BIGHORN WILDLAND

ALBERTA WILDERNESS ASSOCIATION

in the area today. Place names used throughout arethose of common usage and most are of Europeanorigin. AWA understands that the Stoney Nationis assembling a list of aboriginal place names forthe area, but these are not yet available.

COPYRIGHT 2003 by Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA)

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may bereproduced or used in any form or by anymeans - graphic, electronic or mechanical -without the written permission of AWA.

DISCLAIMERThose contributing to the content of this bookhave conducted their research and written to thebest of their knowledge. AWA cannot claimresponsibility for variance of content with theviews or knowledge of others. Wilderness travel isnot without risk. Readers are advised to seekadvice, ensure that they are suitably equipped andrealistically assess their experience level beforeventuring into the backcountry.

Any use of the terms he/him and man/men are notmeant to exclude the female gender and are usedgenerically to refer to humankind. Aboriginal andFirst Nations are terms used to describe indigenouspeoples both from the distant past and those living

Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) Box 6398, Stn. D, Calgary, AB T2P 2E1www.albertawilderness.ca

BIGHORN WILDLANDISBN: 0-920074-20-0

Printed in Canada

Designed by: Ball Creative & CommunicationsPrinted by: Topline Printing Inc.

BIGHORN WILDLANDALBERTA WILDERNESS ASSOCIATION

Defending Wild Alberta through Awareness and Action

Alberta Wilderness Association is the oldest wilderness conservation group in Alberta

dedicated to the completion of a protected areas network and the conservation of wilderness throughout

the province. Formed in 1965 in rural southwest Alberta by backcountry enthusiasts, ranchers and outfitters,

AWA has grown to include a wide diversity of backgrounds and skills in its membership. With almost four decades of successes, it is

known for its tenacity, memory and integrity. It is a non-profit, federally registered, charitable society with a great deal of its

work being carried out by volunteers. AWA’s mission is to defend wild Alberta through awareness and action.

Through this book we invite you to explore one of Alberta’s last pristine big wilderness areas and

join us in standing up for its protection. It is our goal that one day our children’s children

will see the Bighorn as we do, in all its wild splendour.

I

Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) appreciatesthe vision and dedication of Vivian Pharis incompleting this book. Writing a book about thismagnificent wilderness has been her dream formany years. Vivian guided the book through itsearly drafts and was the primary contact withchapter contributors. She wrote several chaptersand assisted in the early editing of contributedpieces. Dorothy Dickson lent her expertise as aneditor for many of the chapters, and PeterSherrington did the first critical read-throughand edit of the entire manuscript. Dr. HerbKariel and Pat Jackson were consultants and theirmaterial regarding landmarks, geography and thearea’s climate was incorporated throughout. AWAstaff coordinated development of the maps,proofread, edited subsequent versions of themanuscript, researched elements of the book andtirelessly completed final revisions and edits.

Joyce Hildebrand capably ushered the bookthrough its final edit. The Association recognizesthe many contributors who so willingly andsupportively gave of their personal time andmade this vision a reality.

AWA gratefully acknowledges generous grantsfrom TD Friends of the EnvironmentFoundation; Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks andWildlife Foundation; Aurum Lodge; MountainEquipment Coop, Edmonton; and the family ofRay Sloan. Always remembered as an explorer,interpreter and defender of wildlife, Ray wouldhave been thrilled to see this book published.

Roger Macqueen thanks Margot McMechan,Vivian Pharis, Dave Sargent and Glen Stockmalfor useful suggestions on revision of his paper;Vivian and Richard Pharis, who supplied most of

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

the colour photographs; Peter Jones forpermission to modify, from his original work, thegeological map and cross-sections (Jones andWorkum 1978) appearing in Chapter 12 asFigures 3 and 4 and for supplying the aerial viewof the Brazeau Range appearing in Figure 5; andDave Sargent of G.S.C. Calgary, who digitizedFigures 2 to 5. Some of the entries in the glossarywere modified from glossary entries in Mussieuxand Nelson (1998).

Elaine Gordon thanks Vivian Pharis for herinspiration and beautiful photographs, JohnRintoul of the Alberta Natural HeritageInformation Centre for plant information, andher husband, Don Gordon, for his helpfulsuggestions. Also special thanks to Joyce Gouldfor her expertise and for providing theexceptional photograph of the Lapland rosebay.

III

INTRODUCTION –––––––––– 1

CHAPTER 1 –––––––––––––– 2BIGHORN WILDLANDVivian Pharis

BIGHORN MAPS –––––––––– 8

CHAPTER 2 –––––––––––––– 14CONSERVATION MILESTONESTamaini SnaithHistory of Eastern Slopes Watershed Protection by Vivian Pharis and Robert Stevenson

CHAPTER 3 –––––––––––––– 22PANTHER CORNERS Vivian Pharis

CHAPTER 4 –––––––––––––– 30UPPER CLEARWATERVivian PharisImportance of Wetlands and Watersheds by Heinz Unger

CHAPTER 5 –––––––––––––– 36RAM HEADWATERSVivian Pharis

CHAPTER 6 –––––––––––––– 44WAPIABI-BLACKSTONE-SUNKAYVivian Pharis

CHAPTER 7 –––––––––––––– 52CORAL CREEK-JOB CREEKVivian Pharis

CHAPTER 8 –––––––––––––– 60CLINE RIVERVivian Pharis

CHAPTER 9 –––––––––––––– 66KOOTENAY PLAINS ECOLOGICAL RESERVEDorothy Dickson and Julia Cook

CHAPTER 10 ––––––––––––– 72SIFFLEUR WILDERNESSDon Wales

CHAPTER 11 ––––––––––––– 76WHITE GOAT WILDERNESSDon Wales

CHAPTER 12 ––––––––––––– 82GEOLOGY & EXPLORATIONDr. Roger Macqueen

CHAPTER 13 ––––––––––––– 94PLANTS OF THE BIGHORNElaine Gordon

CHAPTER 14 ––––––––––––– 104WILDLIFE OF THE BIGHORNDr. Luigi Morgantini Birds by Rod Burns - Fish Community by Ken Zelt

TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER 15 ––––––––––––– 118FIRST NATIONSAndy Marshall

CHAPTER 16 ––––––––––––– 126EARLY EXPLORATIONJoyce McCart

CHAPTER 17 ––––––––––––– 134OUTFITTERSVivian Pharis Early Forest Rangers by Robert Stevenson

CHAPTER 18 ––––––––––––– 144THE VALUE OF WILD PLACESPhilip Clement and Alan ErnstWilderness Ethics by Don Wales

GLOSSARY & REFERENCES ––– 152

PHOTO CREDITS –––––––––– 158

AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHIES –––– 159

V

Since the early 1970s I have been keenly aware of thetreasure we have so close at hand in the unspoiled,wild and beautiful Bighorn Wildland. This is,perhaps, because I have had the privilege ofexperiencing wilderness in other parts of the worldboth similar and vastly different from Alberta’sEastern Slopes Rockies. My travels abroad suggestthat in other countries this magnificent piece ofwilderness would be recognized for its natural valuesand therefore coveted and protected. The words ofAmerican wilderness writer Michael Frome, in hisbook Battle for Wilderness, express some of thefrustration I feel over the lack of official interest inand understanding of the value of Alberta’swilderness: “How much wilderness does it take tofulfill the needs of civilization? That really isn’t thekey question. What counts more is whether each

succeeding generation must settle for an increasinglydegraded world and know the experience of the pastfrom books and pictures only. Must the future besatisfied with mediocrity because nothing better willbe known?”

For more than thirty years Alberta WildernessAssociation (AWA), other conservation groups, areaoutfitters and many members of the general publichave fought for legislated protection of the BighornWildland. They have worked for many years withthe government in order to fulfill this dream.Despite sustained, scientifically sound and eloquentoral and written representations, our wish to havethis exceptionally special place afforded realprotection has not been achieved. Recent decisionslegally open much of the Bighorn Wildland to off-

road vehicle and helicopter-assisted recreation, andthere is increasing pressure to develop its petroleumreserves. In addition, there have been recent increasesin drilling, logging and off-road vehicle recreationjust outside its boundaries. All of this makes theecological integrity of the area increasinglyprecarious. Will the Bighorn’s future be one ofcontinued splendour or of degradation?

This book has been designed and written to tell thestory of the Bighorn Wildland. It is also an invitationto become more personally involved in its destiny. Ihope that this book will create an impetus for actionon behalf of the Bighorn so that future generationswill be able to experience it as we do now.

Vivian Pharis

INTRODUCTION

1

BIGHORN WILDLAND

1BIGHORN WILDLANDVIVIAN PHARIS

Nestled along the Eastern Slopes of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains lie 4000 sq km

of superb wilderness. The magnificent sweeping vistas encompass wildflower meadows,

lush forested valleys and grassy ridges that contrast dramatically with snow-covered mountains.

These wildlands are home to a rich tapestry of life. Wild horses roam freely with elk,

bighorn sheep and grizzly bears; wolves call across wide valleys,

harlequin ducks float down pristine streams and eagles hunt along the ridges.

Within such a large landscape animal life

can be elusive to the casual visitor, but the Bighorn will reveal its

secrets to those with patience.

