The Wonder of Willmore Going Home

JUNE/JULY 2014

The Wonder of Willmore

Going Home

Voices of Experience

Floods…Not a Water Management Problem? Editor: CONTENTS Ian Urquhart JUNE/JULY 2014 • VOL. 22, NO. 3 Graphic Design: Doug Wournell B Des, ANSCAD Printing: Features Wilderness Watch Colour printing and process is sponsored by Topline Printing 4 The Wonder of Willmore 23 Updates 6 Going Home Departments 8 Get Out There: Voices of Experience 26 Gear Ideas 11 Floods Are Not a Water Management Problem 27 Reader’s Corner

13 Conservation Corner: 30 In Memoriam To Tell You The Truth Events 15 Focus: Alberta’s Species-at-Risk 31 Summer Events ALBERTA WILDERNESS Association News ASSOCIATION “Defending Wild Alberta through 17 Filming Wolves: Andrew Manske’s Awareness and Action” Experiences Alberta Wilderness Association is a charitable non-government 19 Government Relations: This is Now organization dedicated to the and That was Then completion of a protected areas donation, call 403-283-2025 or 21 Climb and Run for Wilderness – Recap From Another Great Event contribute online at AlbertaWilderness.ca. Wild Lands Advocate is published bi- monthly, 6 times a year, by Alberta Wilderness Association. The opinions Cover Photo expressed by the authors in this Let yourself be drawn into the Persimmon Range, Willmore Wilderness Park publication are not necessarily those PHOTO: © I. URQUHART of AWA. The editor reserves the right to edit, reject or withdraw articles and letters submitted. Featured Artist: Pamela Copeland Please direct questions Getting away from everything, in the peace and quiet of the and comments to: wilderness, is something Pamela has always enjoyed. “Wherever 403-283-2025 • [email protected] I lived in Alberta, I have always craved time in the natural world, Subscriptions to the WLA are $30 per to connect with the land, to ground myself and to feel a greater year. To subscribe, call 403-283-2025 or see AlbertaWilderness.ca. part of everything around me. Time in nature nourishes and soothes my soul and quenches a yearning in my heart. I cannot imagine life without it.” She and her husband, Robert, share a love of the outdoors and wildlife and have made the Claresholm area their latest home in rural Alberta. Pamela works mainly in the pastel and acrylic mediums. Her works feature forests, mountains, waterways and Alberta’s iconic native grasslands. Pamela is currently working on pieces for a solo show planned for late September. The southern Alberta landscape, including the Porcupine Hills, will be the focus of her Box 6398, Station D, Calgary, Alberta T2P 2E1 exhibit. Pamela may be reached at [email protected] 403-283-2025 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 and [email protected] 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 Solstice Reflections

Maybe it’s just me but I think it’s taken there’s a very real and largely unmet wolves, Christyann Olson’s summary summer far too long to get here. Now need for other types of responses. of the Climb and Run for Wilderness, that summer seems to have both feet Municipal planners and developers need and David Minkow’s account of the firmly planted in Alberta we hope you’re to recognize floodplains for what they workshops associated with Mountain going to be able to find some time to get are – parts of our rivers. Their actions Equipment Co-op’s Freshwater campaign out there and explore Alberta’s natural and plans for development should be all should generate a positive aura for world. Several of the articles in this issue’s animated by this fundamental truth. Our you. The account of AWA’s long time in Features section focus on areas and/or political leaders could do far worse than coming meeting with the new Minister of experiences that express or reflect in one act on their counsel as well as the types of Environmental and Sustainable Resource way or another what the authors and headwaters protection initiatives that are Development might make you grumpy. interviewees find so remarkable about being advocated in the Ghost River valley. Read it and I think you’ll see why. living and recreating in the outdoors. Niki Wilson and Nigel Douglas offer What else do we have on offer in the If you’ve been paying close attention you their regular features on conservation June issue? Wilderness watch updates to the provincial government’s response science and Alberta’s species-at-risk. As – of course. If you’re a runner (or to the flood of 2013 you’ll have noticed you’ll see I asked Niki to jump through know someone who is) you’ll definitely that considerable weight has been given a particular hoop for this issue of the appreciate Kristina Vyskocil’s gear review. to engineering approaches to mitigating Advocate. Nigel focuses on bison in Like art and/or wolves? Check out our future floods. Certainly some of this is this issue. I’d never ask a bison to jump book reviews. necessary and welcome. But, as Dave through a hoop. Finally, and on a sadder note, we mark Mayhood’s article in the Features section The June installment of the Association the passing of Steve Dixon in this issue and Carolyn Campbell’s update in the News section is chock full. Much of the of Wild Lands Advocate. Steve was a great Wilderness Watch section maintain, information there falls into the good friend of nature and AWA and he’ll be news category. Brittany Verbeek’s recap missed greatly. of Andrew Manske’s talk on filming Ian Urquhart, Editor The Wonder of Willmore

By Ian Urquhart

ver the course of the day lookout on the mountain, stranding them Now mountain landscapes nourish a changes in the light may affect there for several days with the weather spiritual side of life I used to ignore. They O dramatically our perspective crew. I wanted mountains to give me a are sanctuaries. They offer refuge from on and responses to mountain landscapes. taste of that kind of excitement. I wanted busyness and are a source of inspiration. I Life has had a similar impact on my ap- to be at the top of that mountain curled up need them as much as I need air to breathe preciation of those landscapes. My earli- in my dad’s wool sleeping bag listening to and food to eat. est memories of mountains see them as a wind and snow batter the cabin. Last year I had the opportunity to take canvas for imagining larger than life tales. As a teenager I added another need to advantage of Ray Rasmussen’s generos- When, as a 10-year old, I looked at Old hiking in mountain landscapes. My hikes ity and spend a week in the sanctuary Glory outside of Rossland, B.C. I heard a had to feed a need to conquer. They were of Willmore Wilderness Park. Willmore story from my father’s youth. He and his tests. I needed to get up to Slocan Chief begins at the northern boundary of Jas- buddies decided to go on an early spring cabin in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park per National Park and, at nearly 4,600 camping trip and took Gibbard’s Trail to as fast as I could. That need meant I square kilometres, is nearly half the size the top of this tallest of peaks in the Ross- missed the doe and fawn off the trail that of Jasper. Rocky Notnes introduced Ray land ranges. A snowstorm hit them hard the rest of my family was treated to. Never to Willmore a long, long time ago. Ray when they reached the old weather service mind…I was the first one to the cabin. fell in love with what he experienced and returning to this special place has been a regular event on his summer calendar ever since. Every year Ray takes it upon himself to organize hikes into the Willmore so others may be acquainted with the many basins and ridges he has come to know over the years. Over the course of seven days I had the opportunity to explore Willmore with Ray, his partner Nancy, and the rest of the group from our base camp in the Eagle’s Nest Pass region. It didn’t take me long to enjoy the opportunity to day hike from base camp. Hikes to places like Manzer Lake (named for Dave Manzer, a long- time Willmore outfitter), the Big Bump, Wildhay Ridge, and “Two Bears” Lake (the label I’m giving to the lake close to where we saw two grizzly bears) impress in so many ways. Wildflowers, spectacular vistas, dramatic weather changes, and com- radeship figure prominently in my mind. Ian Macdonald, on his way to start the climb to Wildhay Ridge. PHOTO: © I. URQUHART But, what stands out most for me now

4 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES Hikers in Willmore Wilderness Park, like this early morning mist, will find it hard to leave. PHOTO: © I. URQUHART at this stage of my life is the timeless, ev- the old forest fire road that takes you into sons have those horns seen since the death erlasting quality I came to associate with Willmore. At the headwall of the cirque of the monarch who wore them? Less than Willmore. This timelessness is present in above Manzer Lake, where water trickles a stone’s throw away from these horns sits the ridges and valleys you have the oppor- out of the rocks, rests a moss-covered set the fossilized remains of the prehistoric tunity to follow when you venture beyond of bighorn sheep horns. How many sea- sea life that once inhabited this alpine valley. Timeless and everlasting – those are the qualities of Willmore that will bring me back there again. I only wish I’d made the time to discover this special place decades ago.

At the end of July ground squirrels already have been busy preparing for winter. “Haystacks” are RoseMarie and Hilde, two compatriots on Ray’s 2013 Eagle’s Nest Pass trip, still smiling after a late July being piled, if messily, outside a burrow. ” snow squall on ”the Big Bump.“ PHOTO: © I. URQUHART PHOTO: © I. URQUHART

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES A5 Going Home

By Christyann Olson, AWA Executive Director

s thoughts turn to summertime, wright Dunes and Bodo Hills nudge forward flies the rainbows of the Crowsnest River love Ian, our Wild Lands Advocate ed- too for a place on my itinerary this summer. so well. I could tell you when and where A itor asked us to think about our I’d like to head north on the eve of fall and you would find the most wonderful patch favourite places and where we might go this see the northern lights. of lady slipper orchids and glacier lilies; I summer. Many possibilities, many wants, But I plan to start my summer adventures could tell you when the eagles were likely to ran through my head. One favourite trip is by going home, to Coleman, the town in the perch on the tallest snags; I might tell you impossible to name. Thinking of the prairies, Pass where I grew up. where my favourite swimming hole was or a day hike in Sage Creek will undoubtedly How fortunate I was to have the moun- where to find tiny black diamonds encased be on my itinerary. So too will be a picnic tains, forests, and the Crowsnest River literal- in the rocks. I was a coal miner’s daughter on Milk River Ridge. The majestic mountain ly at my doorstep. As a child I wandered and and coal was our daily bread. People laugh landscapes of the Bighorn call me too; the came to know the hillsides and the streams. I when I tell them it was only when my fami- green rolling hills of the parklands of Wain- loved “bugs” – my favourites were the stone- ly moved to Calgary that I learned coal was

Early morning sun wakens Crowsnest Mountain. PHOTO: © D. OLSON

6 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES dirty. I remember early morning breakfast conversations with my parents wondering if Japan would buy the coal that year and what it would mean if they didn’t. Things have changed a great deal in Cole- man. Signs of lost enterprise line the main street; the grocery store, the barbershop, the hotel, the Roxy theatre, the jewellery store, and the hardware store are all gone. Gone too is most of the old infrastructure of the mining operations. Green grass now grows on the piles of overburden from coal mining operations. The miner’s path is still there and is a destination hike now as the history of the Crowsnest Pass comes to life through interpretive sign boards and tourism promo- tions. The Crowsnest River is a world-class destination for fly-fishers. As they step into Stoneflies, Crowsnest River. PHOTO: © C. OLSON the stream to cast they are one with the river. I hope they appreciate the strength and childhood. The crisp clean air on my face sow grizzly and her cubs; I’ll remember the the peace of this mountain stream and all it will invigorate. I will be one with the wa- day a bull moose came out of the bush and means to our wellbeing. The pristine waters ter as I cast out my line and I will take this walked down the hill behind me as I made that are its headwaters are vital life-giving time to reflect on how fortunate we are to my way to school; I’ll smell the magnificent waters for fish, bugs, birds, ungulates and have wild Alberta. As I round the bend on wild roses that line the miners path; I’ll wait their four-legged predators, and plants. And, Highway 3 and see my old friends again, the for the call of a raven to renew my hopes that of course for us too. majestic Crowsnest Mountain and her Sev- my children and grandchildren will come to I know I will be rejuvenated when I go to en Sisters, I will turn the clock back to those know what I learned in the Pass. the pass to hike and enjoy the places of my days of my youth. I’ll hope to see an elusive

