Podcasts about karsten heuer

Bison are making a comeback in their traditional territory, thanks to a pilot project reintroducing them into the mountain ranges of Banff National Park. We speak with Karsten Heuer, the director of that program.

Karsten Heuer and his wife Leanne set off on a 5-month, 1000-mile journey to walk in the footprints of the Porcupine Caribou herd, from Canada to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and back. It is one of the 21st century's most significant adventures, as captured in Karsten Heuer's book, "Being Caribou." Come along to learn what "Being Caribou" is all about.

"You're going to learn everything you'll learn about caribou in the first week, because that's how long it's going to take them to leave you behind." Migrating with a caribou herd and walking 3200 km from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to Canada's Yukon are just some of the adventures Karsten Heuer has been on and that we can only dream about. He shared his stories with us and what he learned along the way. Learn more about Nature Needs Half at natureneedshalf.org. Follow Nature Needs Half on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. If you have a comment, question, or idea for the show please email us at podcast@natureneedshalf.org. This episode was written and produced by Courtney Burk and Ruth Midgley and edited by Josh Brouwers. Special thanks to everyone at the WILD Foundation for their support. More about Karsten and his wife Leanne's adventures: http://www.beingcaribou.com/ Support the show (https://www.wild.org/support/natureneedshalf/)

Edward Abbey Quote I stumbled upon a quotation recently from the great ecological activist Edward Abbey. It was shared on Facebook by Kevin Van Tighem, a former Banff National Park Superintendent. He was talking about how tiring it can be to be a public advocate for nature and ecology. Abbey was highly regarded as one of the great authors on conservation and was a militant protector of wild spaces. He also strongly opposed what he called: "industrial tourism", something the mountain west is suffering at the moment. One of Van Tighem's Facebook followers offered this gem.  “One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; you will outlive the bastards.” ― Edward Abbey I think we can all take heart in these words. Being an advocate is hard. Sometimes we need to say things that people don't want to hear, but our wild places are at risk at the moment; risk of being loved to death by the very people that espouse their appreciation for the wilderness. We all need to be vigilant and continue to fight for the rights of wilderness, watersheds, and the importance of keeping the wild in wildlife…but as Abbey so eloquently states: "ramble out yonder and explore the forests" and "breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air." Bison Release Plans Over the past year, I've spoken at length about the reintroduction of wild bison into Banff National Park. Back in Episode 27,  I cheered when the first bison born in the park in 130 years first showed its face on Earth Day of 2017. I looked at the fascination of biologists when the first grizzly tracks were found circling the enclosure and in the same episode, investigated how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone in 1995 changed the ecology of the regions wolf population. Once again, in Banff, we have a population of both grizzly bears and wolves that have never encountered a wild bison. This gives biologists an incredible opportunity to study the interactions between these massive ungulates and two apex predators as they interact and evolve over time. The lives of the newly established bison population is set to change this June when their small pens are opened up to a much larger territory stretching over 1,200 sq km of Banff National Park. For the first time, they'll find themselves on the menu. They'll also have an opportunity to wander over a much larger landscape, and in doing so, make decisions that biologists cannot predict using the very best computer models. The bison will no longer be wooed by daily deliveries of food and water by Parks Canada staff. They'll explore a much larger landscape and make decisions based on their own whims. Will they like their new home? Parks Canada selected their release area very carefully. The Panther Valley is very different from many areas of Banff National Park. It is less steep and more rolling and has the potential to support much more grassland. This is the moment where Parks Canada staff will begin to see whether the success or failure of their reintroduction will be one of smooth integration or one of the difficult challenges. Bison are animals of open landscapes and not artificial boundaries. Their 1,200 sq km release zone would use both landscape and fences to try to keep them contentedly contained. But in the end, the bison will decide their fate. The landscape is much more challenging than it was when they ruled the plains and wandered the mountain valleys. When Park staff first reintroduced the bison, the hope is that by bringing pregnant females, that they would bond with the Panther Valley region. They were kept in a smaller enclosure so, as the females give birth, they will bond to the landscape. In June, we'll get the first indication of the success of that bonding. By that time, many of the females will have added a second calve to the mix. When the gate is opened, what will they do? On the short term, it's likely they'll make the most of their new territory. Prior to the original release, Parks Canada did a prescribed burn, much like first nations did for generations, to promote the growth of grasses to sustain the herd once it is released. Karsten Heuer, the Parks Canada biologist in charge of the reintroduction will be constantly re-evaluating his mental math. Will they stay faithful to the landscape, or will they eventually turn east towards the plains where their future is far more uncertain? Not everybody was in favour of this reintroduction. People like Heuer are hoping that the bison take advantage of the ecological niche they