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This stretch of the Brazeau River near LongviewLake would not be a safe choice for fording withhorses, but several kilometers below and above,broad, shallow, hard-bottomed fords can be found.

THE BIGHORN

Lying on an approximate northwest-southeast axis,the Bighorn Wildland parallels the ContinentalDivide, or main range, of the Rocky Mountains. Itis about 155 km long and 55 km wide, extendingbetween the Red Deer River in the south and theBrazeau River in the north. The North ForestryRoad lies to the east and Highway 11, the DavidThompson Highway, bisects the area along anortheast-southwest diagonal. Almost the entirearea of the Bighorn is within the NorthSaskatchewan drainage, with the exception ofsouthern reaches that drain into the Red DeerRiver, a main artery of the South SaskatchewanRiver system. The area fits neatly, like a missingjigsaw puzzle piece, into a gap of protectednational parks lands, just where Banff and JasperParks abut. In fact, much of the Bighorn Wildland

was once included in the national parks and is anecologically logical addition to a protected areassystem along the Eastern Slopes that includes bothprovincial and federal lands. Almost a hundredyears ago the watersheds of the Eastern Slopes wererecognized for their importance as the source ofwater for the prairies. The Bighorn area was centralto this conservation vision.

The Bighorn, Ram and Front Ranges, and theirassociated foothills, constitute the landscape of theBighorn Wildland. It is the complexity of theBighorn’s geology that produces the magnificentscenery of the region. In Chapter 12, Dr. RogerMacqueen, an emeritus scientist with Canada’sGeological Survey, leads readers on a fascinatinggeological expedition through the BighornWildland, discussing the hundreds of millions ofyears that it has taken to form the landscapes thatwe see today. The glaciers that have retreated onlyin the past few thousand years have left behindhighly sculpted vistas. We are perhaps glimpsingplaces like the Bighorn Wildland at the peak oftheir aesthetic perfection, before erosion fills inand wears away the distinct features that so pleaseour eye and test our mettle.

When Europeans came to the Bighorn Wildland,they named the more outstanding peaks. Thehighest point in the Bighorn Range itself is 2556metres, but most of the higher peaks lie along thewestern border with the national parks. MountCline, at 3361 metres, is the highest peak in theBighorn. Other outstanding peaks that are around3000 metres include Obstruction Mountain nearJob Creek; Cline, Resolute and the White GoatPeaks in the Cline River area; Mounts Siffleur,Loudon, Dolomite and Kentigren in the SiffleurWilderness Area; Mounts McDonald and Stewartand Cirrus Mountain in the White Goat

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Wilderness Area; and Candor Peak, Tomahawk,Wapiti, Warden Rock, Barrier and DormerMountains in the vicinity of the Upper Clearwater,Red Deer and Panther Rivers. These peaks are thepinnacles in the backdrop that forms many of theBighorn’s western views, and they have drawnmountaineers to the area for more than a hundred years.

As with mountainous terrain everywhere, visitorsto the Bighorn Wildland should be prepared forchangeable and extreme conditions even duringthe most benign months of July, August andSeptember. In summer, days can be warm, withtemperatures sometimes reaching over 30° C, andnight temperatures usually remain above freezing.The frost-free season is only about 60 days. Snowcan be expected in every month of the year andwinter temperatures may fall to –40° C. As a resultof aspect and elevation, a wide range ofmicroclimates are created in the mountains andfoothills. This partially accounts for the wondrousvariety of plant and animal communities foundthroughout the area. The eastern, drier part of theBighorn receives most of its precipitation (around450 mm) in the summer as rain, whereas thewestern, more mountainous part receives most ofits moisture (around 735 mm) in the winter as snow.

Two authors tell us about the wildlife and plantsthat are as much a part of the Bighorn as are itslandscapes. Dr. Luigi Morgantini has studiedbighorn sheep, elk and caribou on the EasternSlopes extensively and gives us a dynamic accountof the lives of the Bighorn’s animals. Stories of thereturn of the elk from near extinction, themysteries of the “gray ghosts” of the Bighorn, andits “white buffalo” and extinct bison are told. Heshows how the Bighorn provides essential winterhabitat for much of the adjacent national parks’wildlife and how the parks are summer habitat forherds that wander without knowledge of

boundaries. The Bighorn and the national parksshare a common ecological heritage and future.

Edmonton botanist and author Elaine Gordonpaints a compelling picture of the plants thatthrive in this beautiful but harsh wilderness. Shereveals some of the secrets about why the alpinewallflower and nodding pink thrive on blastedtalus slopes, where to find the rare alpine poppyand exotic Lapland rosebay, and why the edge oftimberline dissolves into gnarled krummholz colonies.

We don’t know who were the first peoples to knowthe lands we call the Bighorn Wildland, but likelythe wildlife and relatively mild microclimates havedrawn peoples to the area since the ice retreatedabout 10,000 years ago. Archaeological digs in thevicinity of the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in the upperRed Deer River valley and a survey of theKootenay Plains prior to their flooding in 1978indicates long and continuous use of both areas.Well-known writer Andy Marshall’s chapter onFirst Nations shows us that while the Wesley Bandof the Stoney Nation occupies the area today, theearliest known nomadic peoples in the Bighornwere the Kootenay, probable summer migrantsfrom British Columbia. When David Thompsonarrived to trade fur in the late 1700s, the Kootenay,Peigan and Blackfoot were all in the area. In thelast two centuries, many different native tribes andnations have been drawn to the wide valleys withinthe Bighorn.

Historian and author Joyce McCart hassummarized the impressions of the first fourEuropeans who explored the Bighorn and keptdiaries of their travels. David Thompson was oneof the first Europeans to live in and write about theland. He was sent to the area in the late 1700s bythe North West Company to establish a fur trade.

Stewardship has been part of AWA’s Bighorn agendasince 1972 when Pinto Lake was first cleaned.From 1984 to 1994, trails and camps were clearedof garbage, and campsites were posted withhandmade signs. Some of these remain in place tothis day.

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Near Elliot Peak, on the David Thompson Highway, an early snowfall catches Abraham Lake before freeze-up.

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Dorothy Dickson and Julie Cook, all of whomhave intimate knowledge of the Bighorn, havewritten the nine chapters that describe the areafrom a traveller’s perspective. Don Wales hastravelled in parts of the Bighorn Wildland,including the White Goat and Siffleur WildernessAreas, in summer and winter, by foot and by ski.Dorothy Dickson has seen many of the Bighorn’strails from the back of a horse, and Julie Cook hasbeen privileged to live several summers on or nearthe Kootenay Plains. Vivian Pharis and herhusband, Richard, have trekked and photographedthroughout the Bighorn since the early 1970s.

Join them now as they travel through these areas.We hope that you become inspired to become adefender of the Bighorn and perhaps use this bookfor planning your own adventures.

In 1807, after establishing a trading post at RockyMountain House, Thompson, an inexhaustibleexplorer, fought his way by horse and canoethrough deadfall and floods to the Kootenay Plainsand then across the Howse Pass to briefly establisha new trading area in British Columbia.

After David Thompson, half a century passedbefore other notable explorers, like James Hectorand James Carnegie, ventured into the area andrecorded their decidedly different impressions.American adventurer and diarist Mary Schäffervisited the area three times between 1905 and1907. On her final visit, Mary wrote forebodinglyof the impending loss of this wilderness and theway of life of resident peoples.

Mary’s words were still echoing amongst the cliffswhen early guides and outfitters like Tom Wilsonand Jim Simpson began including the Bighorn intheir commercial operations. Around the 1920s,guiding wilderness seekers, hunters and fishermeninto the Bighorn became a livelihood for a numberof hardy families, some of which have continued inthe business for two or three generations, until thepresent. Vivian Pharis interviewed two pioneeringguide and outfitter families, the Sands and theMcKenzies. The stories of their escapades in someof the most stunning country in the world,sometimes in truly adverse conditions, of theirtough determination to make their livelihoodswhere few would have the stamina, shows howundaunted the human spirit can be when the landand a way of life are held as precious.

In this magnificent wilderness, there remain manyplaces where it is still possible to escape entirelyfrom life’s hectic pace and taste the wild frontierthat was common fare for adventurers only ahundred years ago. Vivian Pharis, Don Wales,

Clamshells fossilized in limestone hold secrets ofgeological time.

MAPS OF THE BIGHORN

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13NATURAL REGIONS OF THE BIGHORN

CONSERVATION MILESTONES

2CONSERVATION MILESTONESTAMAINI SNAITH

Alberta is currently experiencing economic growth at an unprecedented rate.

A large portion of our public land has been affected by forestry, oil and gas extraction, mining,

farming and urban development. As a result, Alberta’s wilderness is increasingly threatened by the degradation

of natural ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity. Conservation biology provides evidence that current protected areas are

not sufficient for the long-term maintenance of biodiversity and local wildlife populations. We need more protected

areas, and they need to be bigger, more connected and surrounded by appropriate transition

zones where compatible activities occur.

We are running out of opportunities to protect nature. As a large, unroaded and relatively

pristine wilderness, the Bighorn has tremendous value for wildlife, water and backcountry recreation.

To protect these values, we must keep this area free from further human disturbance.

