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 In Memoriam 13 Conservation Corner: 30 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 him- self 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 vis- tas, 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.