are offering in Banff and avoid the temptation to wander eastward towards a landscape that is now strewn with hazards for bison. Once they leave the park, even their status is uncertain. They aren't even legally considered "wildlife" once they leave the park boundary. At this moment, the provincial government doesn't consider them to be wildlife, but rather livestock. Officially, the plains bison, known by its Latin moniker Bison bison bison, is considered to be extirpated, or locally extinct. It has been so long since bison have been "wild" in Alberta that the legislation hasn't kept pace with the conservation. Any bison wandering out of the park, at this point, are not considered to have any official legal status. It's important that Banff National Park's bison are given official recognition for what they are…a newly established, wild population of an animal that has been missing from the landscape since shortly after the first cow arrived n Alberta. Cattle and the fences that contain them have only been a part of the Alberta landscape since 1882 while bison were the dominant prairie herbivore for more than 10,000 years. However, the politics of the situation are never that simple. If they were, the members of Alberta's Treaty 7 would have a much better deal than they do today. In the real world, the land dominated by wealthy special interests and glacial political landscapes, the bison remain a relict; an animal lost in time that by some magic, may reappear without status or recognition that would ensure its protection. In order to formally protect the bison outside of Banff National Park, it would need an update on its status according to the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee or ESCC. Then there is also the political hot potato that once recognized, then the provincial government is legally mandated to provide a management and recovery plan. They would also have to extend the hand during these discussions to the many first nations of the plains for whom bison represented life for thousands of years. We still don't know whether bison were simply seasonal visitors or permanent residents of the foothills and eastern slopes of the Rockies. To try to answer this question, biologists turned to a technique called isotope analysis. Like many biological tests, it works on the assumption that we are what we eat. Bison that spend their entire lives feeding on prairie grasslands, would have a different isotope measurement in their bones than home-grown mountain bison. Based on tests of 6 bison skeletons found in the Panther Valley area of Banff have led Parks biologists like Karsten Heuer to conclude that for some bison, the mountains were their year-round home. The bison currently waiting for the gate to open in Banff are not those bison. They are a new population, a population that still has to find its connection with the landscape. Parks can steer them with fences and natural barriers, but in the end, it will be the bison who decide where they decide to call home, and up to the province to make sure they are protected when they wander outside of the park borders. Huge scale reintroductions like this one are rare, simply because the implications are huge, the media attention is incessant, and the odds of success are not 100%. I'm not a bettin' man but I'm sure rooting for the bison of Banff. Let's wish them all a great deal of luck, but more importantly, fidelity to this carefully chosen mountain landscape. In time, the area they are free to wander will continue to increase as their population hopefully swells. If you're listening to this, keep the pressure on our provincial government to block any acts that would limit the ability of bison to continue to thrive in the Panther Valley and beyond. Woodpecker Headaches In the dead of winter, many of the iconic birds of the mountain west are basking in warmer climes either to the south or in the case of birds like harlequin ducks and some bald eagles, to the west coast where there are more winter options for food. Left behind to entertain us are the many members of the jay family like the gray, blue, and Steller's jay, Black-billed Magpie, and Raven. Add to the jays, several species of chickadees, the red-breasted nuthatch, and most of our woodpeckers. The loud tapping sound of woodpeckers makes them easy to find. In the Canadian Rockies, look for the Red-naped Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, and my personal favourite, the Pileated Woodpecker. The pileated is special for a number of reasons. First, it is by far, the largest woodpecker in the Rockies, and it has a fondness for the base of trees as opposed to places higher in the forest canopy. Perhaps my favourite aspect though is it's connection to Woody the Woodpecker. That zany cartoon character was a favourite when I was a kid and Woody was largely based on the pileated woodpecker. Woodpeckers are perfectly designed for pecking trees and catching insects hiding in the bark and wood. Every component of their physiology is focussed on the task of perching on the sides of trees, pecking through the bark and surface wood, and feeding on insects Woodpeckers feet are called zygodactyl, with two toes facing forward and two back. It is a unique adaptation for birds that perch along the sides of trees, but also includes some owls and even osprey. The same claw pattern that makes it easy to clasp the sides of tree trunks, makes it easy for osprey to clasp slippery trout. The next time you see a woodpecker take a look at their toes. Their two up and two down arrangement of toes is different from the vast majority of birds which are Ansiodactyl, with three toes facing forward and one back. Now good feet are only the first of many adaptations that woodpeckers boast. Their tails are also stiffened in order to provide a third point of contact with the tree. It helps to stabilize the bird so that it can have maximum leverage for pecking the tree. Next, we have a chisel-shaped beak. Just like a carpenter will choose the perfect chisel for the piece of wood they are working, the beaks of woodpeckers are uniquely designed for the type