HISTORYIn the 1970s and 1980s, the government of Albertainitiated regional zoning efforts to plan forappropriate resource allocation and the resolution ofland-use conflicts. The Eastern Slopes Policy wascreated at a regional scale and was based on extensivepublic consultation. The highest priority was placedon watershed protection, and the policy declaredthat resource management must be consistent withconservation and environmental protection. TheEastern Slopes Policy provided the basis for moredetailed, local Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs).

Due to the high conservation value andenvironmental sensitivity of the Bighorn, both theEastern Slopes Policy and the local IRP placedmuch of the region under the most protectivecategory: the Prime Protection Zone. According tothe Policy and the IRP, the intent of thisdesignation is “to preserve environmentallysensitive terrain and valuable aesthetic resources.”Non-motorized backcountry recreation isencouraged in the Prime Protection Zone, butmore intense uses such as industrial development,logging and motorized recreation are prohibited.Adjacent areas were designated as Critical WildlifeZones, “to protect specific fish and wildlifepopulations by protecting ... habitat,” andMultiple Use Zones, where more intense humanuse could be accommodated.

Following the creation of these policies, thegovernment announced the creation of theBighorn Wildland. The Wildland would formallyprotect the Prime Protection Zones and a smallportion of Critical Wildlife Zone. However, the government failed to provide legislation for the area, leaving the Bighorn vulnerable to future downgrading.

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Willow species like this Salix barrattiana with itsstartlingly large catkins are common throughoutthe Bighorn.

CONSERVATION MILESTONESIn 1986 the government of Alberta announced thenaming of the Bighorn Wildland Recreation Area.This designation was a step toward fulfilling a1975 government promise to protect at least 70 per cent of the Eastern Slopes in “a natural or wilderness state.” Although the area has never been protected by legislation, the Wildlandhas been reinforced over the years by a number of government commitments, maps andpublications. However, in 2001 the government ofAlberta began to erode protection for the area byremoving it from official maps, announcing its non-existence and initiating an accessmanagement process that would undermineprotective land-use policies. In the fall of 2002, thegovernment legalized the use of motorizedrecreational vehicles in the area and failed to providemeaningful protection from industrial development.

The future of the Bighorn is uncertain, ascompeting interests vie for access. A number oflarge Canadian and American oil companies havebought subsurface leases and will likely want toexplore for sour gas; forest companies operate inadjacent areas; off-road vehicle (ORV) andsnowmobile clubs are lobbying for more trails; and environmental groups continue to demandprotection for the Wildland.

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EASTERN SLOPES

POLICY ZONINGSince 1977 the Bighorn has been managed under theEastern Slopes Policy, which was created to resolveland-use conflicts and had the primary objective ofwatershed protection.

Under the Eastern Slopes Policy, the BighornWildland is zoned as Prime Protection and CriticalWildlife Zones. There are extensive Multiple UseZones adjacent to the Wildland.

Prime Protection ZoneIntent: “To preserve environmentally sensitive terrainand valuable aesthetic resources.”Industrial development and ORV use are prohibited.

Critical Wildlife ZoneIntent: “To protect wildlife populations by protectinghabitat that is essential to those populations.”Industrial development and ORV use are permitted.

Multiple Use ZoneIntent: “To provide for the management anddevelopment of the full range of available resources,while meeting long term objectives for watershedmanagement and environmental protection.” Industrial development and ORV use are permitted.

These quotations are excerpted from the revised EasternSlopes Policy 1984.

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CURRENT THREATSThe Bighorn is one of the last remaining large andrelatively intact wilderness areas in Alberta. So farthe area has seen little fragmentation by roads andindustrial development. However, because the areais not protected by legislation, the threat of humanintrusion is increasing. A number of competingindustrial interests threaten the Bighorn regionincluding petroleum exploration and forestry. Dueto the recent encroachment of industrial activityand ORV users, access has become an issue ofparamount concern.

Biologists have found that large mammals such asgrizzly bears are only likely to survive in large areaswith few linear disturbances like roads and trails.These disturbances lead to wildlife mortality bydisturbing ranging patterns; fragmenting anddegrading habitat; providing access forcompetitors and predators; and increasing hunting

Ice crystals on the Bighorn River, nature’s art formedby mist and spray in early winter.

pressure, road mortality and conflicts withhumans. On a larger scale, access developmentleads to decreased biodiversity through the loss ofspecies and habitats, the disruption of naturalprocesses such as fire or water flow, and theacceleration of soil erosion and sedimentation.

In recent years, the government has sold leases toenergy companies for sour gas extraction withinthe Bighorn Wildland. As industrial activity in the surrounding area continues, it becomesincreasingly important that the Bighorn Wildlandbe protected by legislation and that developmentwithin its boundaries be prevented.

The recent access planning process legalizedmotorized recreational use in sensitive areas withinthe Prime Protection Zone. The government’s abilityto monitor and control this activity remains to beseen. The area’s growing popularity as a snowmobileand ORV destination is worrisome, as parts of theBighorn are becoming seriously damaged.

Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) has been onthe front lines of efforts to protect the Bighorn forthree decades. AWA will continue to press theAlberta government to legally protect the Wildland,to prevent oil and gas operations and roadconstruction, and to ensure responsible recreationaluse of the area.

Off-Road Vehicle (ORV): “any mechanized modeof transport used for recreation off of regularlymaintained roads.”

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TIMELINE

1974 The Environment Conservation Authority Report recommends emphasized protection of the natural values of the Eastern Slopes.

1975 The Alberta government promises that “a minimum of 70 per cent of the Eastern Slopes Region will be maintained in present natural or wilderness areas.”

1977 The Eastern Slopes Policy designates most of the Bighorn as Prime Protection Zone, off-limits to industry and ORV use.

1981 The government proposes David Thompson Country status, similar toKananaskis Country, for the Bighorn region.

1986 The Nordegg-Red Deer River Integrated Resource Plan reinforces the Eastern Slopes Policy.

1986 A government publication and provincial maps include the Bighorn as one of Alberta’s protected areas.

1986 The Minister of Forestry names the Bighorn Wildland Recreation Area and releases a park-like brochure about the area, including a map and regulations.

1986 A government publication includes the Bighorn as one of Alberta’s protected areas.

1992 The Minister of Forestry reinforces protection of the Bighorn Wildland Recreation Area in a letter to AWA.

1993 The provincial committee for Special Places 2000 recommends that the Bighorn Wildland Recreation Area be formally designated.

1995-98 A series of government-commissioned reports document a large number of Ecologically Significant Areas inside and adjacent to the Bighorn Wildland.

1990s The government sells subsurface gas leases within the Bighorn Wildland.

2001 The government declares that the Bighorn Wildland is not protected and removes it from maps.

2001 The government initiates an access management planning process to plan access into areas where policy explicitly prohibits off-road vehicles and industrial development.

2002 The government creates six new Forest Land Zones and legalizes motorized recreation in portions of the Bighorn.

Eroding trails leading to Landslide Lake in theCline River region and the lake’s declining fisheryindicate the need for protection and propermanagement for such areas.

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Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is one of many species of wildlife that find refuge and superb habitat in the Bighorn.

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HISTORY OF EASTERNSLOPES WATERSHEDPROTECTIONby Vivian Pharis and R. E. Stevenson

The forested watersheds of Alberta’s EasternSlopes, and particularly of the BighornWildland, have been coveted since the federalgovernment’s surveys of the 1880s. A 1927Dominion of Canada brochure regarding theRocky Mountains National Forest was clear instating that in mountainous regions, theprimary use of forests may, by necessity, maketimber production subservient to watershed

protection. In 1927 it was recognized that “forestsare the greatest factor” in the control of run-offwaters and in supplying downstream water needs.

Due to recognition that a continuous supply ofquality water is fundamental to forest policies, theEastern Slopes forests have been largely protectedfor most of the past century. Eastern Slopes forestssupply most of the water for use across the prairiesto Manitoba. The Saskatchewan River basin,which derives much of its water from the BighornWildland, was designated for protection followingthe 1947 creation of the federal-provincial EasternRockies Forest Conservation Board. The boardwas established to research and manage EasternSlopes natural resources, particularly water, so as tobalance supplies with increasing downstream

domestic, industrial and agricultural uses.

The 1979 Eastern Slopes Policy and IntegratedResource Plans continued to recognizewatershed protection as the priority use of theEastern Slopes. However, through the 1980sand 1990s, both the federal and provincialgovernments reduced resources and staff inwatershed research, management and protection.The federal government once supported a 13-member watershed research group active on theEastern Slopes, and the provincial governmenthad a specific watershed section within theAlberta Forest Service, but both are now gone.As of 2002, the provincial governmentwithdrawal from upholding the principles ofthe Eastern Slopes Policy has been ominous.

A sub-watershed basin collects flow from JapMountain in the Panther Corners and carries itnorth to the major Red Deer River basin. SuchEastern Slopes basins must be protected, as they areintegral to a water supply across the prairie provinces.

PANTHER CORNERS

3PANTHER CORNERSVIVIAN PHARIS

In the fall when the aspen turns an intense, luminous yellow, the complex of mountains, forests, meadows and streams

known as the Panther Corners-Ya Ha Tinda is among the most strikingly beautiful scenery in Canada.

These 570 sq km provide some of the best wildlife habitat along Alberta’s Eastern Slopes and is a

favoured site for horse trail riders.

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In any direction, the views from Marble Mountain are panoramic.