Pamela Copeland - Featured Artist

Spring Green, Pastel: 11 by 22 inches PHOTO: © P. COPELAND

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES A7 Get Out There: Voices of Experience

By Brittany Verbeek, AWA Conservation Specialist

n a recent National Geographic issue, seasoned Albertans who have extensively ex- ty in an area where there is too little formal journalist Paul Salopek writes about plored parts of our wilderness to share their provincial or national protection. One gap in I embarking on a journey around the experiences. Their impressions and recollec- the great rock exists - aptly named The Gap - world. He is traveling by foot, retracing the tions of some of their urite places will hope- carved out by the thundering Oldman River steps of early humans migrating out of Afri- fully inspire you to get out there! and buffered by a moist willow-rich valley. ca to the southern tip of South America. He It is a strikingly gorgeous landscape that is said, “By walking, I am forced to slow down. Life on the Flanks of the home to a wide spectrum of wildlife. David The world blurs and flattens with speed. On Livingstone Range describes the area’s vegetation as a wonder- foot there is clarity.” David McIntyre, a landowner and AWA ful mosaic of rough fescue, aspen, and lim- This quote really moved me. So many of member, describes his backyard as the Seren- ber pine forests. Courtesy of the area’s strong us compete in a daily race to get as much geti of southwestern Alberta. The Livingstone westerly winds the limber pine grows hori- stuff done as possible; we drive faster, send Range is a north-south mountain range that zontally like snakes across the ground. This more emails, accomplish more, and we fail erupts out of the earth from the Highwood rich habitat supports one of the largest big- to live even a few moments of our time here River to Crowsnest Pass, near the eastern horn sheep populations in the province and at a slower, arguably saner, pace. One way boundary of the Rockies. “A serrated knife one of the largest aggregations of moose. to walk in Salopek’s footsteps is to escape edge in the sky,” is how David describes this Both white-tailed deer and mule deer can the buzz of technology in areas with few range named for the famous English African be spotted in droves. One day from an ele- roads and no wifi. Find places where the geographer and missionary. This natural wall vated vantage point, McIntyre counted 276 only sounds heard are the rustling of leaves, combined with the Waldron Co-operative’s deer grazing below. The Livingstone’s cold the gurgling of creeks, and the hum of the well-managed grazing leases, private lands, mountain streams and rushing rivers boast wind. Find places where no schedule exists and conservation easements to the east has native troubled trout – westslope cutthroat other than the rising and setting of the sun. created a rare example of ecological integri- and bull – in addition to many other aquatic In Alberta we are lucky because places like this still exist. It is important to celebrate the incredible true wilderness we have. People travel from all over the world to experience Alberta’s backcountry. They come to take in the breathtaking landscapes we are so fortunate to enjoy. Growing up, I took camping, hiking, and exploring in the mountains for granted. It’s what our family did. As an adult I have become extremely aware of how privileged I was to have that lifestyle engrained in me at a young age. I understand and appreciate the power of nature to heal, to both stimulate and calm the mind, and to bring happiness. But I am just beginning to explore Alberta’s wild spaces. So I thought it best to ask some Moose and her calf in a foothills stream. PHOTO: © D. MCINTYRE

8 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES Looking over Nancy Field’s shoulder at the Livingstone Range. PHOTO: © D. MCINTYRE organisms. The region has some of Alberta’s area’s flora and fauna. He is a firm believer in K-Country’s Teacher and few remaining viable spawning habitats for a “catch and release” landscape ethic. He says One of His Students our disappearing native trout species. The there is no reason why everyone can’t enjoy I would describe Ed Hergott, a long time area has a rich anthropological history as Alberta’s wilderness to its full extent while supporter of AWA, as a walking, breathing well. Historic native cairns, vision quest ar- maintaining its intactness for future gen- guidebook to Kananaskis Country. If some- eas, medicine wheels, and other archeologi- erations. When I asked him if he or Nancy one were to point at a random mountain cal remnants of past generations are scattered ever worried for their personal safety living peak anywhere in that area, chances are across the range. in such a wild area, his reply left me pon- good that Ed would not only know the name David and his wife Nancy Field wander dering the disconnect between our modern and details of the mountain but he could tell the eastern flanks of the range daily. They see urban society and the natural world. He said you he climbed to the top of it at least once the landscape as an extension of their own they felt safer amongst the wildlife than in in his lifetime. He has hiked, backpacked, house. They have witnessed moose calves the chaos of cities. His viewpoint makes a lot cross-country skied, paddled, climbed, and fighting against the river current battling to of sense when you compare the number of snow shoed all over the Rockies. But he survive, bull elk crashing into each other people in Alberta who are injured or killed in knows Kananaskis and Banff best. competing for females, and classic predator/ wildlife encounters to those injured or killed Ed has had the explorer’s itch throughout prey interactions. Using his botany skills, Da- in automobile accidents. most of his life. He began his backpacking vid marks the first signs of spring according Once a month on the eve of the full moon, and skiing career in the late 1960s, at that to the blooming of buttercups and prairie David and Nancy set out at dusk to climb a time mostly venturing out on his own. Ed crocuses. On any given morning in the fall, smaller ridge east of the Livingstone Range. is not one to linger in the forested areas. he can hear sounds of elk bugling, reverber- As they look west from the top, their eyes fill He usually aims to get above the tree line, ating through the valley. Sightings of dusky with the beautiful glow of the moon and they scramble to a mountaintop, and soak up grouse, golden eagles, wolves, and bears are a become intoxicated with the magical view the far-reaching vistas. Before the explosion simple, welcome part of their daily life. surrounding them. They sit in the stillness, of trail guidebooks and ubiquitous trail de- David’s keen interest in wildlife has led him admiring the precious home they share with scriptions on the internet, Ed and his friends to set up trail cameras, collect fur for DNA myriad other plants and animals. used to drive west, point at a ridge or a analysis, and photograph the diversity of the mountain and say: “Hey that one looks good,

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES A9 ence. They’ve had the privilege of walking through alpine meadows teeming with wildflowers and sharing a lunch space with those few hardy trees exposed above the tree line, struggling to survive. In the last few decades, Ed’s teaching in- stincts have come to the fore. Rather than find new exploration destinations for him, he’s more likely to offer his knowledge and experiences for others to enjoy. Not everyone has had Ed’s lifelong love affair with Alberta’s eastern slopes. A good friend of his and member of their hiking group had very little experience in the backcountry until she retired and joined the group. Bonnie Curran, who just celebrated her seventieth birthday, can now say she has climbed thirty-two mountain peaks that are visible from Highway 1 from Calgary to Lake Louise. She’s also scrambled to the tops of many, many more hidden from Ed Hergott on a small peak west of Eiffel Peak. PHOTO: © B. LEE the highway. Bonnie told me before she retired she was Let’s climb it.” With the help of a compass began organizing day trips every Tuesday for not very active, especially when it came to the and some bushwhacking skills, they rarely a small group of friends and acquaintances. outdoors. She seemed to never have the spare let the mountain get the best of them. Eighteen years – 918 Tuesdays later, his group time, as many city dwellers will empathize His real vocation, or at least the one he got has left few mountains in Kananaskis Coun- with. She had always wanted to discover Al- paid for, was teaching at a high school in Cal- try unclimbed. Ed’s natural leadership skills, berta’s wilderness and once she retired it be- gary. During his years as a teacher, he led the combined with his passion for the outdoors, came a priority. Her husband wasn’t as keen school’s outdoor club. He took them on many have created the perfect recipe for this group’s so Bonnie looked for a group to get involved climbing, hiking, and skiing adventures. He safe and memorable adventures. They’ve ex- with. When she joined Ed’s group, she did inspired students year after year and provid- plored Grotto Mountain, Sheep River, Mount not know how to ride a bike; she had very ed lifelong outdoor memories for them. Rundle, Red Ridge, Eiffel Peak, Blue Rock little experience on cross-country skis. She After retiring from his teaching career, Ed Mountain, just to name a few. Their group admitted to me that it was a great challenge decided to start his own hiking group. He has evolved to also travel further distances and a steep learning curve when she started together for multi-day journeys. Once a year out, but with the encouragement of the rest of they do a big trip such as hiking in Jasper Na- the group, her life was changed. Soon she was tional Park, biking across parts of Europe, or biking with the group in Germany, climbing sea kayaking in the Broken Group Islands on to the top of Mt. Sparrowhawk and Mt. Kidd. the west coast of Vancouver Island. She gained confidence, endurance, health You might think Ed’s group, where the av- and great friendships. Like Ed and his group, erage age is seventy, is a fair-weather bunch. Bonnie’s a living example of how wilderness They’re not. It astonished me to find out they activity not only rejuvenates individual spirits go rain or shine (or snow) every Tuesday of but also creates strong bonds between people. the year, with the exception of Christmas. I hope this article will inspire others to fol- Minus thirty degree weather does not dis- low David, Ed, and Bonnie and explore Al- suade them – those are “gear testing days.” berta’s great outdoors. After talking to them Being out in the backcountry as often as Ed I’m inspired to take more notice of the earth’s and his group have been, they’ve observed beauty, to always make time for nature, and more than their fair share of wildlife: bears, to never think it’s too late in life for outdoor

Bonnie Curran, at a spry 70 years old, on the summit mountain goats, lynx, cougars, and even a adventures. Please, join us. of Grotto Mountain. PHOTO: © E. HERGOTT wolverine have blessed them with their pres-

10 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES Floods Are Not a Water Management Problem

By Dave Mayhood

loods are a fact of life for anyone during an unrelenting 10-day rainstorm. It just visiting this planet; we’re here to stay. living beside flowing water. I ex- was a crazy place to be. Let’s plan accordingly, and make our com- F perienced my first — and almost Rivers flood. The place they flood — the munities and countryside last forever. We, last — flood shivering in a half-submerged only place they flood — is the floodplain. and all of our descendants, should be able frame tent, our boat floating in the doorway. Floodplains look like land, but they are to live here without having to fear flooding Three of us spent an anxious night as trees not. Floodplains are part of the river. They rivers. At the same time we should be able slammed to the ground all around us, up- are as much a part of the river as rapids and to enjoy the natural southern Alberta land- rooted by the river. The site was remote and pools in the active channel. Building on the scapes we all love so much, unmutilated by escape was impossible: with us navigating floodplain is building in the river. If you do flood-control structures. in the dark, logs choking the torrent would it, expect, sometime, to get wet. Rivers can- My suggestion: stop all building on flood- have swept us into debris jams and ground not flood you if you are not in them. Prudent plains, immediately. Follow a long-term (say, us up. people build there cities elsewhere. 50-year) strategy of moving the flood-prone We survived that flood, but we shouldn’t Like many other southern Alberta com- parts of communities off of floodplains, have. We were living on a floodplain, on the munities, central Calgary is built on a flood- starting with the most vulnerable. Govern- edge of an alluvial fan (the flood-deposit- plain. So, inevitably, the Bow will flood – ments can purchase the properties and con- ed debris from a steep mountain tributary) over and over again, forever. Few of us are vert the land to public parkland, a suitable