of feeding that they do. The beaks are extremely strong and the cells at the tip are constantly replaced so the beaks don’t get worn down as the bird ages. Once we look at the beaks, we also have to examine the tongues. Woodpeckers eat insects that have bored into trees. Once their beak has given them access, it's the work of the tongue to reach in and lap up these tasty morsels. There are two main adaptations that help them accomplish this. They have a lengthened hyoid apparatus. I know…a lengthened what? They have a collection of muscle, cartilage and bones that help to extend the length of their tongue so they can reach into the crevices of the tree and, with its sticky and barbed tip, slurp out the insects. In the case of the Pileated Woodpecker, its main food is carpenter ants, and it will make large rectangular holes near the bases of trees that have already been infested or killed by these ants. In between feasting on ants, they also munch on berries, other insects and larvae. Now any carpenter will tell you that before you plug in your circular or table saw, you need reliable eye protection. It's important to avoid the risk of a sliver of wood-damaging your eyesight. Woodpeckers have also evolved a similar type of eye protection - a nictitating membrane. This is essentially a second, transparent eyelid. It sweeps across the eye from one side to the other both cleansing the eye while at the same time protecting it. Now we get to the final challenge woodpeckers need to contend with - brain damage. Their livelihood requires them to constantly bang their beaks against hard surfaces in order to excavate the insects they need to survive. Clearly, constant head-banging would be something that any sports medicine doctor would be concerned with, in particular, the danger of concussions. Birds like Pileated Woodpeckers can strike a tree more than 10 times a second with a force of 1,200 g each time, and up to 12,000 times in a single day. Like Sydney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, head traumas usually come with concussions, and eventually brain damage. How do Pileated Woodpeckers avoid similar maladies with their incessant headbanging? Woodpeckers have evolved to withstand these constant impacts. Concussions result from shaking of the brain, usually from hard impacts. Woodpeckers have learned to cushion the brain by protecting it with thick, spongy bone. In addition, there are extensive networks of tiny bones that form a kind of woven mesh to give the brain added support. The hyoid bones, which I mentioned earlier, add an extra layer of protection. They are a series of 5 bones that make up the bones of the tongue along with the connective tissue, cartilage, muscles, and skin of the tongue. It anchors the tongue and helps it extend out to collect insects. In woodpeckers though, the hyoid bone also helps to cushion the brain. In many woodpeckers, the hyoid structure, and therefore the tongue, wraps around the skull towards the rear, and even around the eye socket. This allows the tongue to reach in and collect insects exposed by the tapping. When the tongue extends out during tapping, the hyoid structure compresses around the brain and helps further protect the brain from jarring movements. Even the beak plays a role in protecting it from the impact. The upper beak is longer and softer than the lower beak. This unevenness helps to divert stress towards the lower beak and away from the brain. Earlier I mentioned the nictitating membrane that covers the woodpeckers eyes during tapping, but it also helps to keep the eyes inside the skull. The high impact of constant tapping could lead to a tearing of the retina, or in extreme cases, cause the eyes to pop right out of the skull. The grand total of all these adaptations means that only about .3% of the impact is absorbed by the head and brain. That .3% can cause the brain to heat up though, but by tapping in short bursts, woodpeckers give their noggins time to cool down between tapping sessions. There is some recent evidence that woodpeckers may not escape completely unscathed in terms of brain injury from their incessant headbanging. A newly published study by George Farah, et al looked at the preserved brains of 10 woodpeckers to look for evidence of brain injury. In order to examine the impacts of tapping on woodpecker brains, it's important to understand what doctors look for in human brains when trying to diagnose traumatic brain injuries. Until this recent study, there had only been a single investigation into woodpecker brains. The study looked at samples but didn't describe their microscopic results, yet they determined that woodpeckers don't experience any ill effects from tapping trees. This single study has been cited more than 100 times and has been used to model woodpeckers as the ideal template for the design of protective sports equipment and technology. The authors of this study felt that it was time to look more closely at this claim. They examined the brains of 10 woodpeckers as well as several red-winged blackbirds. The blackbirds, being non-tapping birds, were considered the control. Any results that were consistent between the two birds, could not be related to the tapping which is unique to woodpeckers. As they removed and sectioned the brains, they were looking at numerous characteristics. In human brains, the protein tau is often associated with other symptoms of brain injury, in particular, chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. That's a fancy term for people with progressive, degenerative brain disease associated with repeated brain trauma. In a study undertaken by Boston University, researchers found CTE in the brains of 110 of 111 retired NFL football players. The same traumas can be found in hockey, soccer, rugby, and other athletes where repeated head impacts are a regular part of the sport. The protein tau is usually associated with CTE and brain injuries, however, the exact relationship has not been fully explained. Unfortunately, CTE can only be diagnosed by examining microscopic sections of brain tissue in deceased individuals. In this