBERTA WILDERNESS Stand ASSOCIATION 14 Alberta’s Wetland Policy in the “Defending Wild Alberta through White Area: Shortcomings and Future Directions Wilderness Watch Awareness and Action” Dedicated to the conservation of Canada’s Environmental Law: 18 35 Updates wilderness and the completion of Promises Made versus Promises a protected areas network, Alberta Kept Departments Wilderness Association is a voice for 23 Canada’s biodiversity report card: the environment. Since 1965, AWA Progress made towards the Aichi has inspired communities to care for Targets, 2015-2019 39 Letter to the Editor Alberta’s wild spaces through awareness and action. With a provincial office 27 In Search Of…Conservative 39 Notice to Members and library in Calgary, AWA has active Champions of Conservation members, volunteers, and sponsors throughout Alberta and beyond. AWA Louise Guy Poetry Corner 28 is a non-profit, federally registered, charitable society. Donations and Cover Photo financial support are greatly appreciated, The first week of October please call 403 283-2025 or contribute along the Crowsnest River… online at Alberta Wilderness.ca not in 2019 Wild Lands Advocate is published © I. URQUHART four times a year, by Alberta Wilderness Association. The opinions expressed by the authors in this publication are not necessarily those of AWA. The editor reserves the right to edit, reject or withdraw articles and letters submitted. Please direct questions and comments to: 403-283-2025 • [email protected] Featured Art Subscriptions to the WLA are $30 per year. To subscribe, call 403-283-2025 It’s a privilege for AWA to feature the art of Lisa Brawn in this issue of the Wild Lands Advocate. Lisa is or see AlbertaWilderness.ca. a Calgary based artist specializing in painted woodcut blocks. Her work graces public collections such as The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Calgary Civic Art Collection, and the University of Lethbridge collection. It also features in private collections across Canada, Europe, and the United States. In Calgary, her work has been featured on banners for Calgary bridges, Calgary parks, and Fort Calgary. There also is a large scale permanent installation of her woodblocks at Inglewood’s Festival Hall. In her twenty-year career as a professional artist, Lisa has had 25 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 40 group exhibitions across North America – from Victoria, Seattle, and Los Angeles to Halifax, Chicago, and New Orleans. She received international attention for Helios – her large scale, interactive, solar-powered sculptural installation at the Leighton Art Centre. Helios was featured on CBC’s As It 455-12 ST NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1Y9 Happens and reported in media outlets from Canada to Brazil. 403-283-2025 Please visit Lisa’s website at www.lisabrawn.com www.AlbertaWilderness.ca [email protected] Charitable Registration Number: AWA respects the privacy of members. Lists are not sold or traded in any manner. AWA is a federally registered charity and functions through member and donor support. Tax-deductible donations may be made to AWA at 455-12 ST NW, 118781251RR0001 Calgary, AB T2N 1Y9. Ph: 403-283-2025 Fax: 403-270-2743 E-mail: [email protected] www.AlbertaWilderness.ca ISSN 1192-6287 The Proverbial Glass Is it half-empty or half-full? Conserva- Here, it’s the individuals you’ll read (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-en- tionists who think it is half-empty have about, people like Peter Sherrington, Jill vironment-49756280). It might change plenty of evidence to support their view. Seaton, the Viponds, Owen Duke, Patsy your mind. Look, for example, at a just-published Cotterill, and attendees at the Keepers There I found Peter Singer’s views par- study in Science. It documents stunning of the Water gathering, who help make ticularly compelling. A political philoso- losses in North American bird popu- the glass half full. It’s their individual pher, some of you may recognize Singer lations over less than 50 years. North actions, and the collective actions they for his support for animal rights. In the America has lost nearly three billion, contribute to, that cast some brightness BBC story, however, he discusses climate that’s right…billion, birds. Since 1970 on these times. change and invokes the idea of harm to the population has fallen by 29 per- If you’re unconvinced that individual others. As individuals, we have a mor- cent. Continent-wide, those losses are actions matter I invite you to read Justin al obligation not to behave in ways that greatest in Alberta’s