PANTHER CORNERSAlthough the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch is under federalrather than provincial jurisdiction, it is an integralpart of the local ecology and human use patterns ofthe Bighorn Wildland. Gentle, open-faced, forest-crowned foothills greet visitors to Ya Ha Tinda, withthe scenic Red Deer River sliding past their bases.Upstream, the foothills rise in stature until theyloom in craggy layers above forested valleys. In thefar distance, 3000-metre peaks form the dominatingbackdrop along the Banff Park boundary.

The dramatically sudden upstream widening of thePanther and Red Deer River valleys is not visiblefrom lower elevations. Where the Panther Riverjoins Dogrib Creek and before the Red Deer’sconfluence with Bighorn Creek, forests give way toexpansive natural meadows. Gently rolling openstretches of foothills reappear, and the wholedemeanour of the landscape softens. At Ya HaTinda Ranch on the Red Deer River, a broadplateau sweeps in grassy grandeur across severalkilometres, reaching west to the very foot of WardenRock and Wapiti Mountain.

These two massifs flank the river like guardian lionsjust where the Red Deer leaves its birthplace amongthe icy peaks of Banff National Park to enter theBighorn Wildland. To the south, the Panther andDormer Rivers similarly burst from the park andthrough the Front Ranges into the Wildland’smeadows. They steal away from the protection ofBarrier, Dormer and Otuskwan Peaks, and join atthe historic Corners before making a final plunge tomeet the Red Deer River.

The Stoney call the subalpine grasslands of thePanther Corners and Red Deer River, Ya Ha Tindameaning “Mountain Prairie.” High elevation

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meadows that abut and rise up adjacent slopes arecharacteristic of the Bighorn Wildland. Here in thePanther Corners-Ya Ha Tinda, they are mostremarkable and provide critical habitat foroverwintering wildlife.

The natural region where open forests of aspen andconifer overtake grasslands is known as Montane.Some of Alberta’s best and most intact examples ofthis uncommon ecological region are the PantherCorners-Ya Ha Tinda and the nearby Clearwatervalley. Ya Ha Tinda’s grasslands and montane havebeen attractive to wildlife and humans since the iceage. Artifacts from ancient peoples indicate that thearea has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years.More than 60 archaeological sites have beensurveyed. Recently, traditional eagle capture pitswere recognized near the ranch.

Warm chinook winds that push through the broadmountain passes clear snow from lower slopes andvalley floors, maintaining open grasslands of roughfescue and June grass. The rainshadow microclimateof the area is unique for its mildness and dryness.While consistent grazing by park horses and largeungulates promotes the growth of grasses and herbsand helps to keep shrubs from invading, overgrazingis a persistent problem that is changing thecomposition of plant communities and eliminatingcertain choice species, including rough fescue.Curtailing fires over the past century has resulted inshrinking grasslands, due to the invasion of shrubsand trees. Mechanical brush clearing to the east ofYa Ha Tinda Ranch is an attempt to control shrubgrowth. In 1987 clearcuts were allowed in theprotected headwaters of Bighorn Creek, ostensiblyto provide additional winter grazing. It appears thatonly the cuts at lower elevations, those with lesssnow, are grazed in winter.

Looking eastward, down the Panther River from the base of Jap Mountain, with Dogrib Creek valley enteringfrom the left.

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Adventurers can access the Panther Corners and theYa Ha Tinda from the national park using excellentpark trails along the Dormer, Panther and Red DeerRivers. The first two trails connect with Banfftownsite near Lake Minnewanka and the third, withLake Louise. Within the Corners, resourceexploration roads have replaced some traditionaltrails that date to early National Parks Service andAlberta Forest Service days. These were heavilyeroded by off-road vehicles until the PantherCorners was designated in 1985 as a Forest LandUse Zone, off limits to motorized use. Today the oldroads have become popular for horse-drawnwagons. Unfortunately their use has grown to thepoint where the former truck trails cannotregenerate, and erosion is again a problem.

A main attraction to horse riders is Jap Mountainand the splendid 360-degree views from its top.Trails ascend from both the Panther and Red Deersides. Reclaimed coal exploration roads that cross itsface have become popular trails. Trails also lead tolower elevation Dormer Lake, which is stocked forrecreational fishing with introduced brook trout,and high elevation Ice and Barrier Lakes, stockedwith cutthroat trout. A historic horse trail followsDogrib Creek, crossing Ribbon Flats anddescending Wolf Creek to eventually reach the Red Deer River at the Bighorn campground. In October 2001, the Dogrib valley was burned ina large fire that swept the valley and carried on downthe Red Deer River before turning north, outsidethe Wildland.

Along the Panther River, outfitters often claimfavourite campsites early in the year, erecting largecanvas tents, which they surround with low electricfences as protection from hungry bears. Informalcamping on the Panther’s scenic open benches hasbeen popular for most of the last century.

The beautiful Bighorn Falls are only a short hikefrom the Ya Ha Tinda road.

The open grasslands and slopes of the Ya Ha Tindaare a magnet for horse trail riders. From the Bighornand Eagle Creek campgrounds, multiple trails leadup most accessible slopes and valleys, many allowingloop trips. The unsurpassed scenery, the lure ofriding the open ranges and the many mountain trailsare unfortunately resulting in increased erosion,especially on popular trails, as along Bighorn Creek,and on steep slopes throughout the area.

On the north side of the Red Deer, camping isconfined to a few spots along the river and to themore formal Bighorn and Eagle Creekcampgrounds. The Eagle Creek campground isjust outside Ya Ha Tinda’s eastern boundary, whilethe Bighorn campground is inside the ranchproperty. Both campgrounds have become popularwith day trip horse riders. They are bothmaintained by the Friends of the Eastern Slopes, agroup of volunteers who have been doing anadmirable job. However, it cannot be expected thatvolunteers alone will be able to maintain theproliferation of use and trails that is occurring inthe Panther-Ya Ha Tinda complex.

The Panther Corners’ value as superb wildlifehabitat and its exceptional scenery were recognizedas far back as 1902, when the area was included inRocky Mountain National Park. Both early parkrangers and forest wardens used a cabin at theCorners junction of the Panther and DormerRivers. Due to boundary and administrativechanges, this area was twice made part of, andtwice excluded from, the park.

In 1971 extensive coal exploration was carried outon Jap Mountain in the heart of the PantherCorners. The passing of the 1976 Coal Policyforever excluded this sensitive area from coaldevelopment, and Heritage Trust Fund monies were

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September’s aspen are nowhere more brilliant than along Dogrib Creek. It will be some time before similarviews reappear because this area was burned during the 2001 Dogrib fire.

used to reclaim Jap Mountain’s roads andexploration pits. Unfortunately, reclamation ofthese high-elevation lands was not completelysuccessful, as the scars will remind us into thedistant future.

Exploration for oil and gas occurred throughout thePanther Corners-Ya Ha Tinda in the 1950s and1960s. An abandoned road and wellsite just west ofthe ranch buildings can still be seen. One wellsiteroad was punched into a valley on the east side ofPanther Corners as late as 1983. Alberta WildernessAssociation formally challenged drilling in thisPrime Protection Zone area, and the companywithdrew without drilling. The access damage wassubsequently reclaimed. In 2001 Shell Canada, theprimary petroleum leaseholder in the area, statedpublicly that it would not drill in the PrimeProtection Zone between the Panther and Red DeerRivers west of the Ya Ha Tinda road.

GETTING THEREThere are two roads by which visitors can reach themain entrance to this part of the BighornWildland. Highway 591 leads west from Sundreand Highway 940 (the Forestry Trunk Road)comes north from Calgary and south from Edson.While Highway 591 is paved to the Forest Reserveboundary, 940 is unpaved. From where these roadsmeet, local roads can take travellers furtherupstream into the Wildland. One road follows thesouth side of the Panther River for nine km. to alarge equestrian staging area, and another followsthe north side of the Red Deer River for 25 km tothe Bighorn and Eagle Creek equestrian camps.

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SUPERB HABITATThe Panther Corners-Ya Ha Tinda forms one ofthe most important elk winter ranges in Alberta.Herds as large as 2000 have been known tomigrate into the area in late fall, mainly from Banffand Jasper National Parks. Weeklong mid-winterhunts were used in the 1970s as a herd reductiontool, until they became politically unpalatable.Today up to 1000 elk use the area to pass thewinter. They share the range with such year-roundresidents as 400 bighorn sheep, mule and white-tail deer, and a range of predators, including thewolf, the grizzly and black bear, the cougar and therare wolverine. Pine martens and red squirrels arefound in pockets of old-growth forest, while hoarymarmots, pikas and golden-mantled groundsquirrels frequent the subalpine. More than 150species of birds, native bull trout and three speciesof introduced game fish are found here.

Jap Mountain, a 2500-metre ridge protruding eastfrom Barrier Mountain, and other neighbouringridges with exposed south- and west-facing slopesthat are grassed to their very crests are superbhabitat. Prior to the discovery in the late 1980sthat cast antler could be a commodity in the Asianmarket, these slopes were strewn with sun-bleached elk antlers, attesting to the number ofanimals that come here to overwinter.