study, the brains of woodpeckers and red-winged blackbirds were sectioned in the same way scientists would look at the brain of a football player. Microscope slides were stained with a Gallyas stain. This is a stain used to identify damage to neurons and brain tissue. In 8 of the 10 woodpecker brains, the Gallyas test showed positive results, while none of the blackbird brains showed any result. In addition, the staining appeared more prevalent in the front portion of the brains where the impact from tapping would be expected. Identifying the actual tau protein takes another step and requires more detailed investigation of the brain samples. Several of the brains were not in great physical condition, so they were only able to complete the test on three of the samples, and two of them tested positive for tau in the same areas of the brain that was highlighted by the earlier Gallyas test. None of the blackbird brains showed any signs of in either the Gallyas test or the test for tau. The combination of these two tests showed consistent results that identify proteins often related to brain injury only in the woodpecker brains Now, what does this mean? Are woodpeckers slowly cross-checking themselves into brain injuries? This study can't offer any definitive answers. This was a tiny, tiny study. In addition, there are many types of tau proteins, and each may have a different impact on the bird's welfare. There is even a possibility that the proteins actually help the bird rather than harm it. Tau proteins can also show up as a normal part of the ageing process. In this study, one of the woodpeckers was a juvenile and it showed the same distribution of tau proteins. If a juvenile exhibits this protein, it helps to disprove the potential that tau proteins are solely the result of age. Essentially what this study did was to support the idea that we really need to do more study. With only 10 birds in the sample, it's difficult to claim definitive results. One of the things I love about science is the simple fact that each study is merely a doorway to focus the research into new directions. Few studies are a conclusion, but rather a crossroads tantalizing scientists to move further along the highway of knowledge. As you wander the trails around the mountain west from now on, I want you to marvel at the at these truly unique birds. Every cell of their body is designed to help them focus on one thing, excavating insects from trees. With all this armour, woodpeckers are heavy set birds. They'll fly away, flapping their wings, and after a few strong beats, which helps them climb, they'll coast for a bit and their heavy bodies will drop. This gives them an undulating, up-and-down movement that is easy to spot long before you've identified a particular type of woodpecker. The mountain west contains a huge variety of woodpeckers so why not spend a bit of time with a field guide to help recognize a few of our local residents. And with that, it's time to wrap this episode up. Don’t' forget to hit that subscribe button on whatever podcast program you use to listen to podcasts. For an easy way to subscribe, simply visit www.MountainNaturePodcast.com and click the subscribe button on whatever device you normally use. It will detect the device and get you subscribed right away - so you never miss another episode. While you're there, check out the show notes for this episode at www.MountainNature.com/ep055. Here you'll find links to additional information as well as a comment section where you can share your thoughts or even your story ideas for future episodes. Remember that Ward Cameron Enterprises is your source for all things Rocky Mountains. Visit us at www.WardCameron.com. And with that, the sun's out and it's time to go snowshoeing. I'll talk to you next week.

This episode takes an in-depth look at the developments currently threatening to close off the last wildlife corridors moving through the Bow River Valley at Canmore. These developments include the Three Sisters and Smith Creek Developments, as well as the proposed development and gondola at Silvertip. http://traffic.libsyn.com/mountainnature/Ep024_Mountain_Nature_and_Culture_Podcast.mp3 Story 1 - Development Chokes off Wildlife Corridors Well, it's here - the moment that most Canmore locals have been dreading for decades - the day where we finally have to decide whether we want the Bow River Valley to have functional wildlife corridors or not. I first moved into Canmore in 1987 when there were only around 3,500 people that called this former coal mining town home. In 1988, Canmore hosted the Cross-country ski and Biathlon events for the Calgary Winter Olympic Games and suddenly, a billion people were introduced to this pristine mountain town. Since that time, the growth has been increasing exponentially. In 2016, the Canmore's official population was just shy of 14,000. Today, the town and province are faced with the task of deciding the future of three megadevelopments within the townsite. When these developments are completed, the population will swell to 34,000 in just a few years. Even more importantly though, these developments threaten to choke off the last few viable wildlife movement corridors in the Bow River Valley. This valley is significant on a continental level as part of the web of connecting corridors allowing wildlife to move through the entire Yellowstone to Yukon corridor. Towns like Canmore have the potential to pinch off these corridors, forcing wildlife onto steeper and steeper terrain and reducing the opportunities to safely move through the area. With developments currently planned for BOTH sides of the valley at the moment, protecting corridors becomes even more essential. Wildlife corridors only work if the animals using them feel safe and confident while they are traversing them. The longer the corridor, the wider it needs to be. Current guidelines specify a corridor of at least 450 m (1,500 feet) wide on a slope that does not exceed 25 degrees. Steep slopes make it more difficult for animals to travel and reduces the effectiveness of any corridor. However, hard and fast rules