| When Karsten Heuer first set out to hike from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to Watson Lake in the Yukon, he was in search of answers.
The wildlife biologist wanted to test an initiative to create wildlife corridors stretching along the Rocky Mountains from the south to the north and linking existing parks and protected areas – the plan looked great on paper, but would it actually work on the ground?
"I was pretty skeptical over whether it was just a pie in the sky idea or not," says Heuer, who will read at the Banff Mountain Book Festival Awards on October 31.
What he learned on the 18-month, 3,400-kilometre quest went far beyond his initial goal.
Heuer first became interested in wildlife movement after the signal for a wolf named Pluie he was helping to monitor in the Kananaskis Valley went missing. Eventually, her signal was picked up in the northern United States. Over the next 18 months, the wolf travelled thousands of kilometres, crisis-crossing parts of Montana, Idaho, Alberta and British Columbia, covering an area equivalent to the size of 150 Peter Lougheed Provincial Parks.
Heuer knew that wolves weren’t the only animals that moved beyond the isolated boundaries of parks and wildlife areas, and the experience reinforced his belief that a larger perspective encompassing a greater area is sorely needed.
"Over the past 20 years, there has been evidence that even a big park like Banff is maybe one-twentieth of the size that you need," he says.
"Fortunately, the border of Banff still is a bit permeable.... If those links weren’t there, we’d be in trouble."
He wasn’t the only one with that thought – other conservationists were talking about the same issue, and Heuer found out about the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) at a presentation in Banff.
The plan being proposed was ambitious, and would link protected areas with wildlife corridors, providing animals with the space they require to roam and survive. Armed with more than 200 maps and accompanied by his trusty dog Webster and occasional human companions, Heuer walked, canoed and cross-country skied his way from one end to the other to find out if it was feasible.
He documents the journey in a new book, Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzly Bears’ Trail, which is filled with details about his adventures – the days spent hiking with the former girlfriend he planned the trip with before their relationship ended, seeking shelter in mountain storms, and sharing the habitat with wild animals.
Heuer says he laughed the first time someone in the media referred to his hike as "walking in the steps of the grizzly," but that description proved more accurate than he anticipated – his bear encounters were numerous and often dangerous.
Heuer also encountered people who supported his vision and people who didn’t. He found that one of the biggest challenges was educating people about the project, which he tried to do through media interviews and presentations in towns along the route.
In the end, Heuer found that Y2Y isn’t only possible, it’s necessary. He explains that there is still a chance to ensure the survival of animals such as the grizzly and wolf before poor land use practices and encroaching development stop them in their tracks.
"Pretty soon you’ve reached a threshold," he says. "Next thing you know, you have a cul-de-sac where you had a corridor."
The book provides several examples of problem areas and threatened habitat, many of which are in Alberta – such as the proposed five-acre residential development (or "ranchettes") at the mouth of Waterton Park, and the damage caused by extensive logging and mining in the Crowsnest area. But one of the most alarming is in the Banff and Canmore region.
"It’s the most developed area in the world where grizzlies still exist," he adds.
And while some may use that as an indication that efforts to protect wildlife are working, Heuer says the fact may be that Canmore is teetering on the brink – if it’s developed any further, the bears won’t be able to survive. And while overpasses and underpasses help alleviate the situation, they’re not a solution.
Further west, in Banff, the focus has become decidedly commercial, with high-end shops and retail chains lining the streets – Heuer laments that fact that the only wilderness experience some tourists will get is the view of Castle Mountain from Banff Avenue.
"National parks and wilderness reserves are meant to be the areas where wildlife can flourish and prosper.... If that’s their purpose – and that is their ultimate purpose – you have to ask, what are appropriate uses?"
However, he adds that as long as the animals are still there, we still have a chance to ensure their survival. Heuer is also quick to point out that nobody is proposing banning recreational use of the areas or shutting down all logging and oil operations, but there would have to limits, such as a maximum road density.
"We’re talking about trying to strike a balance and making a plan for the future," he says. "Of all the conservation proposals that are out there, I think (Y2Y) is a very balanced one."
The journey didn’t end with the hike. The initiative has the support of the U.S. and Canadian National Parks Services and federal governments, as well as 200 organizations in both countries. There are currently seven staff members at three offices, including one in Canmore, working on the project. The Y2Y corridor mapping is expected to be completed in one-and-a-half years.
Personally, Heuer says he better understands how, for animals like Pluie, home can have no boundaries and travelling thousands of kilometres can be just a natural part of life.
"Having done it myself, I realize it wasn’t that extraordinary – it’s just a long walk. I had expanded my home range, too." |