Elbow River above Bragg Creek, June 2013 flood. PHOTO: © D. MAYHOOD

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES 11A Jumping Pound Creek, June 2013 flood. PHOTO: © D. MAYHOOD

use for floodplains. Once completed, we can Flood-control dams store water temporarily ple who would be directly aided — tempo- sit on the terraces and look down on floods, and then release it as the flood recedes. Riv- rarily — by flood control structures. All of a great natural spectacle, in complete safety. ers already have even greater temporary stor- us will pay forever for flood-control works Costly? Of course, but a one-time cost. Cra- age capacity naturally, and for free, in perpe- to protect, temporarily, a relative handful of zy? Read on. tuity. Floodplains are natural flood controls: citizens. In the event of a catastrophic failure Many people believe that engineering works during a flood, they store all of the excess of any of these structures, the “protected” are can stop floods. They can’t. Flood-con- water. They work perfectly, every time. And at far greater risk; many others must place trol structures can at best postpone floods. they maintain themselves forever. All that is themselves at great risk to help them. Flood- Eventually they will experience floods they needed is to stay off of them, and let them do plain-dwellers are safer if they move off of the cannot handle, with potentially catastroph- their job. Best of all, during the times they floodplain. All of us are richer by working ic results: massive property damage, many are not storing floodwater (very nearly all of with, not against, the river. deaths. Only structures built to control the the time), we can use them safely as parks, maximum possible flood might be exempt nature reserves, picnic areas — all essential Dave Mayhood is a consulting aquatic from this rule and they are insanely expen- assets that make life worth living. All are rela- ecologist in Calgary (http://fwresearch.ca). sive in financial, ecological, esthetic, and so- tively cheap to maintain and repair. His family has lived there for 125 years, cial terms. All engineering works require fre- An estimated 100,000 southern Albertans missing the great 1879 flood by a decade, quent monitoring, regular maintenance, and were evacuated from floodplains in the 2013 but still experiencing two more floods larg- eventual replacement. These are perpetual flood: fewer than 2.5 percent of the prov- er than the 2013 flood over that time. costs, which means that they are effectively ince’s population, fewer than 0.3 percent of infinite. Any other solution is cheaper. the Canadian population. These are the peo-

12 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES Conservation Corner: To Tell You The Truth

By Niki Wilson

dvocate editor Ian Urquhart asked Even then, something in me wanted to stands out to me as a place in my past where me to write about why I am a sci- make scientific information more digestible the light should have gone on, had I only A ence writer, and why I think it’s im- and readable for a broader audience. While it been looking for it instead of doing Jell-O portant. Fasten your seatbelts for the roller coast- was not the point of that particular course, it shots at parties. er ride known as my tumultuous career path. I wanted to be a writer since childhood. I wrote my first novel in grade five: a six-page murder mystery involving well-loved children’s themes like divorce, sex, and betrayal. After reading it, my parents eyed each other nervously, while my teacher suggested I continue writing, and perhaps learn to stretch out the narrative. I believed I would be a writer until high school. Then my enthusiastic and attractive teacher Mr. Kostiw got me hooked on biol- ogy. At the time I didn’t realize that loving nature (and Mr. Kostiw) wasn’t the same as being good at data analysis and off I went into the sciences. In my first year ecology lab, we did an experiment to teach us how to develop models of wildlife populations and how to write a scientific paper. It involved car- rying an egg with a fork, knife, and then spoon. We were to write which was most effective and why. I felt the guidelines for writing the scientific method were kind of boring, and decided to give the cutlery Lat- in names (forkus foodus, for example) and pretend they were alive. Surely this would award me extra points! I failed that assignment. The professor’s teaching assistant asked me a bunch of questions to see if I had any idea of what we were really doing. When it appeared that I did, she asked me why I animated the silverware. I didn’t have an answer to that, at least not at the time. But I think I do now. PHOTO: © N. WILSON

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES 13A I figured it out eventually. Fast-forward 15 entific discovery by examining the strength knowledge sees the light of day and to years to when I realized that while I loved of the evidence in light of factors such as make it interesting, sometimes even funny, talking and writing about science, I didn’t like methods used, sources of funding, and and easier to understand. doing it nearly as much. contradictory information. As a science I think I’ve come a long way from those What I really love is sharing science with writer, my credibility depends on this. For Jell-O shots at first-year university parties. others. I want to use reporting and story- example, while I would like there to be a But when you cover environmental science, telling to make science more accessible. I clear link between Sasquatch sightings and a girl still needs a beer once in a while.☺ want to start conversations that otherwise gluten-free diets, I haven’t been able to find might not take place. My parents taught me one that is evidence-based. And that’s just that conversation and, more importantly, in- the way it is. Niki Wilson is a multi-media science formed debate is one of the keys to a func- As a society we have to be able to talk communicator and biologist living in tioning democracy. about science even when it doesn’t suit Jasper. Visit her at www.nikiwilson.com. Debate is easy. The problem comes in the our belief system. My job is to make sure informed part. Many people in North Amer- ica don’t make decisions based on evidence – especially when those decisions clash with the way they want to live their lives. For example, we all know that despite the resounding scientific evidence showing the human responsibility for climate change, some North Americans remain skeptical. Some flat out deny the change is happening and that we’re largely responsible for it. While it would be easier to think climate deniers are science illiterate simpletons, that’s simply not the case. A recent study suggests that, as a group, climate deniers have as much scientific knowledge as anyone else. Howev- er, they use their knowledge selectively to affirm their customary behaviour, behaviour that contributes to climate change. In reality, many people who deny climate PHOTO: © D. VONESCH science are just surviving day to day like the rest of us. There is laundry to do, kids to move With Friends Like These… around, bosses to answer to. My hope is that A Calgary billboard paid for by the “Friends of Science” (FOS) highlights just well-crafted stories that can connect people how important it is to have access to solid, accurate science writing. The FOS to science through other belief systems, other – yes, that acronym is disturbingly close to the one for the Flat Earth Society – values that matter to them, are important. believes Calgarians should blame the sun for climate change. That’s right. This For example, while a person may not want group contends that record carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere aren’t to part with her luxury Lexus LX 570, 5.7L responsible for climate change. Today’s carbon dioxide level, having exceeded 400 SUV in favour of a smaller six or four cylinder parts per million for the first time in recorded history, is “the primary driver of hybrid, she will be concerned by the fact that recent climate change.” Who identifies carbon dioxide as behind the wheel of the smog is linked to the asthma her child suffers climate change bus? No less reputable a group of scientists than those from NASA from. Establishing this connection may lead – the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. her to make healthier choices – for her chil- Groups like the Friends of Science prey on our values and comforts. They tell dren and the planet. our luxury Lexus LX 570, 5.7L SUV owner, as she speeds by the billboard driving Having said that, good science writing the kids to school, that all is well. To follow this group’s message will deliver this doesn’t overreach. It doesn’t try to make and future generations a fate no better than that of the children who followed the connections where they don’t exist. Science Pied Piper of Hamelin. writing is about presenting today’s state of - Ian Urquhart knowledge and reporting accurately on sci-

14 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES Focus: Alberta’s Species-at-Risk

By Nigel Douglas

Bison North American bison (Bison bison) and the 1888, it is estimated that only eight bison re- Few wild species in Alberta, or indeed European bison (Bison bonasus). American mained in Canada and 85 in North America. North America, have had a history quite as bison are usually divided into two subspe- Today, in Canada, there are 670 to 740 desperate and complex as the bison. Their cies: plains bison and wood bison. Wood bi- adult animals left, in three free-ranging herds story is interwoven inextricably with the set- son are generally taller and less stocky than in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, with tlement of the west, with the worst excesses plains bison. semi-wild or captive herds in Alberta, Sas- of the settlers, and the annihilation of vast katchewan, and Manitoba. In addition there numbers of wildlife – from bears to beavers Plains bison is a semi-wild herd of around 500 individu- and prairie chickens to passenger pigeons. Historically, plains bison roamed across a als in Alberta’s Elk Island National Park. The sheer logistics of exterminating 30 to 50 huge area from the Rockies to the Atlantic More than any animal (with the possible million bison from the plains landscape in and from central Alberta and Saskatchewan exception of the beaver) bison had an enor- around 80 years is in itself quite staggering. to northern Mexico. Exactly how many bi- mous impact on their own ecosystem. Huge But yet the bison endured – just – and today son there were is not known definitively. On herds would have passed through areas on there is some hope there may be a potential its species-at-risk website, the federal gov- their long-term migration, grazing and tram- for recovery, if not to the unimaginably vast ernment estimates that “(p)rior to the arrival pling the landscape to devastating effect. numbers of the past, then at least to some- of European settlers, there were likely some Then they would have moved on, maybe thing considerably more impressive than thirty million bison across the continent.” By not to return for several years. Scrub and tree what we are left with today. Bison were wiped out, in part to allow for the settlement of domesticated cattle and in part to remove the food supply on which First Nations people were so dependent. The new railways advertised hunting oppor- tunities where keen hunters could shoot as many bison as they liked from passing trains, leaving the carcasses to rot where they fell. By 1889, the population of plains bison had been so devastated that only an estimated 1,200 animals remained; wood bison were reduced to a remnant herd of 250 near Great Slave Lake. So what exactly are these animals that have a history so closely linked to our own in North America? Bison are the largest land mammals in North America, members of the cattle family which also includes cows, buffalo and yaks (the word “buffalo” is often used, incorrectly, to refer to bison). There are only two bison species in the world: our Bison in the Badlands PHOTO: © C. OLSON