Fall hunting is a historic Panther Corners-Ya HaTinda recreation. Trophy elk, bighorn sheep andmule deer are all sought after. Come September,summer day riders are replaced by elk and sheephunters, who occupy roadside campgrounds orpack into backcountry hunting camps, high up theRed Deer and Panther Rivers, Scalp Creek andother nearby valleys.

THREATS TO ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITYWhy Protection, Management and Enforcement Are Necessary

• Overuse and erosion caused by equestrians and horse-drawn wagons, especially within a few hours travel from staging areas and popular campgrounds

• Erosion around staging areas and equestrian base leases on Wildland boundary• Overuse of some backcountry campsites• Snowmobile harassment of wildlife in nearby Scalp Creek along the northern boundary

of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch• Snowmobile impaction damage to soils, plants and small mammals wintering

under the snow• Proliferation of backcountry trails• Industrial development on adjacent lands – oil and gas, logging, cattle grazing• ORV encroachment into protected areas and damage to adjacent lands and waterways• Brush and forest encroachment onto grasslands• On Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, conflict between horse numbers and wildlife for available

fodder, and consequent overgrazing • Lodges on perimeter that threaten to become major tourist developments

In the last 15 years, thousands of antlers have beengathered from Jap Mountain and neighbouringslopes in the Panther Corners and sold to be groundinto medicines for the Asian market.

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YA HA TINDA RANCHSurrounded by the Bighorn Wildland and BanffNational Park, the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch coversalmost 4000 hectares of grasslands and mixed-wood forest along the north side of the Red DeerRiver. It is the only federally operated horse ranchin Canada and is used to breed, raise and trainhorses for warden backcountry patrols in the four mountain parks – Banff, Jasper, Yoho andKootenay. Today, about 180 horses spend thewinter at Ya Ha Tinda.

A Stoney Nation mountain guide, William TwinHunter, introduced the well-known Brewsterfamily of Banff to the Ya Ha Tinda area around1904. At that time, the Ya Ha Tinda was outsidethe boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park,and the Brewsters were able to establish a ranch atthe site, where they bred and broke horses tosupport their guiding and outfitting business.

Park boundaries incorporated and excluded the YaHa Tinda several times. In 1917 when the area againfell within Rocky Mountains National Parkjurisdiction, it became the park’s facility forbreeding, training and wintering horses for park use.Although the ranch was finally excluded from BanffNational Park in 1930, a 1958 agreement betweenCanada and Alberta gave the federal governmentmanagement jurisdiction for the area. The provincebecame responsible for wildlife and mineral rights.This remains the situation to the present.

Vivian Pharis and her husband, Richard, have trekked and photographed throughout the BighornWildland since the early 1970s. They were both involved in presentations at the Eastern Slopeshearings in 1973 on behalf of these lands, and in the development during the 1980s of IntegratedResource Plans that included lands of the Bighorn Wildland. The Pharises began explorations intothe Bighorn through extended backpacking tours. Often they travelled in the company of suchwilderness enthusiasts as fellow former AWA presidents Ray Sloan and Don Wales, as well as withDan Olson, Ed Wolf and others. In the late 1970s the Pharises acquired horses and slowly built theirpack string to eight or nine, enough horses to comfortably take themselves and friends on extendedtrips over the Bighorn’s many trails. The Pharis pack string also assisted in 10 years of cleaninggarbage from the Bighorn’s backcountry camps and trails, and in maintaining the historic BighornTrail since 1994.

After the snows of winter melt, the grasslands of the Ya Ha Tinda become lush with native grasses and forbs.

UPPER CLEARWATER

4UPPER CLEARWATERVIVIAN PHARIS

North of the Panther Corners-Ya Ha Tinda complex, trails lead hikers and horse trail riders into a varied landscape of elongated open ridges, thickly forested foothills

and magnificent peaks, their beauty often accented by exquisite jewel-like lakes nestled in their folds.

Glaciated valleys snake west to east through the landscape, the dominant one being the valley of the Clearwater River, whose sprawling

course catches all the waters flowing from this portion of the Bighorn Wildland.

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UPPER CLEARWATERThe Clearwater River arises amongst glacier-ladenpeaks and a myriad of turquoise lakes in a remotecorner of Banff National Park. Near its exit from thepark into the Bighorn Wildland, the Clearwater’svalley widens considerably, and pockets of theprovincially uncommon Montane ecoregion and ofthe subalpine grasslands that characterizeneighbouring Panther Corners-Ya Ha Tindaenhance its course.

The only vehicle access to the Upper Clearwatervalley is Cutoff Creek Road, which can be reachedfrom Highway 940, the Forestry Trunk Road, atSeven Mile Flat. This local road takes visitorsapproximately 15 km west to the Cutoff Creekcampground and staging area on the easternboundary of the Bighorn Wildland and UpperClearwater Forest Land Use Zone.

For those with sufficient backcountry skills and asense of adventure, the many open ridges in theheadwaters of Scalp, Skeleton and Bighorn Creeks,to the north of the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, offer superbopportunities for extended off-trail hiking. With acompass or GPS and the appropriate topographicalmaps, hardy trekkers can explore this region for aweek or more, experiencing incredible vistas, achoice of gentle or challenging terrain, a variety ofwildlife and little chance of encountering anotherhuman being.

The upper reaches of Scalp and Forbidden Creekshold delightful surprises for those willing and able toventure into them. From waterfalls that slip throughsmooth limestone notches into seductive pools tohidden side valleys suddenly alive with the vibranthues of a dozen varieties of Indian paintbrush, there

The Clearwater’s braided stream is one route into the upper Clearwater Valley.

are treasures here rarely glimpsed by the human eye.For those who travel by horse or prefer the securityof trails, the Upper Clearwater has much to offer,including extended trips into Banff National Park,the Siffleur Wilderness or further reaches of theBighorn Wildland. One popular trail is anabandoned exploration road that leads from Ya HaTinda Ranch up Scalp Creek, down SkeletonCreek and into the Clearwater drainage. Justbefore reaching the Clearwater River, a trail (oldroad) branches west into the high mountains ofForbidden Creek, on the Banff Park boundary.

A high pass at the head of Forbidden Creek couldbe a hiker’s route across to Divide Creek in BanffPark. This is a good place to spot bighorn ramsthat often feed on the nutrient-rich grasses andforbs growing in the fine black shale of the pass.From upper Forbidden Creek, a trail continuesnorth to the Clearwater River, following routes onboth the park and provincial sides of Peter’s Creek.If an extended trip has been planned and thenecessary park permits obtained, the Clearwatertrail may be followed west into a wildernessportion of Banff Park in the headwaters of theClearwater River. Park trails may then be followedto the Banff-Jasper Highway, to Lake Louise downthe Pipestone River or to the Kootenay Plainsdown the Siffleur River.

Within the Wildland, the historic Headwaters trailclimbs out of the Clearwater valley about 1.5 km.downstream of the Banff Park boundary and leadsvisitors north, on a high country adventurethrough the heart of the Ram Headwaters andeventually to the North Saskatchewan River.About 12 km downstream, at the junction of theHeadwaters and Clearwater trails, another well-used trail travels north. The Lost Guide trailclimbs out of the Clearwater valley, rising about300 metres to a gem of a lake tucked into a classic

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THREATS TO

ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITYWhy Protection, Management andEnforcement Are Necessary

• Snowmobile harassment of wintering wildlife

• Snowmobile impaction damage to soil, plants and small mammals wintering under the snow

• Petroleum exploration and development on the eastern boundary

• Logging on the eastern boundary of the Bighorn Wildland

• Increasing off-road vehicle use on boundary lands and motorized intrusions into the Forest Land Use Zone

• Erosion from horse use on steep and heavily used trails

• Increasing use of horse-drawn wagons that cause erosion and allow for inappropriately large and elaborate backcountry camps

The upper reaches of Scalp Creek that lie on the national park boundary are a newly designated snowmobile frolic area.

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The upper reaches of Scalp and Forbidden Creekssparkle with water jewels like these rock pools.

cirque, surrounded by Lost Guide Mountain. Fromthe height of land near the lake, the trail dropssteeply into the Ranger Creek valley, where trailslead into the Ram Headwaters area. The chance tocatch a cutthroat trout and to see a picturesque lakehas meant the steep trails on both sides of thisdivide are suffering erosion from overuse.

Within the Upper Clearwater are many oldoutfitter camps; most are well located on highground with accessible water and good grazing forhorses. The open forests and valley grasslands ofthe Clearwater are important elk winter range. Inthe summer, when the elk have dispersed intonearby hills, deer and the occasional moose aremore likely to be seen along valley bottom trails.Bighorn sheep frequent open slopes throughoutthe Clearwater, some being permanent residentswhile others meander in and out of Banff Park.Grizzlies, wolves and cougars occur throughout thearea, although not in large numbers, and someferal horses also live there. Trappers, who takemainly pine marten pelts, use the Clearwater, andhunting is a popular fall activity, with bighornsheep and elk being the main sought-after species.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, extensiveseismic activity was conducted in the Clearwater,including one line that traverses the main drainageto the very boundary of Banff National Park.Although several wells were drilled on the easternedge, all were abandoned. Coal was also soughtthroughout the Clearwater foothills, andexploration evidence remains to this day, as can beseen on slopes above Scalp Creek. Today theClearwater region falls under the Prime ProtectionZone of the Eastern Slopes Policy and Category 1of the Coal Policy, which means it is off-limits toindustry. Intensive off-road vehicle use ofexploration roads caused watershed erosion andwildlife harassment problems, until the entire unit

At the end of a long day in the saddle, the comforts of a snug camp are greater than those of a five-star hotel.

of the Upper Clearwater was put under protectiveForest Land Use Zone legislation in 1986.

