The Banff-Bow Valley: Environmental Conflict, Wildlife Management and Movement
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THE BANFF-BOW VALLEY: ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT, WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND MOVEMENT by LAURIE DICKMEYER B.A., Valparaiso University, 2007 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Geography) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2009 © Laurie Dickmeyer, 2009 ABSTRACT The Banff-Bow Valley has been a site of environmental conflict since the creation of Banff National Park (BNP) in 1887. The study of national parks reveals what and how people conceive of nature. Wildlife management also reveals how people have thought about nonhumans throughout the history of the park. Initially, BNP was viewed as a health spa and in economic terms. This view expanded to include an appreciation for scenery and wild animals, which were considered “game” or “noxious” and “pests.” Science, attitudes and perceptions influenced management practices, and beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, ecological thinking gained prominence. At the same time, the environment and acceptable human use and development of the landscape became contentious issues. Parks Canada attempted to include public participation processes in their management planning but were mostly met with criticism. In 1994, conflicts over the doubling of the Trans Canada Highway (TCH) and threats to the park’s World Heritage status led the federal government to inaugurate the Banff-Bow Valley Study (BBVS), which was to assess, independently of Parks Canada, the state of the valley and provide management recommendations. The two-year, $2 million study determined that “ecological integrity” was being threatened by heavy human use. The study’s Task Force provided approximately 500 specific recommendations. This work describes the BBVS process, its public reception and Park Canada’s reaction to the Task Force’s findings. In conclusion, the topic of wildlife movement and corridors is explored further. This work asks how humans should live with wildlife in BNP, especially since some of these nonhuman animals are predators. Science cannot provide the answer to this question to make management decisions. Rather, we look to thinking on nonhuman movement in the social sciences, which point to a more flexible and respectful vision of human and nonhuman coexistence. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations.............................................................................................................. v Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Banff: A History of Development, a History of Environmental Conflict—from the Creation of Banff National Park to the 1990s ....................................................................... 14 Chapter 3: The Banff-Bow Valley Study—“At the Crossroads” .......................................... 47 Chapter 4: The Aftermath—Public Perception and Government (Re)action .......................... 76 Chapter 5: Conclusion—Beyond Banff: The Concept of Ecological Integrity and Wildlife Movement Corridors ............................................................................................................ 99 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 128 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Map of Banff National Park ............................................................................... 10 Figure 2.1: Elk graze Near the Canadian Pacific Railway Line ............................................. 19 Figure 2.2: Banff Springs Hotel and Bow Falls .................................................................... 21 Figure 2.3: Banff Park Museum Interior ............................................................................... 34 Figure 3.1: The Trans Canada Highway near Canmore, AB ................................................. 49 Figure 3.2: View of the Bow River from Sulphur Mountain ................................................. 50 Figure 3.3: Banff Avenue ..................................................................................................... 51 Figure 3.4: Banff-Bow Valley Study Process Phases ............................................................ 55 Figure 3.5: Editorial Cartoon: “Trans-Canada Highway Twinning Given Go Ahead...” ....... 58 Figure 3.5: The Banff-Bow Valley Study Round Table [Diagram] ....................................... 62 Figure 4.1: Editorial Cartoon: “Ottawa Valley Study” .......................................................... 78 Figure 5.1: Rocky Mountain Sheep Feed on a Mountain, a Highway in the Background ...... 99 Figure 5.2: A Wildlife Overpass in Banff National Park ..................................................... 104 Figure 5.3: A Wildlife Underpass in Banff National Park ................................................... 105 Figure 5.4: Elk Graze Behind Fencing along the Trans Canada Highway ........................... 105 Figure 5.5: Rest Stop Display about Wildlife Overpasses ................................................... 110 Figure 5.6: Parks Canada Wildlife Corridor Sign ................................................................ 112 Figure 5.7: Sign Telling the Public not to Feed Rocky Mountain Sheep ............................. 119 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AMPPE Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment AWA Alberta Wilderness Association BBVS Banff Bow Valley Study BCEAG Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group BNP Banff National Park CEA Cumulative Effects Assessment CEAA Canadian Environmental Assessment Act CORE Commission on Resources and Environment CPAWS Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society CPR Canadian Pacific Railway EOP Ecological Outlooks Project IPS Integrated Problem Solving IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature NPPAC National and Provincial Parks Association OCA Outlying Commercial Accomodation PART Preserving the Access, Recreation, and Tradition of the Bow Valley Parkway TCH Trans Canada Highway UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Y2Y Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank first of all my supervisor, Matthew Evenden, who always provided wise and patient advice, good feedback on my work, and always in a prompt and timely fashion. I also appreciate the guidance and knowledge of professors with whom I took courses, worked and interacted: Juanita Sundberg, Trevor Barnes, Jim Glassman, Terre Satterfield, Philippe Le Billon, David Ley, Graeme Wynn, and Sally Hermansen. My fellow graduate students, especially my fellow Master’s students, Rosemary-Claire Collard, Justin Tse, Sarah Brown, Tammy Elliot, Melissa Ewan, James Hudson and Eileen Jones, have been a source of support, information, and inspiration. I would also like to acknowledge the UBC Department of Geography for its support financially and otherwise. I would also like to thank NiCHE’s 1 Canadian water history project, which I served as a research assistant. Thanks also go to interviewees, who kindly volunteered their time to speak with me about their experiences and referred me to sources and people who could be of help. They were invaluable for the development of this project. The archivists at the Whyte Archives in the Town of Banff were indispensable for this project. Cathy Hourigan, the librarian of the Warden Office, called attention to a plethora of reports, books, and articles concerning the Banff-Bow Valley study, the Trans-Canada Highway, and wildlife management in Banff National Park, and went out of her way to provide assistance in finding further materials. I would also like to thank the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative for letting me peruse their library of materials in Canmore, Alberta, and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) in Calgary, Alberta. I am grateful to Liza Piper, Zac Robinson, Ian MacLaren, and the participating graduate students from the University of Alberta for organizing the 2009 Banff National Park Field Trip. 1 Network in Canadian History & Environment/Nouvelle initiative en histoire de l’environnement vi Chapter 1: Introduction The Town of Banff is the largest townsite inside the borders of a North American park (Cornwell 2004:166). Banff National Park is one of two national parks in North America with a major transportation corridor running through it. 1 In March 1994, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced a study to be made independently of Parks Canada examining the state of the Banff-Bow River Valley and make recommendations on its management. The Banff-Bow Valley Study (BBVS) was to last two years, have generous funding, and consider the ecological, economic and social aspects of life in Banff National Park (BNP). A study of this sort was unprecedented for a North American national park and was to have impacts both immediately within the bounds of the park and beyond. Why