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES 15A cover would have been periodically knocked Today, nearly 3,000 free-roaming wood bi- ta-Bianchet, then-chair of COSEWIC, com- back and open grassland habitat would have son are estimated to exist in six wild popula- mented that it was important to “redouble been maintained. The absence of such large tions in Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, our efforts to protect species at risk and their herds of ecosystem-modifying animals is still Yukon, and Northwest Territories. Alberta habitats.” But in August 2005, the scientifi- felt to this day. has one large disease-free herd in Hay Zama, cally-inexplicable decision was made by the The federal government describes current as well as six herds in Wood Buffalo National federal Environment Minister to refuse his bison habitat as “extremely fragmented and Park which are known to carry disease. committee’s recommendation. AWA argued there are no corridors between herds.” and The federal government lists the main at the time that economic interests were given points to the lack of habitat as the “great- threats faced by wood bison as “(d)isease undue weight in the decision not to list plains est impediment to the conservation of the (anthrax, brucellosis, and tuberculosis), bison; effectively the interests of a handful of plains bison.” In recent decades, two major cross-breeding with plains bison, and habi- bison farmers who were opposed to wild, disturbance regimes – fire and flooding – tat loss through human development, agri- free-roaming herds were put ahead of the in- have been removed or severely suppressed culture, and forestry and petroleum resource terests of an endangered native species. in the traditional range of bison. This is es- development.” In Alberta, despite their des- Provincially, plains bison in Alberta are list- pecially so in northern Alberta. Historically, ignation as an endangered species, manage- ed as “extirpated” (or locally extinct), with no fires were intentionally set by First Nations ment of wood bison is focused on minimiz- plans to reintroduce free-ranging herds (legal- people to move herds, to clear forests, and ing the spread of tuberculosis and brucellosis ly, recovery plans are required for all endan- to renew grazing areas,. The modern histo- from wild bison to domestic cattle and to gered species but there is no such requirement ry of fire suppression has enabled forests to other disease-free bison herds. The long term for extirpated species). AWA, of course, does encroach on to meadowed areas. Flooding plan is apparently, to eliminate the disease not suffer from such a lack of vision, and con- was an equally important disturbance along risk which would “allow the restoration of tinues to advocate for the protection of wild major waterways, such as the Peace River. wild populations of wood bison across north- areas that will enable bison (both plains and It pushed back forests and renewed the wet ern Canada.” In effect, the disease-free Hay wood bison) to persist in self-reproducing meadow sedge and grass vegetation upon Zama herd is managed to prevent its spread populations in Alberta, with the freedom to which bison depend. But flooding too has eastwards into habitat that might bring it into move throughout their historic ranges. The been reduced with damming of rivers and contact with diseased herds; between 2009 ecological restoration of bison as a keystone river channeling. and 2013, 521 bison were killed for roam- species in a wild landscape would also allow Other threats to bison include disease and ing too far from their designated Hay Zama traditional First Nations cultural practices to cross-breeding with domestic cattle. Diseases stronghold. All of them were subsequently resume. It is a huge vision and maybe it will such as bovine turberculosis, brucellosis, and found to be free of tuberculosis and brucello- be some time before society has the ambition anthrax are passed freely between bison and sis. We should find a better management ap- to put it into practice, but AWA has never domestic cattle. The advent of game-farmed proach to protect these endangered animals. been afraid to dream big! bison also complicates the picture consider- In April 2012, AWA lent its support to ably. Such bison are often cross-bred with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation’s Quick Facts: domestic cattle (to make them more placid (ACFN) impressive “stewardship strategy” • Bison bison bison (plains bison) and manageable), and so they are entirely for managing caribou and wood bison in a • Bison bison athabascae (wood bison) distinct from genetically pure wild bison. huge area of northeastern Alberta. The re- • Federal status: Endangered AWA has long opposed the use of public- port called for “proactive protection and res- (both species) ly-owned land to graze domestic bison. toration of habitat for all local populations • Provincial status: Endangered (wood of caribou and bison within their historical bison); Extirpated (plains bison) Wood bison range in ACFN Homelands.” • Height: up to 2.8 metres. The wood bison is endemic to Canada, i.e. • Length: 3.0 to 3.8 metres. it occurs in Canada and nowhere else. The Bison today • Weight: range of the wood bison was always much Even today, bison recovery, more than for • Plains bison: 600 to 860 kilograms more limited than that of the plains bison. any other species, is less about science and (average 700 kg). In the past, they were found in northeast- more about economics and politics. In June • Wood bison: 350 to 1,000 kg. ern British Columbia, northern Alberta, 2004, the Committee on the Status of En- • Interesting fact: A bison’s coat contains northwestern Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and dangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) ten times more hair per square centi- southwestern Northwest Territories. The recommended that the plains bison should metre than that of cattle. This makes them uniquely adapted to surviving federal government estimates that there once be added to the list of species protected un- cold winters. were over 168,000 wood bison in Canada. der the federal Species at Risk Act. Marco Fes-

16 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | FEATURES Filming Wolves: Andrew Manske’s Experiences

By Brittany Verbeek, AWA Conservation Specialist

here was a full house at the AWA 1995. The wolf’s mystique and intense gold- largest wolves in the world and the largest Hillhurst Cottage School on the en-eyed stare caused a huge adrenaline rush land mammal found in North America – the T evening of Tuesday, May 2, 2014. in Manske that resulted in two dramatic wood bison. He showed us clips from two The star of the night was Andrew Manske, consequences: shaky, unusable footage and documentaries, Discovery Channel’s Wolves a renowned Canadian and Emmy Award an experience that changed his life. He had and Bison and National Geographic’s Killer Winning natural history filmmaker, who found his calling. Quest Wolf Hunt. The evolution of filming travelled from Grande Prairie to speak about Through the amazing wolf footage he has technology as well as documentary style was his experiences filming wolves all across collected over the years, Manske took us on very evident from comparing these two films. Canada. Beer in one hand, snack in the oth- a virtual trip across Canada from the estu- Building tower structures and shooting from er – the audience sat back for an evening of aries of the west coast to the mountains of a distance on the ground, which was once entertainment and learning about this iconic Labrador. One of his earlier films was shot what videographers relied on, is no longer carnivore. in Northwest Territories’ Mackenzie Bison the industry-standard. Now, using Cinaflex Manske has been chasing wolves for over Sanctuary. He wanted to capture the intri- camera systems Manske can get clear, stable, 20 years. Growing up in southern Ontario cate and fascinating relationship between the and close up video of the animals from he- Andrew never really experienced true wilderness so he began honing his skills as a wildlife cinematographer once he moved to Alberta and got a job at Chateau Lake Lou- ise. He spent his days off in the backcountry viewing a wide cast of wildlife through the lens of his small video camera. Andrew’s first large mammals experiences hooked him – he’s lived in Alberta ever since. After graduating from film school he met Albert Karvonen, a naturalist and award-winning filmmaker from Edmonton who has been making natural history films since 1975. Eighty-four years young Albert currently is making a film about grouse. Karvonen quickly became Manske’s mentor, friend, and professional collaborator. He worked with Karvonen until 2008 and a year later Andrew established his own production company, Compass Media Inc. Most of us thoroughly enjoy the final prod- ucts of videographers like Manske and Kar- vonen. Seldom though do we get the chance to hear the story behind the camera. Andrew recalled the first time he filmed a wolf in PHOTO: © C. OLSON

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | ASSOCIATION NEWS 17A licopters or drones as they move across the series showed wolves catching 15-pound at 750,000 strong in the mid-1990s. Unfor- landscape. The style was very different as salmon, biting their heads off, and leaving tunately, not unlike the dramatic decline of well. Many of the big producers have moved the rest of the bodies out on the open beach Alberta’s caribou herds, the most recent sur- towards more dramatic wildlife documen- for the scavengers. A seemingly altruistic act vey puts the herd size at fewer than 28,000. taries with adrenaline-pumping music and had an underlying purpose for the wolves. A variety of reasons are proposed to explain narration using phrases like “it’s show time” The salmon’s body flesh contains parasites why the herd’s size has plummeted in the and “get ready for the take down.” The goal that the wolves cannot digest so they let the last 10 to 15 years. Manske invited us to stay is to target younger audiences with shorter ravens and eagles eat out the insides of the tuned for a future documentary on the rise attention spans and a thirst for action. fish and then the wolves ate the remaining and fall of the greatest herd on earth. The glamour of natural history films be- highly nutritious skins. At Fraser Canyon, the caribou are fun- gins at the television screen. Everything A great challenge for cinematographers is neled into a narrow space creating a first before that consists of extremely hard work to be as discreet as possible to ensure the class hunting spot for their main predators and countless time in the field where you camera is capturing natural behaviour of an- – wolves and black bears. Spots like this can can look forward to being a feast for bugs imals. Another is to also find spots in clear- even the odds for predators because out in and to staying perfectly still for hours to get ings to film where there are good lines of the open tundra caribou can reach speeds that one perfect shot. Wolves are no dif- sight. Filming wolves in the Rockies presents of 80km/h whereas wolves can do no bet- ferent from us in that excitement happens these challenges because the wolves are hard ter than 65km/h for short periods of time. seldom during long bouts of routine and to find and to keep in sight. They are usu- A more appropriate name for the canyon sleep. Good cinematographers must walk ally well hidden in the dense forests. Man- would be graveyard canyon – Andrew told a fine line between their relentless drive to us that caribou skeletal remains are scat- get the best shot and painstaking patience. tered everywhere. The film clip he showed Manske told us about a time he stepped over reminded me of the stampede scenes from that line. Before leaving Manske alone on an the Disney classic “The Lion King”’. The clip island to film west coast wolves, his Heiltsuk was of a wolf perched on a ledge survey- guide made him promise not to howl at the ing a stampede of ungulates down below, wolves because it messes with them. But as just waiting for the perfect opportunity to the days progressed time was running out, pounce. Unfortunately for the wolf in the and he still didn’t have the shot he want- clip, it waited too long and its prey passed ed. Knowing the wolves were nearby in the by safely. forest he disobeyed the guide’s warning. He Andrew’s images transfixed the audi- imitated a pup. Immediately an entire pack ence all evening: wolves chased bison only came out into the clearing and straight over to have the bison herd retaliate; a pack of to his blind – growling and trying to get in. wolves and a grizzly bear with two cubs The pack harassed him for two days. They fought over a bull caribou carcass; wolf pups ate his microphone and chewed up his wa- PHOTO: A. MANSKE, COMPASS MEDIA INC. howled as they emerged from their den for ter bottles. Some even took joy rides in his ske’s most successful effort to film wolves the first time; a wolf pack chased a caribou at zodiac as other wolves pulled it across the in the Rockies was from a recent trip into full speed. At one point Andrew hesitated to beach. I believe he learnt his lesson. Willmore Wilderness Park, north of Jasper play another film clip because he was con- Andrew has spent ten years going back National Park. He has also had great success cerned about time – the audience cried out to the same estuary on that island filming filming wolves in the highest mountains east in protest. Clearly, no one wanted the night west coast wolves. Manske told us the island of the Rockies, the Torngat Mountains of to be over. wolves are almost a sub-species because Labrador. Andrew first went there with Al- Andrew even gave us a sneak preview of of the differences in appearance and be- bert Karvonen and has subsequently spent his newest project – filming the elusive wol- haviour. They are smaller, have shorter hair, a lot of time there. Its remoteness makes ac- verine. Manske is definitely someone worth and possess more genetic diversity than the cess and filming very difficult but Manske keeping in mind if you’re looking for terrific average grey wolf which is contrary to what has embraced and risen to the challenge. He wildlife documentaries. Check out his two scientists originally hypothesized. They are found a prime spot to film at Fraser Canyon, websites at www.andrewmanske.com and also less afraid of people and more aggres- a narrow canyon along the migration route www.compassmedia.ca to find his most re- sive than their mainland counterparts. The of what used to be the largest caribou herd cent productions. clip he showed us from CBC’s Wild Canada in the world – the George River caribou herd