New recreational decisions in 2002 appear to havereversed earlier protection and recognition of theClearwater as important elk wintering habitat. Anew snowmobile route was approved in 2002across 40 Mile Flats, up the Clearwater valley andover Skeleton Creek into the Scalp Creek drainageat the Scalp Creek Natural Area. With specialpermission, snowmobiles will even be allowedthrough key elk and bighorn sheep winter rangealong the northern boundary of Ya Ha TindaRanch to Eagle Lake. Formerly pristine Scalp Creekheadwaters on the boundary of Banff Park have also been declared open to snowmobile frolicking.

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IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS AND WATERSHEDSby Heinz Unger

Intuition, experience and research have taught us that the watersheds and wetlands of theEastern Slopes are important for stream flow volumes, water quality, local and regional climateand precipitation, natural habitats and economic benefits, as well as for salving our senses andrenewing our spirits through their richness and beauty.

From the forest canopy to the soils beneath, forested watersheds are unique hydrological entities.Forest cover significantly reduces peak runoffs, preventing erosion and resulting in moreequalized flows and flow rates throughout the year. Trees, soils and healthy, undisturbed streamand river channels filter water and ensure high water quality for aquatic life and human use.Water quality and quantity are enhanced by wetlands, which may be tarns, sloughs, bogs ormuskegs. Such wetlands may be created by beaver dams, and they provide effective off-streamstorage and water treatment. Wetlands are habitats for a great variety of plant and animal life.

Recent research has pinpointed another valuable watershed service from forests. Up to two-thirds of precipitation falling inland derives from evapotranspiration from mainly forestvegetation. Providing local rain and snowfall, as well as ensuring water quality and quantity, areimportant economic benefits from forests, which are not always recognized and appreciated.Other undervalued benefits from watersheds and wetlands include the avoided costs of waterstorage and treatment, as well as the recreation and tourism associated with water.

Sensitive wetlands purify water and provide essential wildlife habitat.

RAM HEADWATERS

5RAM HEADWATERSVIVIAN PHARIS

Like the Panther Corners and Clearwater regions of the Bighorn, much of the Ram once fell under national park protection. It was excluded from the park system prior to 1930

because of possible provincial interest in extraction of the mineral resources.

Today the Ram remains an area of high aesthetic value and sensitive terrain with broad opportunities for dispersed backcountry recreation. From expansive alpine scenery, wildlife in wild settings,

intimate waterfalls and water-sculpted rock pools, to a dipper’s secluded nest, the Ram abounds in natural delights. Many believe these have far greater worth than

the minerals underlying portions of the area.

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RAM HEADWATERSThe Ram Range is a broad swath of mountainousterrain that is the southern extension of the RockyMountains Front Ranges. Here are primewatersheds, key wildlife habitats and lands ofexceptional aesthetics. Historically, the westernflank of the Ram Range has been called Headwatersbecause it is the source of the North and South RamRivers, which catch large quantities of new-fallensnow and rain. The two rivers join outside theWildland to become a major tributary of the NorthSaskatchewan River. Watershed services areconsidered the greatest contribution from the RamHeadwaters region. However, the alpine andsubalpine terrain is renowned for its beauty and itshabitat for ungulate animals, large carnivores and arange of game fish. It has a reputation as some of themost prime fall outfitting territory in Alberta.

“Heaven on earth” could describe a week of horsepacking up Ranger Creek from the Hummingbirdequestrian staging area, across the historicHeadwaters trail to the South Ram River, and back in a big loop along the tops of Canary,Hummingbird and Onion Creeks, and pastexquisite Onion Lake. Midway on the loop, from anidyllic camp high on the South Ram River, dayscould be spent exploring each of three tributaryvalleys and their composition of glaciers, hanginglakes, plunging waterfalls and wildlife at home ontheir ranges. Sites along the South Ram loop have sowon the hearts of people that a surprising numberhave chosen to have their ashes scattered at placesalong the trail special to them. An unobtrusivecommemorative plaque sometimes marks suchplaces. Unfortunately, the ecology of theHeadwaters has been allowed to degenerate fromoff-road vehicle incursions into what are supposedto be Prime Protected lands.

The North Ram region may be reached on acontinuation of the Headwaters trail, which canthen be followed north all the way to the NorthSaskatchewan River near the Bighorn Dam.Another trail to the high reaches of the North Ramclimbs west upstream from a staging area at thejunction of North Ram and Kiska Creek – a trailthat eventually leads overland to Whiterabbit Creek.

The North Ram River and Whiterabbit Creekhave been remote wilderness enclaves. These areassustained considerable damage to wetlandmeadows and streambeds from off-road vehicle usein 2001, but in 2002 were protected as a ForestLand Use Zone, which prohibits motorized useexcept on certain designated trails. If thislegislation is effective, the area may over timerecover naturally from the damage.

The beauty of the North Ram is best appreciatedfrom the tops of open ridges, many of which canbe reached on old outfitter trails. In July of eachyear, these ridges put on a dazzling show of colourand movement as the winds ripple across vastmeadows of flowers in deep purples, brilliantyellows and saucy scarlets. In any month, however,these ridges offer wide and enthralling views.Views of Abraham Reservoir and the rugged rangesof the Littlehorn and Bighorn, from high landsalong Whiterabbit Creek, are breathtaking.

Guided fall hunting has a long-establishedpresence in the Ram, an area famous for its manyrecord-book trophy bighorn sheep. Elk, moose,grizzly and wolf are also sought here duringhunting season. Summer trail riding, especiallylonger packing trips, is another established andhistoric use of the area, and a use destined forgrowth if land management improves. Today oneoutfitter holds the non-resident bighorn sheep

The middle tributary of the South Ram is a surprisingly gentle landscape dotted withemerald tarns.

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permits for the South Ram, and another holds thesepermits in the North Ram. Two outfitters guidesummer trail rides through the South Ram, and oneguides in the landscapes of the North Ram.

Relatively remote open slopes and lush forestedvalleys within Ram River drainages are some ofAlberta’s richest and least disturbed grizzly bearhabitat. Refuge for these animals still exists in thethree tributaries of the South Ram, alongWhiterabbit Creek and through much of therugged North Ram. Canary and HummingbirdCreeks are also prime grizzly habitat. It is commonto find Ram area slopes extensively torn apart byblack and grizzly bears, a result of the animals’search for the starchy rhizomes of sweet vetch andfor the occasional fat ground squirrel. A motherand cubs may spend an entire feeding season inone high valley, systematically digging and eatingalong its slopes.

Some 600 bighorn sheep inhabit area ridges insummer, drifting in and out of Banff Park and theSiffleur Wilderness Area. Rocky Mountain goatssuffered significant population losses in the 1960swhen exploration roads penetrated parts of theRam. Despite protection since 1969, theirpopulations have still not recovered to historiclevels. Elk numbers are also well below summercarrying capacity and winter motorized use of keyhabitats, especially along Hummingbird Creek,Onion Lake, Kiska Creek and west of Ram Falls,will undoubtedly reduce their numbers evenfurther. Bighorn sheep overwintering in these areaswill also suffer.

Entering the North Ram from Onion Lake, the trail breaks out into a willow-filled meadow.

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recreation that was legislated into effect in 2002will allow the area to recover remains to be seen.

While Ranger Creek, both Ram drainages andWhiterabbit Creek are now off-limits to summervehicle use under 2002 legislation, other Bighornlands have been designated for continuedmotorized use. Canary, Hummingbird and OnionCreeks, all of which are zoned for highestprotection under the Eastern Slopes Policy, areopen to off-road vehicles for ten months of each year. Snowmobiles are allowed broaderplaygrounds in Ram River watersheds and criticalwinter habitats, including Ranger Creek, fromOctober 1 to April 30 as well as frolic areas onopen slopes in the Ranger headwaters and aboveOnion Lake. The Hummingbird-Canary-Onionportion of the Ram will become a classic test of ourability to regenerate alpine and subalpinewatersheds and habitats.

When Alberta Wilderness Association proposedthe Ram-Whiterabbit as a protected Wildland atthe 1973 Eastern Slopes hearings, the area wasconsidered highest quality wilderness andsummer-fall habitat. Parts were also recognized asimportant winter range for ungulates. The area wasthe focus of presentations made by many of thecitizens concerned with protecting the EasternSlopes at the hearings. Much of the higherelevation land had been spared major humandisruption caused by coal and oil and gasexploration. Several exploration roads on theeastern side had been reclaimed using Alberta’sHeritage Trust Fund. The area abutted a numberof already protected areas – the SiffleurWilderness, Banff National Park and the candidateKootenay Plains Ecological Reserve. Followingrecommendations from the Eastern Slopeshearings, the 1977 Eastern Slopes Policy placedalmost all of the Ram-Whiterabbit under thePrime Protection Zone. The future of the Ram-Whiterabbit as fully protected seemed assured.