don't work in reality. Think about walking out of a shopping centre at midnight and having to walk to your car. If your car is in the middle of a well-lit parking lot with no obstacles blocking your view, you'll likely feel very confident. However, if your car is at the end of a long narrow alley obstructed by dumpsters, than you will likely have a very different feeling when it comes to walking towards your car. Wildlife corridors connect patches of habitat. The longer the corridor, the wider it needs to be. The corridor in Canmore is some 8km long. Previous studies recommended that a corridor that long should be at least 800 m wide. We also have to remember that we don't live on an island. Corridors are not just a pathway for animals to move, but routes through which vital genetic diversity also moves. When we talk about wildlife, connectivity is critical and animal movement simply doesn't happen if the corridor is too narrow, too busy or too steep. If we look at the history of grizzly bears over the past 150 years, they originally ranged from Mexico to the Yukon and Alaska, and eastward across much of Canada and the Northwest Territories. As more and more people settled the landscape, corridors got pinched off and disconnected populations became islands. In every case, those island populations eventually disappeared with one exception - Yellowstone. Today the map of grizzly bear populations also has a narrow peninsula and it runs right through the Bow River Valley. By not protecting the free movement of animals like grizzly bears, we risk helping to close another pinch point which could see many of the southern populations of grizzlies struggle to remain viable. This corridor is the very last to be negotiated through the Bow Valley. To the east and west, wildlife corridors are already protected within a variety of national and provincial parks. Much of the western portions of the valley already have established corridors. What remains to be defined are the eastern portions of the corridor through the Three Sisters and Smith Creek developments. Let's look at the challenges that wildlife must already negotiate as they approach this valley from the west. If you're grizzly 148 following the lower slopes of Mount Rundle and looking to head towards the Wind Valley or Skogan Pass, your first obstacle will be the labyrinth of trails that make up Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park. Depending on how busy the trails are, you may find yourself pushed up the slopes of Mount Rundle to bypass mountain bikers rapidly wending the twists and turns of the trail system. Riding these trails requires vigilance as bears also take advantage of these movement corridors. Mountain bikes move fast and quiet and there is always the risk of a close encounter. Once 148 bypasses the Nordic Centre, she hits her next roadblock - the Rundle Forebay. This linear canal completely blocks all movement east-west through the valley. 148's only option is to head towards Spray Lakes and eventually the wildlife bridge at the head of the valley. Originally, as part of the G8 legacy, the wildlife crossing was supposed to be much lower on the forebay but, as is often the case, the cost of bridging this wider section was considered too great. Instead, the current bridge sits less than a few metres from the bridge designed for hikers and mountain bikers. Once clear of the forebay, she passes Quarry Lake and the dog park with its huge numbers of off-leash dogs - many of which illegally venture beyond the boundaries of the off-leash area. Next up is the Peaks of Grassi subdivision. As a former resident of the Peaks, bears like 148 are constantly having to negotiate the many homes in this development. Finally, after passing that final house, 148 will enter the currently approved corridor. This should have been her final challenge on her journey towards Skogan Pass and the Wind Valley. Unfortunately, as we mentioned on episode 22, the wildlife corridor is crowded with extensive human use and high numbers of illegally off-leash dogs. Any agreements on corridors has to include increased enforcement of human use within designated corridors. These areas are already off-limits to human use but a lack of enforcement has led to more people than animals using the corridors - and unfortunately, many of those people have off leash dogs. There is also little in the way of signage to warn people that they are entering areas that are closed for wildlife usage. Any program to protect these corridors must start with extensive signage making it impossible to 'accidentally' find yourself in a closed area. Banff National Park has followed this route and it is very difficult to wander into a closed area without seeing a very clear sign indicating that entry is forbidden. Now back to bear 148…After running the gauntlet of people and dogs, she approaches the east end of the valley and her final hurdle. Bringing us to the current debate in terms of Three Sisters and Smith Creek. This is where she'll either be forced upslope to avoid even more development…or not. This is where she, along with wolves, cougars, wolverine, lynx, and bobcats will either make it through the valley…or not. Every obstacle to movement increases the likelihood of animals deciding that it is simply not worth the endless challenges to pass through. This is the point that we'll have closed the last corridor off and rendered the last 20 years of negotiations towards keeping the area viable moot. So let's take a closer look at the current proposals. The most pressing issue in terms of timeliness is the pending approval of Quantum Place Development's Stewart and Smith Creek proposals. There's only a very short time to make your voice heard on this issue. As I record this on April 10, 2016, there are less than 10 days to let your provincial and local politicians know that you stand for wildlife and that development must not come at the expense of working corridors. If you want to get a really great look at how development and wildlife corridors intersect, check out a video that I've linked to in the show notes. It's dated from 2013 and