18 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | ASSOCIATION NEWS Government Relations: This is Now and That was Then

By Christyann Olson, AWA Executive Director

Now… 8-inches in diameter were stripped for meeting we also requested a written re- On May 1, 2014 we were pleased to fi- garden mulch, and the hillsides slumped sponse to our letter written last December; nally meet Environment and Sustainable – perhaps in sadness. Soil ran into the nearly two months later we’re still waiting Resource Development (ESRD) Minister stream and transformed Hidden Creek. for that response. Robin Campbell on the matter of Hidden Crystal clear above the logging the creek The deputy minister outlined plans to Creek. We formally requested this meeting became a silted, muddy brown below continue moving reorganization forward when we welcomed the newly appointed the clear cuts. Vital spawning beds were under Integrated Resource Management minister in a letter of December 2013. muddied and our already endangered fish (IRM) – an approach towards resource We hoped the Minister would find time species likely have lost another of their management that has been talked about when he was in Calgary but, that turned dwindling, unprotected spawning beds to much for more than a generation now. out to not be possible for the Minister. We industrialized forestry. AWA hopes the forest service will inter- accepted the first offer his office made for Deputy Minister Werry spoke about the pret integration to mean that ecological a meeting and travelled to Edmonton. In monitoring his department had put into and wildlife values should be given much between there were a number of remind- place and about the need for providing more consideration. We want to see more ers that we were waiting for an appoint- greater transparency without resorting to than timber beasts wandering the Eastern ment to meet and finally there was time in FOIP. We hope that, in that positive spirit, Slopes. The deputy minister assured us the minister’s schedule for AWA. the monitoring results for Hidden Creek that collaboration among the department We went to discuss Spray Lake Sawmills’ pre- and post-logging will be made avail- staff is very important to him. (SLS) logging in Hidden Creek, Freedom able to AWA as soon as possible. We’ve We’ve heard government and industry of Information and Privacy Act materials asked for that data but we’re still wait- talk for decades now about how forests are AWA obtained about logging there, and ing for a reply to this request. During the more than fibre factories. But we fear they AWA’s 30 years of concerns about logging this area. We also spoke generally about the risks of logging in the southern East- ern Slopes with Minister Campbell and his Deputy Minister, Bill Werry. If ever there was a slam-dunk case against clearcut logging an area, it would be around Hidden Creek, located in the headwaters of the Oldman River. Hidden Creek had a magnificent legacy; it provided outstanding spawning beds and critical habitat for our endangered westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout. Many times throughout the past 30 years, logging in this area was stopped on the advice of the department’s Fish and Wildlife Division. But all stops were pulled in late 2012. All protective measures were minimized, trees

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | ASSOCIATION NEWS 19A will remain just that – fibre factories – un- Then… tractable. I used his number when proposals less the conservation community plays a Christyann’s report exemplifies the sort to cut roads and build a resort in Willmore meaningful role when it comes to land-use of detached, disinterested treatment public Wilderness Park came suddenly, and alarm- planning, when it comes to logging plans. interest groups too often now receive, fed- ing to the fore. After we spoke, the only dis- It’s high time the consultation that graz- erally and provincially. Phone calls, emails, turbances in the forests of Willmore Wilder- ing leaseholders are offered is extended to and letters are most often ignored. Replies ness Park came from hikers, horses, and the conservationists. We are the only reliable are often so late in coming that they are in- four seasons. voices to speak out on behalf of the voice- effectual. Advice is rarely sought or given Minister Sparrow asked AWA for our less – wildlife and landscapes. It’s equally credence if allowed. Meetings take months top three wishes and began work to see frustrating that, while conservation is on to arrange and are then often perfunctory them realized. He started with his personal hold during Land-use Framework plan- and inconsequential. choice – the Bighorn Wildland Recreation ning, it’s business as usual for industry. It wasn’t always so. In the 1980s when I Area (a name he or his staff actually applied We left the meeting with the assurance that was AWA president, the minister in charge to the headwaters of the North Saskatche- we could meet again, perhaps in Calgary of forests, lands, and wildlife was the affable wan). Before being assigned to a new min- next time. We’ve since written to set up such businessman, Don Sparrow, who, along with istry and before his untimely death on an a meeting. Like English and Spanish football his no-nonsense, highly capable deputy, Fred Alberta highway, Don Sparrow brought the fans we wait to hear some good news. All McDougall, considered AWA as one of their Bighorn to the cusp of designation. Unfor- we’ve received so far is silence. Today the business constituents. AWA was then able tunately his successor, LeRoy Fjordbotten, news is about the raging, flooding waters of to regularly reach these decision-makers by didn’t share Sparrow’s and the Bighorn was the Oldman River drainage. Pouring rain, phone and to meet with them. never legislated into being. Fjordbotten’s without a healthy forest to absorb water and In fact, when there was a “hot issue” on the tenure in Forestry, Lands, and Wildlife be- reduce runoff, will lead to damaging, dead- table – and the logging of Hidden Creek in gan the trend of distancing that ministry ly consequences. Logging in our headwa- the Upper Oldman watershed was frequent- from the conservation portion of its con- ters must respect this reality. Conservation ly that issue, Fred McDougall gave me, as stituency. It continues today. must be given equal weighting at the deci- AWA president, his personal phone number. sion-making table set by ESRD. I was to call him first if an issue became in- - Vivian Pharis, AWA Board of Directors

This majestic tree was cut during the first pass through Hidden Creek in the mid-1980s. We keep this slice of the tree at our offices as a stark re- minder of how long it takes to grow a tree like this in Alberta. More than 430 years old, this tree was sacrificed and the small trees that grew after this logging have largely been reduced to garden mulch. Standing forests are worth so much more.

20 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | ASSOCIATION NEWS Climb and Run for Wilderness Recap From Another Great Event!

By Christyann Olson, AWA Executive Director

As I sit down to write this summary of to help those who passed by to learn more the event. They lead the way as they race Climb and Run for Wilderness 2014, Earth about Alberta and the value of a healthy and climb, set and meet amazing endur- Day is a speck in my rear view mirror and and naturally biodiverse environment. ance goals. Jonathan Heinz climbed the World Environment Day is just behind I know I speak for the staff and the Board stairs 29 times in five hours – remarkable. us. Telling the story of the Best Earth Day when I say how touched and inspired we Ammon Piepgrass was right behind Jona- Event in the West is complicated – our are by the gifts and support AWA receives than and also completed 29 climbs, taking Climb and Run for Wilderness is an event during events like the Climb and Run for only a handful of minutes longer. like no other. It truly has something for ev- Wilderness. No matter how small the con- The Calgary Tower, our host for the event, eryone. The event had a simple beginning tributions may appear to some professional sponsored a new component this year. The – one hand-written tri-fold display on the fundraisers (yes… we receive pennies in Calgary Tower Elite Endurance Climb was sidewalk outside what was then the Hus- baggies and are very glad for them!) they limited to 15 athletes and offered a top prize ky Tower with our World Wildlife Fund make a tremendous difference to AWA. of return airfare to Vienna, Austria, for the partners from Toronto. Our focus was on These gifts help AWA be strong throughout winner to compete in the final race of the Alberta’s Special Places 2000 initiative and the year. World Federation of Great Towers Tower- in drawing attention to it we were fulfill- The fundraisers themselves are amazing running Challenge, up the 776 steps of the ing our mandate to create awareness and forces to contend with. Here are just a few Danube Tower. This is the first time AWA defend natural landscapes throughout Al- examples from this year. There’s four year has been part of the WFGT Towerrunning berta. Twenty-three years later our event old Abigail Hadden who saves bottles and Challenge circuit and it is an exciting new consumes literally a year’s worth of plan- cans for the bears and the wolves,. With dimension to our event. ning and organizing. But, just as was the tremendous support from her family Abi- Those competing instead to make the case twenty-three years ago, our goal is the gail raised $2,200. The Overends were this most climbs in four hours matched the same. We advocate tenaciously on behalf year’s Top Family Fundraiser. Patti, Bill, Herculean efforts of our 15 elite competi- of healthy ecosystems and wild spaces for Sam, and Alex have been climbing for years tors. Our website lists all of the results and Alberta’s wildlife. A rich and healthy biodi- and every year they tap on the shoulders the winners of all the events including the versity depends crucially on the choices we of their friends, colleagues, and family to Louise Guy Poetry Prize taken by Betty make and the care we show for the land. raise an amazing number of sponsorships. Millham this year. The murals gracing the That is the general perspective that guides This year their efforts topped $8,000! walls of the tower stairwells were painted our planning for this annual event. Draw- Then there’s Richard Guy. While climbing a month earlier. From youthful whimsy to ing on more than 130 volunteers, the event the tower twice and being 97 years old is artistic precision, the murals have added successfully offers a number of components fame enough, Richard also tops the marks more than 150 thoughtful pieces of public addressing healthy bodies, active minds, by being the outstanding individual fund- art to the Tower over the last 23 years. To- participation no matter the age (from babes raiser. He raised more than $4,000. Of the gether they exemplify again the caring con- in backpacks to people 97 years young!), 27 teams competing this year, Cenovus A cern many people have for our wild spaces. volunteerism, and a strong spirit of com- team raised $2,180 to be the Top Fund- The 2014 event also featured the partici- munity and giving. raising Team of the 23rd annual Climb and pation of a new climb partner, The Carbon Our Wild Alberta Expo boasts a range of Run for Wilderness. Together we raised Farmer, Inc. of CBC Television’s Dragons displays – from the simple to the sophisti- $110,000. Many, many thanks to all who Den fame (Brad Rabiey is also famous for cated; this year we were pleased to have 30 helped get us to this plateau. surviving several political science courses displays, all attended by volunteers ready Outstanding athletes are aplenty during with the Advocate’s editor). Brad and Re-

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | ASSOCIATION NEWS 21A becca, partners in life and business, will be Taking on a Zero Waste initiative was a big From the youngest to the oldest this event planting one tree in honour of every person challenge for this event and we almost did and the day at the Calgary Tower is inspi- who reached the top of the tower on their it! A single bag of refuse was the extent of rational and engaging. The community family farm near Manning Alberta. This our garbage; all other waste was composted support and the spirit of camaraderie, en- will add to the more than 317,000 trees or recycled. This meant that our diversion during friendships, and volunteerism make they have already planted to establish car- rate was 89 percent, nearly there; our chal- this event a success and helps AWA contin- bon offsets and contribute to the health of lenge for 2015 is to make it the rest of the ue our work day in and day out. Alberta’s boreal forest. Other generous sup- way there, to 100 percent. Congratulations Thank you everyone for making this porters provided everything from bananas everyone and thanks to Green Calgary for event so successful! to water bottles to amazing prizes and we auditing the waste and helping us meet the Christyann Olson are grateful for their untiring support. challenge. Executive Director

22 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | ASSOCIATION NEWS Updates