However, by the completion in 1986 of theNordegg-Red Deer River Integrated ResourcePlan, including guidelines for managing the Ramand adjacent lands, off-road vehicle damage hadalready significantly increased. Previouslyreclaimed roads had been worn back into vehicletrails, and off-trail excursions were scarring wet,steep and sensitive areas. Despite strong directionin the Ram Headwaters section of the IntegratedResource Plan to protect watersheds and habitats,particularly for grizzlies and fish, protectivelegislation never materialized. This sensitive andlovely landscape was increasingly abused, andtoday the Ram remains the most heavily used andaffected area within the Bighorn Wildland. Somewatersheds and wildlife habitats are socompromised, they will take decades to repair.Whether the partial controls on motorized

On a tributary of the lower Bighorn River, rarelyvisited by humans because of its rugged terrain, arebeautiful pools sculpted into limestone bedrock. ORV damage to wetlands like these in the

headwaters of the South Ram will heal in time, once the source is eliminated.

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THREATS TO ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITYWhy Protection, Management and Enforcement Are Necessary

• Off-road vehicle–caused erosion in Hummingbird/Canary/Onion/Headwaters trail• Declining wildlife populations because of off-road vehicle and snowmobile harassment• Snowmobile compaction damage to soils, plants and small mammals wintering

under the snow• Increasing numbers of hunters using the area by off-road vehicles that often pull laden

trailers, causing erosion, stream degradation, and noise pollution and detracting from a wilderness experience

• Increasing and unmanaged horse use causing erosion on steep and soft trails• Off-road vehicle incursions into protected portions

An old research station stands at what used to bethe tongue of the Ram Glacier in 1960. Today itis almost a half kilometre away from the rapidly thawing ice pack.

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Dwarf birch and willow paint the foreground of an early autumn view of the Ranger Creek headwaters.

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INTRIGUE AMONGST THE GARBAGE

Alberta Wilderness Association has a history of cleaning backcountry trails and camps that goesback to 1972 when the Association first cleaned the area around Pinto Lake. AWA garbage baggersblitzed the Panther Corners in 1983, and in 1984 AWA’s Vivian Pharis initiated a 10-yearsystematic purging of the rest of the Bighorn.

Ranger Creek in the South Ram drainage has camps along its entire length and a long history ofuse. It was dirty and slated for cleanup in 1987. Vivian Pharis and Dianne Pachal packed in beforethe July long weekend to set up a base camp for volunteers who were to follow on foot. Camp waslocated midway along the creek, and the horses were hobbled to graze. As the evening meal drewto a close, the eastern sky became an eerie yellow and was soon overhung by a bank of leadenclouds. That night it poured until the pounding in Ranger Creek shook the ground. Vivian andDianne knew they were stuck for a matter of days and that their walking crew had no chance ofjoining them.

The next few days were a mix of drizzle and sun as the two grubbed through abandoned seismiccamp and outfitter garbage, and filled bags so heavy they could only drag them. By the end of thethird day they had cleaned all but two headwaters camps. It rained a bit in the night and they rodein mist up the valley the next morning. As they approached a high camp in the shelter of heavytrees, mist engulfed it. The atmosphere seemed dank and ominous. Something was amiss. Theycircled a canvas wall tent draped with a blue plastic tarp that was filled and sagging with water.Clothes and bedding were strewn out the door and a table was collapsed inside.

Finally, they decided the situation was safe and spent the rest of the morning bagging the spoiledbelongings of people who had left in an awful hurry. They had even jettisoned spurs andprescription medication. From information on the medication, the Forest Service was able toeventually track down the camp’s owners and make them come back to remove the tent. Apparentlya pair of hunters had killed an animal late the previous fall just as the weather was turning bad, sothey had loaded it onto their one pack mule and fled, leaving behind an entire camp – a campwhere, for a while at least, the two trail riders expected to find something a lot more sinister thana bag of rotten wieners hanging from the tent’s ridge pole.

Garbage from campsites, some with more than 60years of accumulation, was bagged throughout theBighorn over a 10-year period.

Heavy bags of garbage were stacked for lift-out bythe Alberta Forest Service.

WAPIABI-BLACKSTONE-SUNKAY

6WAPIABI-BLACKSTONE-SUNKAYVIVIAN PHARIS

The Wapiabi-Blackstone is the haunt of the wolf.

Here, more often than elsewhere in the Bighorn, its plaintive wails may

be heard between dusk and dawn. Occasionally a curious wolf will sit at a

distance from a Wapiabi camp, watching the movement of campers

and sometimes answering an authentic-

sounding human “call of the wild.”

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WAPIABI -BLACKSTONE - SUNKAYIn the northeastern corner of the BighornWildland, the Wapiabi-Blackstone forms anaesthetically and geographically distinct land unit.Between two imposing mountain ranges lies awide valley system that trends northwest tosoutheast. To the east, the rugged Bighorn Rangerises to 2500 metres, while the westerly FrontRange extends finger-like ridges from 3000-metrepeaks into the valleys, along a distance ofapproximately 40 km. Some of Alberta’s moststunning scenery and superior trail riding countrystraddles the distance between these parallel sets ofmountains.

Open and grassy valleys of the Sunkay, Vimy,Wapiabi, George, Blackstone and Chungo Creeksare reminiscent of the Panther Corners-Ya HaTinda, only here they are more wild and remote.The Wapiabi-Blackstone is undoubtedly thegentlest landscape in the Bighorn. Valley bottomtrails, at least in good weather, pose little challengefor riders because many are abandoned explorationroads and there is little elevation changethroughout. Areas of muskeg can provetroublesome for horses though, especially in wetyears. With or without horses, the informalcamping opportunities in the area are unsurpassedin the Bighorn.

Challenging trails can be found here too, for thosewilling to explore. Some climb to the top of theBighorn Range and others ascend Front Rangeridges such as Vimy. From high vantages in theWapiabi-Blackstone, the views are comparable tothe most splendid in the Canadian Rockies.

Another feature distinguishes the Wapiabi-Blackstone from the rest of the Wildland – itdoesn’t have the same level of protection. Becauseof the possibility of natural gas lying under itssurface, the Wapiabi-Blackstone was excludedfrom the Prime Protection zoning of the EasternSlopes Policy, and instead given Critical WildlifeHabitat status, a designation that allows industrialexploration and development. A portion at thesouth end of the Wapiabi-Blackstone, in thedrainages of the Sunkay and Tershishner Creeks, iseven less protected, and in a large area aroundCrescent Falls, the zoning allows for generalindustrial development, including logging.

Despite the lack of protection under the EasternSlopes Policy, much of the Wapiabi-Blackstone hasbeen quasi-protected since 1986 under ForestLand Use Zone (FLUZ) legislation that prohibitsmotorized recreation. Even the extensive wetlandsof the Sunkay, which are zoned as Multiple Use bythe Eastern Slopes Policy, fall under the protectivewing of FLUZ law.

FLUZ protection has allowed the Wapiabi-Blackstone to be used in a traditional manner byhikers and horse riders, free from off-road vehicles.This is part of the reason for the area’s wild natureand peaceful demeanour. Another reason is thatsummer use, with the exception of the area aroundCrescent Falls, has been generally low, althoughoutfitters are increasingly using the Wapiabi-Blackstone for extended summer trail rides. Mostof the area’s use occurs in the fall when hunters aredrawn to seek trophy bighorn sheep and elk in awilderness setting. Four outfitters currently usethis area for extended summer trail rides, and atleast six bring hunters into the area each fall.

To the east of Vimy Ridge, Vimy Creek arises from aseries of icy tarns.

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STEWARDSHIP AND THE HISTORIC BIGHORN TRAILIn 1994, under a trail adoption program promoted by the Alberta Forest Service, AlbertaWilderness Association assumed maintenance of approximately 100 km of the historic BighornTrail through the heart of the Wapiabi-Blackstone. This was the first equestrian trail to beadopted under the program. Each year in July, the Association takes a small group of horse-assisted volunteers into the area for 10 days to carry out work on a portion of the trail.

Adoption of the Bighorn Trail followed 10 years (1984-1994) of volunteer cleaning of debrisfrom trails and backcountry campsites throughout the Bighorn. The clean-up campaign was ajoint undertaking between Alberta Wilderness Association and the Alberta Forest Service, whoused their helicopters to remove garbage bagged by the volunteers. In 10 years, approximately 20tonnes of garbage were gathered and flown out.

The Bighorn Trail is at least as old as the Alberta Forest Service and National Parks Service. Theyjointly built, used and maintained a trail system along the Eastern Slopes as far north as theAthabasca River. There is evidence that the Bighorn Trail between the Kootenay Plains and theAthabasca River was used in prehistoric times. Although little archaeological investigation hasoccurred in the Wapiabi-Blackstone, First Nations gravesites have been found in several places. Itis probable that First Nations peoples followed bison herds dispersing from the Kootenay Plainsinto the lush meadows of the Sunkay, Wapiabi and Blackstone valleys.

GETTING THEREAccess may be gained from Crescent Falls off Highway 11 or at Wapiabi Gap, west of the ForestryTrunk Road. The Crescent Falls turnoff is reached about 18 km west of the town of Nordegg. Ahighway sign points west to a local road that can be followed six km to the Crescent Fallscampground and staging area. The road to Wapiabi Gap turns west off the North Forestry Roadabout 15 km north of Nordegg, where it is signed as the Blackstone-Chungo Road. This wellsiteroad must be followed a further 16 km to the Wapiabi Gap. Blackstone and Chungo Gaps alsohave old exploration roads leading to the boundary of the Wildland, but vehicle access to theseis difficult or impossible.