is hosted on the Yellowstone to Yukon website. It's narrated by Karsten Heuer who's one of the best-known conservationists in the valley. Most recently, he was in charge of the bison re-introduction program in Banff National Park. You can view the video below: https://vimeo.com/61105253 Because wildlife corridors have been a contentious issue in this valley for decades, there is a wealth of scientific research detailing the historic use of the valley by wildlife. Three Sisters would like you to think that wildlife use in the proposed corridor would be unaffected by their development and that their corridor would be equally effective to other proposals. By looking at the historic use of the valley by grizzly bears and wolves, it is clear that the preference of these animals is for flat, low elevation habitat. By overlaying grizzly and wolf movements from the 1990s and early 2000s on an aerial image of the valley, it's instantly evident that prior to development, wildlife definitely preferred areas that have since been made unavailable due to increased housing development. Historic studies show a great deal of use the currently unfinished golf course. While it was not built at the time, it shows a bias towards low elevation, flat portions of the valley. Currently, it is listed as a conservation easement, but truly should be part of the wildlife corridor. The proposed Smith Creek corridor shows almost no historic use by wolves or bears. In fact, all of the historic use was in areas that are now scheduled to be developed as part of the Smith Creek site 7 development. What does that mean for wildlife using the proposed corridor? Up you go. This Smith Creek corridor has lots of steep terrains that simply doesn't work as a corridor. In a 2010 report on wildlife movement through the valley, it was found that cougars spend 95% of their time on slopes less than 30°, wolves on slopes less than 21.3°, lynx 23.4° and deer 3.7°. It's obvious that animals look for slopes that don't exceed an average incline of 25°. If you look at an aerial photograph of the proposed corridor, and then overlay slopes in excess of 25°, then most of the corridor to the east of Smith Creek becomes completely unusable. It's simply too steep to be considered viable. There is also a fair amount of steep terrain impinging on the unfinished golf course which forces animals downslope towards the developed areas of the valley. If we agree that a corridor that is over 8 km long should be at least 800m wide, this would take the Smith Creek corridor almost right down to the Trans Canada Highway. When the Stewart and Smith Creek developments are completed, it will almost double the population of Canmore, adding another 10,000 residents to the census. Ironically, the same company that is currently assisting Quantum Place Developments to push through this development is also the same company that reported in 2002 that: "the original along-valley corridor design was based on a uniform width of 450m and was placed on slopes above the proposed development with little regard for potential pinch points". They also went on to say "The design is NOT recommended given our increased knowledge of wildlife movements and proper corridor design" In this same report, they came up with a compromise. Instead of an 800m corridor, they would settle on 635 meters plus a buffer of the unfinished golf course fairways. Ironically, this is very similar to the proposal that organizations like the Yellowstone to Yukon would like to see happen. Yellowstone to Yukon has proposed a true 450m corridor that would ensure that the corridor remains below 25°. Experts agree that it should be as wide as 850 to 1000m for a corridor of this length. The 450m corridor currently proposed by Three Sisters does not come close to a workable solution. Corridors also need to follow a fairly straight line because that's how animals travel. They may take detours and zig zag as they move, but having a straight corridor has been shown to be more effective. As it is, most of the proposed development already lies within the landscapes that wildlife prefers to be. Y2Y's proposed line would move the upper boundary of the corridor downslope to make sure there was a 450m corridor that remains in good terrain. When it comes to the south corridor, this is our last chance. There won't be any future opportunities to undo the decisions made in the valley today. Decisions we make here also affect wildlife populations both to the south and north - especially if we cut off the ability of key species to move freely. So what can you do? Visit the show notes for this episode for a list of ways you can directly engage with decision-makers before it is too late. I'll have links, email addresses and ways that you can make your voice heard at this critical time. Three sites that are very helpful include:  http://www.bowvalleyengage.com www.canmorecommons.com as well as a petition on change.org. Change.org Corridor Petition Most importantly, write a letter to: Roger Ramcharita, Executive Director, Environment and Parks South Saskatchewan Region. He is the final arbiter of the corridor design through the Three Sisters Development. His email address is: AEP.wildlifecorridor@gov.ab.ca cc: Cam Westhead, MLA, Banff - Cochrane: banff.cochrane@assembly.ab.ca cc: Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks: AEP.minister@gov.ab.ca In your letter, be firm in your desire to see a corridor no less than 450m wide on slopes less than 25 degrees.  