Confirming the this important piece of information is only For Sale (again): Petroleum Neonicotinoid Threat, likely to be used by those consumers al- Leases to Endangered Business Takes an ready aware of the threats neonicotinoids Caribou Habitat Important Small Step pose. Other small retailers and nurseries in Since May the evidence has been steadily There have been several important de- the United States have pledged more am- mounting that Alberta’s decisions regard- velopments further to Brittany Verbeek’s bitious bans against the use of neonicoti- ing caribou habitat ignore science, Alber- warning in the April Advocate about the noids in their operations (http://www.foe. ta’s own stated caribou policy, and public harm neonicotinoids do to pollinators. org/beeaction/retailers). opinion. In early May, Alberta’s ‘mountain’ The seriousness of Brittany’s warning was Friends of the Earth Canada is petition- caribou were assessed as Endangered – in just underlined by a peer-reviewed analysis ing Canadian retailers to stop selling plants immediate danger of extinction – by Can- conducted by the Task Force on Systemic pre-treated with these pesticides, to ban the ada’s Species at Risk Act scientist advisors Pesticides. This task force, created by the use of neonic pesticides in their operations, (Committee on the Status of Endangered International Union for the Conservation and to educate consumers about the threats Wildlife in Canada – COSEWIC). Yet Al- of Nature, analyzed 800 peer-reviewed these pesticides present to pollinators. The berta barged ahead and auctioned 1,500 studies and concluded “that there is clear petition may be found at http://foecanada. hectares of new oil and gas leases in moun- evidence of harm sufficient to trigger regu- org/en/takeaction/home-garden-petition/. tain caribou ranges from May to iearly latory action.” - Ian Urquhart June. More sales are on the horizon. From Dr. Jean-Marc Bonmatin, one of the lead late June to early August, the government authors of the Task Force’s Worldwide In- Parks are for…? plans to auction 1,000 more hectares of tegrated Assessment, said there is no doubt People. I suspect that’s the answer most land in endangered mountain caribou about the harm caused by the use of ne- Albertans would offer to that question. The habitat; it plans to auction another 1,400 onicotinoids and other systemic pesticides. City of Red Deer is unique in Alberta in of- hectares in threatened boreal caribou rang- “We are witnessing a threat,” in his words, fering a different answer…pollinators. As es further north. “to the productivity of our natural and this winter drew to its official end, Red Deer Alberta’s project-level ‘guidelines’ en- farmed environment equivalent to that City Council unanimously passed a motion able an expanding surface disturbance on posed by organophosphates or DDT.” The calling on the City’s parks department to leases. They are far too weak for caribou alarm raised by Rachel Carson more than explore dedicating space and habitat in survival as shown by widespread declines fifty years ago against chemical “elixirs of existing and future parks for pollinators. in caribou populations. The news of these death” led to the ban of DDT in Canada and This initiative promises to create habitat lease sales sparked a strong negative reac- the United States in 1972, ten years after for native pollinators and honeybees; it tion across a broad spectrum of Alberta the publication of Silent Spring. will provide the native plants pollinators opinion. Alberta’s two major daily newspa- Terrestrial invertebrates such as earth- need to survive and thrive such as lupins, pers, wilderness and fish and game groups, worms are the most affected groups of spe- fireweed, goldenrod, and blanket flower. and all three opposition parties called for a cies. Bees, butterflies, and other insect pol- Council also asked the parks department halt to lease auctions in these ranges until linators are the next most affected group. to help raise community awareness about responsible rules are in place to ensure car- Aquatic invertebrates, while the least affect- how much our livelihoods depend on pol- ibou survival. ed, are nonetheless vulnerable. Vertebrate linators (Councillors Harris and Mulder, Alberta’s mountain caribou populations animals are less susceptible but seed-eating who drafted the motion, claimed that two- live in west central Alberta and migrate be- birds face risks from eating crop seeds treat- thirds of the world’s food crops depend on tween mountain summer habitat, some of ed with these systemic pesticides. pollinators and that the annual economic which is protected, and unprotected foot- On a more positive note, Home Depot value of the services native pollinators pro- hills habitat that is under intensive indus- announced that its home and garden sup- vide in North America is more than $3 bil- trial pressure. Habitat disturbance by for- pliers must label any plants treated with ne- lion). It also called on the City of Red Deer estry cutblocks and energy seismic lines, onicotinoid pesticides by this fall. It is the to explore instituting a permanent ban on roads, and pipelines is a boon for deer and largest retailer to announce plans to address neonicotinoids. moose and the predators that follow. This the neonicotinoid threat. Unfortunately, - Ian Urquhart dynamic robs the caribou of their ability to

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | WILDERNESS WATCH 23A minimize overlap with predators. Caribou reaching out to their Calgary neighbours – tecting this beautiful and life-sustaining and wolves have co-existed over thousands not to cope with a flood but to try to reduce watershed. of years but industrial disturbance boosts the odds of 2013’s event repeating itself. - Ian Urquhart predation beyond what the caribou can en- Ghost Valley residents met throughout dure. Mountain caribou populations have the spring to share their concerns about Funding for Flood Mitigation decreased by more than 60 percent since land uses in the valley. The meetings were Turns a Blind Eye to River 2002, just 12 years. framed as “neighbours coming together to Ecology The federal government released its final support one another.” Through communi- The southern Alberta floods of June 2013 recovery strategy for southern mountain ty meetings, Ghost Valley residents were were devastating. Over the past year AWA caribou (which includes all Alberta moun- able to identify areas of shared concern and has engaged with various government and tain caribou) in early June. This strategy re- some possibilities for action. watershed stakeholders, particularly in the quires developing plans to manage ranges In early June, one hundred and thirty-nine hard-hit Bow watershed, about ways to to achieve at least 65 percent undisturbed people with roots in the Ghost River valley manage land to increase flood and drought foothills winter habitat. In the Narraway delivered a letter to Calgary’s Mayor Na- resiliency. So far our message is falling on and Redrock-Prairie Creek herd ranges, heed Nenshi, highlighting the importance too many deaf ears. Most resources for lon- where oil and gas leasing continues, habi- of the Ghost River watershed to Calgarians’ ger term ‘flood preparedness’ are being de- tat disturbance as of 2010 was estimated at lives. In the winter, the Ghost River may voted to engineering approaches to divert over 80 percent and at roughly 50 percent supply as much as 20 percent of the Bow rivers that are naturally highly mobile into respectively. River’s flow to Calgary. In the 2013 flood, channels or reservoirs and hope they don’t Extensive new disturbance from forestry nearly one-third of the water flowing into breach in the next large flood event. and energy development marches on with- the Bow came from the Ghost River. On April 29, 2014 the Alberta govern- in the ranges and important buffer zone Their message to the mayor was clear: ment announced it would spend $625 areas of Alberta’s boreal woodland caribou “The Ghost River plays a vital role in the million over the next three years on flood herds to the north. In 2012 the federal bo- wellbeing of Calgarians, so please collab- protection work. Only a meagre three per- real caribou strategy required provinces to orate with us to protect the health of our cent of that money will go to strengthening make progress towards at least 65 percent shared watershed. Join us in exploring the flood and drought-buffering potential undisturbed habitat within these ranges as ways to preserve and strengthen the im- of wetlands, forests, and river corridors. All well. Scientists assessing northeast Alber- portant ecological functions of the Ghost the rest of the cash is assigned to projects ta populations warned in 2009 that these River watershed.” to further harden riverbanks, or to build or boreal caribou populations will not survive The letter highlights two threats to the expand weirs, dams, and reservoirs. for more than a few decades unless the cur- Ghost River watershed’s ecological capacity: Mountain-fed rivers need room to flex, rent decision-making course is reversed. 1. inadequate management of OHVs and to stretch their shoulders, when their wa- Scientists have stated that recovery of random camping; ters are high. Across their flood plains, these caribou is technically and biological- 2. clear-cut logging in close proximity to our western rivers dissipate the force of ly possible. AWA has noted that solutions the Ghost River and its tributaries. flood waters, carve new channels, and re- are within reach if energy operators are re- And these two threats are interrelated: new river corridor vegetation. Across their quired to use directional drilling technolo- road-building required to harvest timber flood plains, shallow groundwater reserves gy and pooled leases to reduce the existing from the valley further reduces the wa- connected to these rivers are replenished, footprint and to comprehensively reclaim ter-absorbing capacity of the region while filtered, and slowly released as base flow the historic footprint. The missing ingredi- increasing OHV access. in drier seasons. While it is more under- ents remain corporate and political will. Reading the group’s letter, it’s clear they’ve standable why we’ve hardened the Bow - Carolyn Campbell seized on a win-win proposal. Protecting river channel in the highest density parts the Ghost watershed will help preserve the of downtown Calgary, AWA isn’t convinced Reaching Out in the Ghost – landscape Ghost Valley residents love while that other measures taken in the past year It’s What Good Neighbours offering Calgarians the secure and safe sup- make as much sense. This applies partic- Do ply of water they’ve enjoyed historically. ularly to narrowing and hardening many Anyone familiar with last year’s floods will And being neighbours, why not work to- kilometres of river channels in low-densi- remember how neighbours helped one an- gether to achieve these mutual goals? ty areas along the Bow and Elbow water- other deal with the devastation visited on AWA hopes Calgary’s mayor accepts their shed with concrete and boulders. And… peoples’ lives in southern Alberta. One year invitation and joins the residents of the much more of this approach is in store: of later, residents in the Ghost River valley are Ghost Valley for collaborative actions pro- the announced provincial flood mitigation