two largest natural Rowlatt’s story, “Climate change action: harm others. For example, my individu- regions – the boreal forest and the grass- We can’t all be Greta, but your choices al freedom doesn’t give me the right to lands. Remember 1970? Surely some of have a ripple effect,” on the BBC website travel to the Arctic and wantonly slaugh- you do. That was the year the first Earth ter animals vital to the subsistence life- Day was held. I could go on. style of some Inuit. In this case, my But, despite plenty of evidence moral obligation to the Inuit is en- showing the glass is (at least) forced by the law. Singer regards half-empty, a healthy portion of my failure to cut my emissions as this issue of Wild Lands Advocate analogous to slaughtering animals aims to show the glass is half-full. in the Arctic. My failure to act, or It does this, not by congratulating to demand that governments en- governments for actions we know force this moral obligation in the are woefully insufficient, but in- context of climate change mea- stead by looking at what individu- sures, further endangers the fu- als are doing. It’s individuals… their ture of Arctic peoples. I’m harming recognition of the need to speak Arctic peoples whether I slaughter out and act if governments won’t… animals or don’t reduce greenhouse that gives me cause to think the gas emissions. glass may be half-full after all. The So why not try to think that, when same goes for the groundswell of de- it comes to climate change or other mands from publics all around the conservation issues, we have a mor- world that governments must deliver al obligation to other individuals much more than the platitudes and regardless of whether they live next half-measures they’ve concocted so door or a continent away. Let’s give it far. An estimated four million people, a try. What do we have to lose? many of them young people, marched through streets around the world de- - Ian Urquhart manding climate change action. As they chanted in New York: “You had a future, so should we.” So true. Citizens: Putting the “C” Into Conservation By Ian Urquhart any readers are likely famil- eaglewatch.ca website) was the brainchild observers counted 21.3 percent fewer birds iar with the phrase “direct of Peter Sherrington. Peter was inspired to than the long-term average in the fall 2018 M action.” The histories of the create this non-profit by an anomaly. Why, count at Mount Lorette. This total was labour, suffragette, civil rights, and envi- he wondered back in March 1992, did he produced by an astounding 532.7 hours ronmental movements are decorated with see so many golden eagles flying northwest of observations from the 21 principal ob- stories where people, frustrated with gov- past Mount Lorette in Kananaskis Country. servers and assistants who attended the site ernment’s failure to respect their interests After counting just over 100 eagles on that between September 20th and November and goals, directly confronted authorities day, Peter counted hundreds more over 15th. This decline unfortunately reflects to demand change. The thread joining all the next few days. By chance, Peter had the general trend recorded at the Mount of these protest movements together was discovered a golden eagle migration route. Lorette site since 2003. To my eyes, per- their decision to avoid traditional paths of He had discovered the flyway that golden haps the most positive data from the 2018 political influence such as parliaments or eagles use as they migrate in the spring and report concerned the immature:adult gold- bureaucracy. Instead, protests and strikes fall between as far away as Alaska/the Yu- en eagle ratio. At 0.42 this ratio was 40 per- were the signatures of direct action. kon to central Mexico. cent above average; it was the third highest The focus in this article, like in a discussion Mount Royal University’s Sarah Hewitt ratio every recorded there. Like the ratio of direct action, is on conservation-oriented noted in a 2018 Canadian Geographic article of juvenile birds to subadults and adults, citizens who supplement or perhaps bypass that, since 1992, the Foundation’s “thou- this immature/adult ratio indicated that the altogether official methods of influence such sands of volunteer scientists have logged 2018 breeding season was very productive. as lobbying or voting. Instead, they are help- more than 30,000 hours in the field, and When you read this article the fall 2019 ing to build the scientific basis for conserva- recorded sightings of more than 24,000 count will be underway (it runs from Sep- tion action by gathering data.