This is NOT to be determined by the developer but by an independent assessment. While an 800-metre width would be better, there should be no area less than 450m and the current proposals allow too much steep terrain to be considered an effective corridor, especially in the area of the undeveloped golf course and the Smith Creek Corridor. This valley is significant on a continental scale as a key connecting corridor for the entire Yellowstone to Yukon ecosystem. We cannot afford to lose any threads in this interconnected corridor. Finally, ask for a full cumulative impact assessment that will take into consideration ALL of the proposed developments in the valley including Stewart and Smith Creek, Silvertip and Dead Man's Flats. Don't forget to share this with your social network. Urge your friends to reach out to the decision makers right away. The clock is ticking out. Next up…gondolas and gambling Story 2 – Silvertip Finally, let's look at the proposed development at Silvertip on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway. This single development would add 3,000 residential units to the community along with a 300,000 square foot conference centre, 1,300 additional hotel rooms, a casino and a gondola ascending to the old teahouse site on Mount Lady Macdonald. The development would also squeeze off one of the two principal wildlife corridors in the Bow Valley. This valley is already the most highly developed landscape where grizzlies are still able to survive. By adding a gondola that traverses the wildlife corridor within Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, we risk adding thousands of more visitors to this critical movement corridor. The developer would like you to believe that since the gondola will quietly ascend from high above the animals that it will have little impact. However, by looking at Sulphur Mountain Gondola in Banff National park, you can get a much clearer picture of what will likely take place here. Once the gondola is built, the number of trail users walking the trail is going to increase to numbers vastly larger than today. With a trail that takes you up to a gondola, you can easily descend down at the end of the hike. Sulphur Mountain Trail in Banff is a steady stream of ill-equipped walkers wearing flip-flops and trainers. Most of them don't have any water, a backpack with extra clothing or even bear spray. Do we really want to attract this brand of hiker to wander into an active wildlife corridor without the necessary safety equipment or the knowledge of how to stay safe in bear country? Vancouver's Grouse Grind is a classic example where ill-equipped hikers head onto a challenging trail resulting in rescues, searches and in some cases deaths. The biggest component of this development is its 300,000 square foot conference centre. To put this into a simple context, it's the equivalent size of combining both the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary AND the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton! Do we really need a facility of this size in Canmore? A few weeks ago, the developer, Guy Turcotte hosted a public open house to help locals better understand the development. During his presentation, he touted historic studies indicating that the wildlife corridors showed 'little' impact from the Silvertip development. To support his position, he quoted a study by biologist Paul Pacquette published more than 15 years ago. What he doesn't realize is that Paul Paquette, just this past summer, described the Bow Valley somewhat differently. In his words: “It’s a wildlife ghetto. People need to understand, the Bow Valley has two townsites that are growing, two highways, a corridor for high transmission power lines, dams, golf courses, ski hills … They’ve got all that in the valley, so you can imagine the responses for the wolves and wildlife – it’s a ghetto for them and they’re trying to survive in there.” This is not the voice of a biologist supporting development, or the developers approach to wildlife corridors. If you're going to invoke the word of a respected scientist, you might want to find out his current opinion. Turcotte also repeatedly stressed a few critical aspects of the development: First, he needs the casino and the gondola to provide a steady flow of cash to satisfy billion dollar investors. He also insisted that the entire development has to be built in a single stage in order to put an entire Whistler-style development on the market with little delay, again so he can maximize returns to investors. There are still some major flaws in his current plans. First, wildland parks prohibit developing facilities such as gondolas. He is hoping to take advantage of a small leasehold excluded from the park boundaries. This is the site of a long-abandoned helicopter teahouse, however the scale of his development would dramatically exceed its outer dimensions. He also needs permits for all of the towers and other structures within the park that would be necessary to support a gondola, and these would also violate the rules of a wildland park. We also need to take a province-wide look at this. Making an exception is this park creates a precedent that puts all the other 33 Wildland Provincial Parks at risk. Another casino in Alberta today is nothing exciting - it's just another casino. The province is crawling with them. He'll be competing with 24 other casinos in the province. It's a bit of fluff to tickle the wallets of investors From a conservation standpoint, the fact that the whole enchilada has to be developed in one step could just be his Achilles heel. If opponents to this development can delay any single aspect, then they can help derail the entire development. At the presentation, the room was full of people and not one of them seemed to be supporting the project. When you get a moment, take a drive up the Silvertip road. It's a narrow winding road not nearly built to handle the amount of traffic that would result from this scale of Rocky Mountain terraforming. I will definitely be putting pressure on Alberta Environment and Parks. If we can stop the gondola, we can help to stem the flow of cash and hopefully make a development like this far less attractive to investors. At the very least, it will dramatically reduce the human use in the existing corridor if there is not the siren song of a gondola calling tourists up the steep slopes of Mount Lady Macdonald. I hope that I never see the day that Silvertip has to rebrand itself after playing a role in forcing grizzly bears to abandon the valley. As a community, we need to join together to make sure that the valley we choose is one which we want our grandchildren to be proud to call home. It's time to draw a line and say enough is enough.