24 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | WILDERNESS WATCH funding in the next three years, 56 percent For example, the report’s recommen- cally-sound watershed management princi- ($350 million) will be directed to commu- dations aimed to cope with a 1:100 year ples to better protect Albertans from future nity projects that appear to favour narrow- flood, also called a 1 percent annual ex- floods and droughts. ing and hardening of river channels within ceedance flood. Such a flood would have - Carolyn Campbell a small portion of the flood plain. a peak flow of 930 m3/s and a seven day Apart from very negative effects on fish volume of 130,00 dam3 into Glenmore Two Whoops for Whoopers? and wildlife, this armouring of riverbanks Reservoir at the western edge of Calgary (a In early May Canada’s Committee on the accelerates downstream flows in low to me- dam3 is a cubic decameter, which equals Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada dium flood periods and cannot withstand 1 million liters) . The June 2013 flood was (COSEWIC) reminded us there’s much to higher flows. New provincial regulations significantly higher than this: it saw a peak be concerned about when it comes to the against building in a “flood way”, but per- flow of 1,260 m3/s and a seven-day volume future of wildlife in Canada. Twenty-seven mitting building in a “flood fringe”, funda- of 154,000 dam3. The Kananaskis Country wildlife species were added to the “at risk” mentally misunderstand our rivers’ behav- Elbow proposal includes building an aux- list pushing the total number of species in ior. Allowing more construction in flood iliary earth cut channel spillway to protect COSEWIC’s four risk categories to 693: plains is doubly dangerous. It increases the dam from blowing out during extreme 306 Endangered, 165 Threatened, 200 the risk to families and infrastructure from floods up to the probable maximum flood Special Concern, and 22 Extirpated. groundwater or overland flooding in future (PMF) event of three times the 2013 flood The whooping crane, one of Canada’s En- big flood events. It also degrades our riv- levels. Use of the earth cut channel spillway dangered species, graced the front cover of er corridors and the groundwater reserves during high flows in this headwaters loca- the April issue of the Advocate. Inside that needed to withstand dry seasons. tion would create enormous erosive force. issue Nigel Douglas told the story of this Forty-one percent ($254 million) of the It would also send high waters on to down- imposing bird’s recovery from the brink of announced flood mitigation funding is for stream communities. The report recom- extinction. From a global estimate of 21 new or enlarged artificial water diversion mends “that the GoA communicate to the birds in 1941 the wild population today or impoundment structures. Diversion public that flood risk can only be reduced, numbers nearly 400. channels are proposed for High River and not eliminated.” The Northern Journal reported in early a tunnel is being considered within the Containing even a 1 percent annual ex- June that a record number of whooping City of Calgary. The Alberta government’s ceedance flood is expensive. The report crane nests have been counted in the annu- Flood Recovery Task Force report of early gives a preliminary estimate of $200 million al nest survey conducted in Wood Buffalo June 2014, on flood mitigation measures for the Springbank diversion and $300 mil- National Park and the surrounding area. for the Bow, Oldman, and Elbow water- lion for the McLean Creek area dam. These Eighty-two nests were spotted this year, sheds, recommended further studies into costs are likely to escalate dramatically eight more than were identified in 2013. building one or two water holding struc- during construction; this money would be This is encouraging news for several rea- tures for the Elbow River. The first would better spent reducing infrastructure in stra- sons. Obviously, more breeding pairs of be an earthen dam across the mainstem of tegic areas along the Elbow to give the river whooping cranes promises to boost the the upper Elbow near McLean Creek in Ka- more room to move and to dissipate flood population. This good news also under- nanaskis Country. The second would be an waters. The proposed Kananaskis Country lines the importance of protected areas to off-stream diversion channel below Bragg Elbow dam is of particular concern since it species recovery programs. Would we even Creek that would run into an offstream res- is designed to be easily used as a permanent be talking about record nest numbers if ervoir on ranch lands west of Calgary. reservoir; it will further degrade an ecolog- Wood Buffalo National Park didn’t exist? AWA is concerned about the false sense ically sensitive headwaters area that is im- Finally, this year’s news confirms that of security these dams and diversions will portant to absorb, purify, and slowly release whooping cranes are expanding their convey to communities downstream. This surface water and groundwater. range. This expansion is taking whoopers risk factor is embedded in the Bow/Old- Does the Alberta government attach any- outside of Wood Buffalo’s boundaries. Sev- man Flood Mitigation report, prepared by thing more than symbolic value to wa- en nests were identified outside the park, an engineering firm. It advises that “(f)lood tershed ecology? It’s hard to answer “yes” five to the north of its boundaries in the mitigation measures cannot guarantee that when it relies almost entirely on activities Northwest Territories and two on First Na- flooding will never occur in the protect- that reduce natural flood and drought re- tions’ reserve lands. ed area. In fact, the introduction of some siliency and watershed health and facilitate No nests seem to have been identified structural mitigation measures merely ongoing construction in floodplains. Al- south of the park’s boundaries. changes the pathway to flooding or nature berta Wilderness Association has asked the - Ian Urquhart of the risk.” Alberta government to implement ecologi-

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | WILDERNESS WATCH 25A Gear Ideas

Run Free - Casio Mobile and interval timer for up to 120 records. synchronized use. You can find all of these Link Runner (Unisex) For runners who are also swimmers or tri- applications at the Apple App Store. The athletes, this watch has an IPX 8 rating and watch does not include any logging func- is water-resistant up to 100 metres. Night tion or a button lock. The watch also isn’t runners will appreciate the watch’s adjust- friendly for early morning trainers since it able LED backlight with Super Illuminator doesn’t have a sunrise set time, and you’ll and afterglow features to provide just the still need to check the weather reports since right amount of light for the right amount it doesn’t come with a temperature reader. of time. Also the watch face is made of polycarbonate – meaning it’s highly dura- What’s the bottom line? By Kristina Vyskocil ble and impact resistant. The strap, on the The Casio Mobile Link Runner is a watch May’s Victoria Day weekend traditionally other hand, is made of resin so it’s less du- with features other training watches don’t celebrates the beginning of Canada’s sum- rable but entirely replaceable. All these fea- have, but only goes so far as to display mer camping season. Camping enthusiasts tures and functions run on a single lithium GPS-related fitness material and is tailored who are also runners also may have consid- CR2032 replaceable battery which should exclusively for iPhone users. With this in ered the long weekend to be an invitation to last you approximately two years (based on mind, it’s ideal for runners or triathletes log some miles on the trails. The May long 12-hour daily activity). But don’t worry who are starting to use electronics to en- weekend also marks the beginning of long about keeping track of when you’ll need to hance their workouts and race perfor- and grueling training plans to prepare for replace it: the watch will warn you when mance. all those races happening later in the sum- the battery is getting low. To save power, mer. Whether you’re a trail runner out for the watch turns itself off automatically after Kristina currently works at Mountain a leisurely sprint in the woods or a racing a fixed amount of inactivity. And, no need Equipment Co-op and in the fall will be athlete doing hill repeats, the Casio Mobile to fret if you’ve misplaced your phone: you entering the final year of her English B.A. at Link Runner can help you with either or can use the Casio Mobile Link Runner to Grant MacEwan University. both. This watch synchronizes with your trigger an alert to help you find your iP- iPhone via Bluetooth to display GPS-related hone so you can spend more time running fitness metrics and switch up your workout and less time digging between the sofa playlists ($89; battery included). cushions.

What is the Casio Mobile What are some drawbacks Link Runner? of the Casio Mobile Link The Casio Mobile Link Runner is an ath- Runner? letic watch that will connect to your heart Sorry, Android and BlackBerry us- rate strap, speed and cadence sensor, and ers: the Casio Mobile Link Runner iPhone via Bluetooth. is only compatible with the iPhone 5c, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s (iOS7) What does the Casio Mobile running Bluetooth 4.0. To make Link Runner do well? full use of all the watch’s features, This watch has all your standard features: you also need to install the comple- date display, world time for 100 cities in 35 mentary Runmeter GPS, Walkme- time zones, coordinated universal time, a 12- ter GPS, Cyclemeter GPS or Wahoo or 24-hour hour format, hourly time signal, Fitness (for use with the Wahoo Fitness as well as the option to set up to five daily Blue HR Heart Rate Strap and Wahoo Fit- alarms. It also comes with a snooze button. ness Blue SC Speed/Cadence Sensor) on When it comes to training, it functions as your iPhone to monitor your progress. a stopwatch, countdown timer, lap timer, Casio Watch+ will be soon available for

26 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | DEPARTMENTS Reader’s Corner

to the theme is beautifully reproduced, of- sionately that I traded a borrowed library ten full-page coverage per item. An index is copy for one purchased at a local bookstore. available at the back of the book. It includes I encourage you to take a look yourself. the remarkable images appearing in the book and references to the text. Krystyna Fedosejevs is a writer, primarily Whether it be traditional watercolours of poetry and fiction, based in Edmonton. showcasing David Thompson’s schematic She is the winner of the Alberta Wilderness code, vibrant oil paintings exemplified by Association’s inaugural Louise Guy Poetry modern artists such as Catherine Robb and Contest, 2011. Peter Whyte, or thought-provoking contemporary art forms by the likes of Kent Monk- man and Jin-me Yoon, the author expertly takes us through a fascinating journey. Her Nancy Townshend, Art passion and knowledge of visual arts in this Inspired by the Canadian geographical context is inspiring. An astute Rockies, Purcell Mountains researcher, having visited libraries and art and Selkirk Mountains collections in the United Kingdom as well as 1809-2012, Canada, the author offers the reader a nota- (Calgary: Bayeux Arts, 2012). ble keepsake. I am fascinated with the subject as well By Krystyna Fedosejevs as the organization of the book. Having Nancy Townshend’s book is unique, wor- studied art through high school and ge- thy of being placed at the pinnacle of art his- ography at university, I understand the tory literature. To date it is the first Canadian correlation between artistic interpretation art history book focusing on one Canadian of subject matter and the expertise of the geographical area over a span of over two artist to produce meaningful results with hundred years. appropriate mediums. Its outward appearance is attractive. The Regardless of academic background, I glossy tile-blue paperback cover features believe anyone having an interest and ad- Lucius O’Brien’s Mount Sir Donald, water- miration for art and the mountains would colour with gouache highlights over gran- enjoy this book. Especially poignant are the ite, on the front. Borderline Case: Five-The views of contemporary artists in addressing Richard P. Thiel, Allison Great Divide, a silkscreen on paper with the present and future states of our planet C. Thiel, and Marianne postcard applique, decorates the back. due to climate change. Will the magnificent Strozewski, Wild Wolves We The book is appropriately organized un- glaciers captured in paintings and photogra- Have Known: Stories of Wolf der three chronological eras: Traditional phy be recognizable when viewed in person Biologists’ Favorite Wolves, (1809-1899), Modern (1900-1971), and in the future? How will our global environ- (Minneapolis: International Wolf Contemporary (1972-2012). Introductory ment survive the ongoing changes? As Jan Center, 2013). chapters herald the eras and within each era Kabatoff says referring to glaciers, “Once selected artists, all Canadian except for one, they disappear, the Earth will be irrevocably By Ian Urquhart are highlighted. Nancy Townshend presents altered”. A new sensibility has entered art- You expect great things when you ask each artist per chapter, detailing biographi- work with the overshadowing fear of losing more than thirty internationally respected cal background relevant to his or her moun- what we cherish, our beautiful natural envi- wolf biologists to collaborate on a book tain-inspired art. “Endnotes” following each ronment. That what means so much to the project. Wild Wolves We Have Known, one chapter provide further information to ref- artistic soul. such collaborative project, doesn’t disap- erences made in the text. Artwork pertinent This beautiful book gripped me so pas- point.