I was really pleased to record the presentations at the Buffalo Homecoming celebrations held on March 2, 2017 at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. The Eleanor Luxton Foundation and Bison Belong co-sponsored the event which was a gala evening with first nations blessings, dancing and drums - and some amazing stories. The return of plains bison to Banff National Park has been a long time coming - more than 130 years. Bison are not only a keystone species in the mountain national parks, but their absence has been reflected in the very ecosystems that the park was designed to protect. Ecosystems began to change immediately after the loss of bison, reflecting the absence of this key ecological component of the landscape. When biologists talk about ecological integrity, they are talking about preserving all the components of that ecosystem. For thousands of years, bison were one of the defining characteristics of most western landscapes. The sound of their thundering hooves could be heard for miles and they helped to define the landscape in which they lived. In the end, they were reduced to just 64 animals. Like a beaver can alter the landscape around it and benefit many other species, so do plains bison re-engineer the prairie and mountain landscape. Bison are aggressive grazers, helping keep trees from encroaching onto grasslands. At the same time they are also prodigious producers of, well buffalo apples. These patties feed massive numbers of insects which, in turn, support ever increasing numbers of insect eating birds. This reintroduction is about more than just ecology. It combines cultural, historical and ecological values. To members of the first nations of the eastern slopes and prairies of Canada and the U.S., bison were an integral part of their culture and lives, long before the coming of the white man. The west was home to many different tribes, many of which have long been traditional enemies. Despite local animosities, there was always one thing that bound them together - bison. In 2015, eleven different tribes signed a historic buffalo treaty. The signatories include Canada's Blackfoot Confederacy: Blood, Piikani, Siksika, and TsuuT’ina; and in Montana, the Blackfeet Nation, the Assiniboine and GrosVentre Tribes of Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck Indian Reservation, the Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Indian Reservation. Since this original treaty, the three nations of the Stoney Nakoda, the Samson Cree and 10 additional first nations groups from Saskatchewan have also joined in the signing. In episode 19, I shared a little information on the recent re-introduction of bison into Banff National Park. During this event, you'll hear the stories of the event from the people responsible for doing it. Harvey Locke shares some of the history of the project and of the genesis of the initiative. His passion really sets the scene for this story of reintroduction and renewal. If this project is successful, Banff's bison herd will join only three other wild herds of bison in North America Parks Canada Employee and author Karsten Heuer was in charge of the project. His presentation details the incredible efforts that were required to pull this reintroduction off. Along with long and very inclusive public consultations and environmental impact assessments, as the project lead, it was his job to coordinate the many moving parts that would be necessary in order to get to the point we are today - a day with wild bison once again roaming their native landscapes in the mountain national parks. The logistics were daunting. The bison had to first be selected. They were selected based on several criteria. They were disease free, a critical aspect of any reintroduction, but they were also young , giving them many opportunities to produce new offspring during their lifetime. All of the females were pregnant, and they are joined by six young bulls to help keep the herd going. They are currently being held in an 18 hectare (45 acre) soft release pasture until they've had the chance to give birth twice - giving them time to bond to their new home range prior to being released to a much larger temporary habitat. Imagine the logistics of this relocation! They loaded the bison into specially designed shipping containers that were attached to a long line and transported by a heavy lift helicopter. Each container held 3 or 4 bison with their horns covered by pieces of garden hose held on with duct tape. They were also tranquilized slightly to help reduce their stress while still allowing them to stand during the transport. Each shipping container also deployed a parachute to provide drag and help prevent them from spinning during their helicopter journey to their new home. After the last crate was successfully delivered, they crates were kept closed for an additional 30 minutes to give the buffalo time to calm down. When all the conditions were right, the doors to the shipping containers were opened and the bison all emerged into their new home. They'll remain here until June of 2018 when park officials plan to release them to a much larger 1200 sq km or 463 sq mile reintroduction zone. Along the way, there are lots of performance measures that will help them to reassess the success of the project. In 2022, they hope to be able to come to the decision as to whether long-term bison reintroduction is feasible in Banff National Park. This project is one of the largest of its kind in the mountain national parks. It involved very close consultations with many first nations, environmental and conservation groups. I hope you're as excited about this as I am. Bison have been missing from Banff for almost as long as Canada has been a nation. I can't wait for the day when I first encounter a wild bison in Banff National Park. I want to especially thank Marie-eve Marchand with Bison Belong for collaborating with me to record the audio for this presentation. Her tireless work towards bringing these majestic animals back to Banff deserves all of our thanks. Special thanks also go out to Karsten Heuer for all the work he and his team at Parks Canada did to pull off this amazing feat of logistics and careful planning. This could be one of the most significant events to take place in the mountain parks for many years to come. Special thanks also go out to Harvey Locke with the Eleanor Luxton Foundation for the great work they do in preserving Banff's natural and human history. Finally, I want to thank the politicians across the various political lines that cooperated with the project as well as the numerous native elders and counselors that were integral to moving this process towards completion. Once again, we are all buffalo people.

Writer Steve Kahn is a lifelong Alaskan and former hunting guide who lives a subsistence based lifestyle in Lake Clark, Alaska. His writings can be found in the anthologies Wild Moments and Crosscurrents North. In The Hard Way Home: Alaska Stories of Adventure, Friendship, and the Hunt, he shares intimate stories of his life throughout Alaska. From author Karsten Heuer, "Blood-stained and brisk one moment, reflective and reverent the next, these stories remind us of the riches that await whenever we we step away from the overwhelming technology and materialism of modern life."