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | DEPARTMENTS 27 The expectations of the contributors to lives of hundreds of tundra wolves, wolves the decline. Two chapters focus on wolves this collection were very different from that otherwise would have been shot in a in Yellowstone National Park and raise im- those associated with thriving in their home misinformed effort to rebuild that nomadic portant questions about how to manage the range – academia. Here the writers offer “up caribou herd’s size. Stories of wolves from healthy wolf population that now roams in- close and personal” accounts of their work Alaska, the Northwest Territories, Wiscon- side and outside the park. with wolves; they offer intimate portraits sin, Minnesota, and New Mexico underline Scandinavian wolf researchers, in their of individual wolves who impressed them how much studying individual wolves may chronicle of Ulrik’s life in Sweden, suggest over years of study. After John Vucetich’s tell us about aspects of wolf ecology such as that Scandinavians are no more rational thought-provoking introduction the writers’ territoriality, reproduction, and longevity. than their North American cousins when portraits are presented in three sections: ex- The first section also introduces a second it comes to their views of wolves. When periences of the biologist, stories of conflict, theme of the collection – the dedication of they started their wolf research project in and chronicles of resilience. these biologists and the risks they take to 1998 these researchers believed good data Vucetich’s essay stimulates in several ways. study wolves. Lu Carbyn spent more than and solid information would resolve most He describes life as a hierarchy made up a decade studying wolves in Wood Buffalo wolf-human conflicts in the countryside. It of genes, organisms, populations, and eco- National Park – as a private citizen – after hasn’t. Poaching looms as a constant threat systems. Pick a point on the continuum of the federal government pulled the plug on to Ulrik, his mates, and the health of wolf human history. Compare it with another the wolf/bison project he was part of. The packs in Sweden and Norway. and you may find very different conclusions reader’s reward for his dedication is a grip- If conflicts with our species’ interests about what the proper relationship should ping, heart-wrenching account of a wolf/bi- weren’t a serious enough problem for wolves be between the hierarchy’s myriad elements. son encounter. Diane Boyd’s efforts to rescue to contend with their species faces another, He’s concerned that our new-found moral Sage, a massive gray wolf with a home range subtler, threat – hybridization. Two chapters consideration for other species and ecosys- stretching from northern Montana to south- focus on wolves in and around Ontario’s Al- tems, a step forward, comes at the expense eastern B.C. and southwestern Alberta, em- gonguin Provincial Park. As in many aspects of individuals. Individual cowbirds, barred phatically punctuate this dedication. What of wolf ecology human intervention looms owls, or wolves are killed in order to protect term other than dedicated better describes large when it comes to understanding the other species. a biologist who would spend a cold winter’s threat hybridization poses. Our changes Vucetich and the other contributors to night in the bush (New Year’s Eve at that) to the landscape there allowed coyotes to Wild Wolves We Have Known want readers frantically searching for Sage and then, once move into areas previously the preserve of to appreciate the lives of wolves from the he was found, trying to extricate the wolf wolves. The stories of the Axe Lake Female canid’s perspective. They hope their stories from the illegal trap set to kill him. 49-09, the eastern wolf/coyote hybrid that will generate empathy for wolves and from Conflict is the theme of the collection’s sec- so captivated John Benson, and the Vireo empathy we will develop an ethic of care for ond section. Ellen Heidecker’s story about wolf that John and Mary Theberge followed this fellow member of life’s hierarchy. Tell- the disappearance of the Durango pack, in and around Algonguin open a window ing the stories of others, wolves in this case, Mexican wolves reintroduced into south- onto this dimension of canid evolution. If will help us live more sustainably, meet our western New Mexico, is a classic tale of the humans have facilitated hybridization what, needs without sacrificing those of others. legitimate problems wolf reintroduction if anything, should wildlife and public lands This book isn’t for you if you don’t agree may pose to established ranching commu- managers do about it? with or won’t consider these premises. nities. It’s also a classic tale of prejudice and Resilience sometimes will be what we dis- This short review cannot do justice to the misconception, attitudes that exaggerate cover on the other side of the conflict coin. many insights you’ll find in this book. The threats from wolves and cripple efforts to The book’s concluding section takes the first section introduces the reader to one of try to carve out a space for wolves on the reader from Romania to the high Arctic, from the collection’s themes – the value of study- landscape. the steppes of Spain to the Alligator River ing individual wolves over time. Studying Conflicts between wolves and hunting also National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, individual wolves was critically import- figure here. This has been an especially con- and places in between. In these stories, par- ant to restoring northern Rocky Mountain tentious issue in prime elk hunting locations ticularly the accounts of Spain’s Ernesto and wolves in Yellowstone National Park. In bordering Yellowstone National Park. The Romania’s Timish, we see how wolves have the Yukon, the Blow River Female 3410 Yellowstone Wolf Project reported in 2010 adapted and survived in decidedly unfriend- offered researchers key information on the that, since wolves were reintroduced into ly agricultural and urban settings. tundra wolf/caribou relationship. The Por- the national park, the northern range elk The story of Big Al in northern Wisconsin cupine Caribou Management Board used population plummeted by roughly 50 per- draws our attention to the fact that wolves that knowledge wisely in 2009 to save the cent. Wolves are one factor responsible for must develop resilience to more subtle

28 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | DEPARTMENTS threats – diseases courtesy of domestic dogs. Isle Royale wolf population would not have Earth. The essays in Wild Wolves We Have Dave Mech’s chapter about Brutus, the bold received a vital injection of genetic diversity. Known offer an important contribution to Arctic wolf, introduces the reader to another Mike Phillips’ story about 344F in North developing that ethic and I hope it will find a dimension of resilience. For Brutus, resil- Carolina is a portal into the world of wolf place on your bookshelf – not least because ience to human intervention isn’t necessary recovery. What is so heartening about this the proceeds from the book’s sales will sup- – the Arctic wolves of Ellesmere Island so young red wolf’s story is the hope it offers port the educational activities of the Interna- rarely see humans that they are essentially to programs attempting to take species that tional Wolf Center (www.wolf.org). unafraid of their research guardians. But the only have existed in captivity and restoring I’ll leave the last words or thought to con- harsh climate of the high Arctic is just as them in the wild. Seventeen years after the sider to a quote Diane Boyd, the writer of challenging to survival and demands a dif- restoration program began the wild popu- Sage’s story, takes from the evolutionary bi- ferent kind of resilience. Rolf Peterson’s story lation of red wolves in northeastern North ologist Stephen Jay Gould: “We cannot win about the Old Gray Guy of Isle Royale points Carolina now is estimated to be between 90 this battle to save species and environments out how important happenstance may be to and 110 individuals. without forging an emotional bond be- the health and resiliency of wolf popula- If you’re still reading this review I’m betting tween ourselves and nature as well – for we tions. Had M93 not made a fifteen-mile trip you accept or at least are willing to consid- will not fight to save what we do not love.” across the ice of Lake Superior from Canada er John Vucetich’s premises about the ethic to Isle Royale National Park in Michigan the of care we owe our fellow travelers on our

Pamela Copeland - Featured Artist

Whaleback in Spring, Pastel: 11 by 22 inches River’s Edge, Acrylic: 12 by 26 inches PHOTO: © P. COPELAND PHOTO: © P. COPELAND

Storm Drama, Pastel: 12 by 16 inches Quiet Reflections, Pastel: 14 by 19 inches PHOTO: © P. COPELAND PHOTO: © P. COPELAND

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | DEPARTMENTS 29 In Memoriam

Steve Dixon – October 25, 1917 – May 21, 2014

Story teller, loving husband and father, When Steve was 85 Shirley Bray and I were I know Helen will miss Steve dearly and conservationist and outdoorsman, hard- privileged to go on a aerial tour with him. we wish she will find comfort in her warm working farmer, skilled pilot and so much Steve flew us west towards Peter Lougheed memories of their lives together, knowing more describes the friend we lost in May. Provincial Park and then south over the that Alberta is a better place from their time Steve Dixon was forward thinking. He had foothills to the Castle. He showed us how together. Active until his last year, Steve en- a vision of a society that cared about the much things had changed and the new scars joyed a visit and a chance to talk and tell land, about wildlife and water and about our appetite for timber and petroleum had his stores. Story telling is a lost art for many all who depend on a healthy environment. left on the land. He delighted in seeing rich, but Steve could capture the moment and Few of us realize that Steve, a founding healthy landscapes from the air and wished inspire you as he told of his adventures. He member of AWA, was vital to the work and there were more of them to see. was a man who lived his life to the full – a success of AWA in its early years. Few have Steve and Helen, his soulmate and amaz- role model and a key founder of the Asso- heard the stories of Steve leaving early in ing wife of 74 years were always activists ciation we all feel such pride in today. We the morning to fly to Edmonton to meet and engaged in saving and restoring what will greatly miss him and can only hope we with government ministers and fly back to was precious. They led by example and if can do justice to his vision as we work on his farm near Brant to take care of his day that meant flying somewhere to deliver the behalf of the wild Alberta Steve cherished. job by the afternoon. He gave generously message they didn’t’ hesitate for a moment. Christyann Olson of himself and we, and the lands we care As a couple they enjoyed many sunrises Executive Director about, are better for it. and sunsets together and their love for each other always shone on their faces.

One of Steve’s favourite photos – not only because of where he was and the time it offered him to reflect and renew, but because of who he had along with him. As I remember the story Mike Dougherty was someone Steve introduced to the wilds and the spiritual and physical renewal that comes from climbing a slope and sustaining yourself in Alberta’s wild spaces. PHOTO: © M. DOUGHERTY

30 WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | DEPARTMENTS Summer Events AWA Kids Day Camp – NEW THIS SUMMER!!! Week 1: Monday, August 11 – Friday, August 15 Week 2: Monday, August 18 – Friday, August 22 9:00am – 5:00pm If you are between the ages of 6 and 11, become a little wilderness defender at AWA’s Kids Day Camp! Action packed days will include fun activities, games, crafts, special guests, field trips and more. Get outdoors. Get in nature. Have fun. Make friends. Learn naturally. Stay tuned for more information on our website coming soon.

Summer Hikes Program

Ya-Ha-Tinda Castle Backpack Trip Saturday, July 12, 2014 August 24 – August 26, 2014 Join leader William Davies to explore an inspiring region Join leader Reg Ernst and spend two days and nights of prairie and parkland surrounded by mountain peaks. exploring southern Alberta’s Castle River region. You must supply your own camping gear and food. Dry Island Wednesday, July 16, 2014 Fall in the Whaleback Explore the wonders of Alberta’s Red Deer River valley Saturday, September 27, 2014 with leaders Rob and Tjarda Barrett. Climb to the top Softened by fall colours, both the montane of the “dry island”, an untouched remnant of natural environment and Bob Blaxley will impress you with fescue grasslands. their one-of-a-kind attributes.

Great Divide Trail in the Beehive Rumsey Natural Area Tuesday, July 22, 2014 Saturday, October 4, 2014 Come along with leader Brad Vaillancourt to explore Hike with leader Paul Sutherland along this beautiful subalpine and alpine wilderness beauty, the world of rolling knob and kettle terrain, rough fescue and bighorns, pikas, marmots, and golden eagles. other grasses.

Medicine Wheel Bus Tour For more information and registration: www. Tuesday, August 5, 2014 albertawilderness.ca/events or 1-866-313-0713 Hop on our bus with leader Jay Bartsch for a day of touring around the northern grasslands where natural Pre-registration is required and human history abounds. for all hikes and tours.

Sage Creek Saturday, August 9, 2014 Enjoy the big sky landscape and discover the many hidden wonders of Alberta’s grasslands with leader Lorne Fitch.

WLA | June/July 2014 | Vol. 22, No. 3 | EVENTS 31 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to:

Alberta Wilderness Association Box 6398, Station D Calgary, Alberta T2P 2E1 [email protected]

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40065626 ISSN 485535