Some years the number of blown down trees alongthe historic trail number well into the hundreds.Volunteers use hand saws, axes and chain saws toclear the trail.

Volunteers lay the stringers for a corduroy bridgethat was built over a sensitive wetland on thehistoric trail.

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The famous McConnell Thrust fault stopped here and produced a magnificent row of peaks that border the west side of the Wapiabi River headwaters.

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Like the Panther Corners-Ya Ha Tinda, theWapiabi-Blackstone shows evidence of prehistoricuse by First Nations peoples. Bison skulls havebeen found throughout the valleys, as have FirstNations graves. One such grave keeps a lonely vigilatop the highest point on the Wapiabi Plains. Inthe language of the Stoney people, who are themost recent First Nation to use the lands of theBighorn, the word wapiabi means “grave.”

In the last century, the feral horse has replaced thebison as a primary herbivore within the Wapiabi-Blackstone. Horses that escaped from the nearbyBig Horn Indian Reserve have found the areahospitable on a year-round basis and are probablyone reason for a healthy population of wolves. Elkare common, although not abundant, probablydue to consistent hunting pressure and a lack ofsuitable winter range. An examination of elkskeletons in the area suggests that many actuallylive to very old ages and finally die when theirteeth are worn to the gum line. Several naturalmineral licks, such as that in the headwaters ofGeorge Creek, are excellent places to watch for arange of wildlife, including wild horses. Some ofAlberta’s most popular bighorn sheep country isfound on the high slopes along the Bighorn andFront Ranges, attracting naturalists and hunters.

Although little coal exploration has marred thearea, two gas wells were drilled in the Blackstonetributaries of Opabin and Mons Creeks around1972. Both were dry and their access roads werereclaimed through Alberta’s Heritage Trust Fund.Despite this, the Alberta government hascontinued to sell petroleum leases in the Wapiabi-Blackstone, and there is increasing pressure fromindustry to re-enter the area to drill.

Hikers must be warned that the abandonedexploration roads and traditional horse trails in thearea were designed for vehicles or horse use,neither of which are impeded by stream crossings.These are frequent on all area trails and cautionmust be exercised during times of high water. Evenequestrians must take care, especially if trying tocross the Wapiabi, Blackstone or Bighorn Riverswhen in flood. Equestrians should also be cautiousof muskeg, and under no circumstances shouldthey attempt to cross the lower Sunkay meadowsor try to ride the Mons Creek wellsite road to theBlackstone River because of the dangerously boggyconditions.

The main Wapiabi stream is joined in this spreadingmeadow by tributaries from the east and west. THREATS TO ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

Why Protection, Management and Enforcement Are Necessary

• Natural gas drilling• Increasingly dense drilling on the eastern Wildland boundary• Logging encroaching on the northern and eastern boundaries• Increasing ORV activity on the northern and eastern boundaries• Trapper cabins becoming backcountry lodges; trappers exploiting ORV exemptions• Increasing horse use, including wagons

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WILD HORSESFew North American wild animals can fire the human imagination like the wild horse. It isutterly fascinating to watch a pair of wild stallions face each other on hind legs, ears flattened andteeth barred, lashing out with forelegs and snake-like necks and screaming like banshees. This isespecially so when the action takes place in a subalpine meadow where you are camping with yourhobbled pack horses who stare, transfixed and on guard, from the protection of a grove of trees.Such an experience is possible in the Wapiabi-Blackstone, where the territorial piles of stallionmanure dot the landscape from valley bottom to vertical rock faces.

During the past century, wild horses have been rounded up in parts of the Wapiabi-Blackstone.In the lower Sunkay valley, the remains of corrals with long wing leads can still be found scatteredthrough the forest. One dilapidated corral can be seen along the Bighorn Trail, just where the trailbegins to climb steeply from the lower Sunkay meadows to the upper meadows.

In earlier days the horses were rounded up to be broken as working stock, but in later years theywere sold to become human and pet food. In 1993 a law was passed in Alberta that restricted theroundup of wild horses, and since then the horses of the Wapiabi-Blackstone have roamed in greaterpeace. Along with severe winter conditions, wolves provide population control by taking foals.

The Pharis pack string makes its way across theWapiabi Valley.

Remains of wild horse corrals in the lower Sunkay Valley.

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The Sunkay meadows lie along the eastern edge of the Bighorn Wildland. The boggy meadows are sure to challenge even those with the longest legs!

CORAL CREEK - JOB CREEK

7CORAL CREEK - JOB CREEKVIVIAN PHARIS

Job-Coral is the wild and splendid heart of the Bighorn.

Except for a segment abutting Highway 11, the Job-Coral region of the

Bighorn Wildland lies in grand isolation, surrounded by Jasper National Park,

Whitegoat Wilderness and the Bighorn’s Wapiabi-Blackstone.

A trip into the area involves a major commitment of time,

energy and careful planning. It is worth it though, as this is one of the last places in

Alberta where wilderness can be experienced much

like it was a hundred years ago.

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These verdant ridges near the headwaters of the Bighorn River form some of the most spectacular scenery in all of the Rockies. Unfortunately, they have now been designated as a snowmobile playground.

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CORAL CREEK - JOB CREEKThe main access trail is up Coral Creek, from thesigned trailhead just north of the Cline Riverbridge on Highway 11. Coral Creek valley is sorough that even the 1960s seismic crews weredeterred, and except for the first few kilometresabove the trailhead, it remains free of roads. Coralis a mean route to travel by foot, with more than30 crossings of the tumultuous, bolder-strewnstream and enough deadfall to tire a triathlete.Hikers would be wise to remain on one streambank during times of high water. Camping spotsare fairly frequent, particularly in Coral’s upperreaches, and most have a good supply of grass forhorses. Job Pass, at nearly 2500 metres, is one ofthe Bighorn’s pinnacle viewpoints. Unfortunately,years of passing pack strings have worn away muchof the soil from the top of the pass, and the steeproute down into Job Creek has become a metre-deep trench.

Before turning into the switchbacks that head outof the Coral Creek valley to Job Pass, theheadwaters of Coral Creek beckon theadventurous into a lake-studded alpland ofincredible beauty. For hikers equipped with thegear and skills for further adventure, it is possibleto cross several high passes at the top of CoralCreek and descend to McDonald Creek withinWhite Goat Wilderness, or into Job Creek andover another high pass to upper Job Lake.

Once back on the main trail and over Job Pass intoJob valley, a choice can be made to proceedupstream or down, although the established trailleads down and there will be no obvious campsabove this junction. Upper Job is well worth a longday’s toil on foot though, to immerse yourself inpicturesque mountains, stunning waterfalls and

valleys choked with massive limestone blocks, eachbeckoning investigation, just beyond. This is not avalley for the timid, nor for those lackingmountain travel experience, but it offers some ofthe Bighorn’s wildest and best scenery.

Downstream, along Job’s main trail, each sidevalley could be a day’s adventure. Some tributarieslead into high, hanging valleys that drop into JobLake. Some end in impossible-looking passes,where indented trails indicate the ease with whichbighorn sheep and mountain goats move betweenJob Creek and the drainages of the Wapiabi,Bighorn and Littlehorn Rivers. Outfitter campsare scattered along Job Creek, although some areno longer useable because of the fickle nature ofthe creek, which erupts to the surface or disappearsunderground at different places in different years.

Job Lake, named for Job Beaver, a renownedStoney mountain man and explorer, is theBighorn’s most photogenic lake. It is set amongstsnow-crested, red-streaked peaks, where long greenslopes fall into deep blue waters. By horse, JobLake is a day’s ride west of Job valley, about sevenkm along the full length of Wilson Creek.

For more than a decade, fishing for cutthroat troutin Job Lake was an angler’s sweetest dream. Therewas no finer fishing anywhere in the province, andthe chance to catch a five-pound species-purecutthroat with bright pink meat became asportsman’s magnet. Finally, the insatiable fishingindustry trade triggered the fishery’s collapse andthe lake has been closed to anglers since 1989. Amudslide into the spawning beds at the WilsonCreek outlet has thwarted natural recovery of thepopulation. A positive but slow outcome of thefishery’s closure has been the recovery of thedamaged lakeshore’s ecology.

The vivid colours of Upper Job Creek indicate itsproximity to the iron-rich mountains of Jasper Park.

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Downstream of the trail to Job Lake, camping andside valley exploration opportunities continue.Obstruction Lake to the west is a diamond cast ina rough rock setting, a setting that is often softenedby a herd of placid bighorn lambs and eweslounging on its alpine shores and by the splash oftrout on the lake’s surface. This lake requires aconsiderable hike or ride even to the first“obstruction,” or set of cliffs. Horses must be tiedhere, as they can go no further. Two lesser but stillobstructive sets of cliffs must be assailed before theturquoise waters of upper Obstruction Lake breakinto view.

Nearer the mouth of Job Creek is another long,enticing valley with the whimsical name of ThreeWhisker. This valley comes from the east and splitsinto several “whiskers” in its upper reaches. Eachwhisker valley is itself an individual, with its ownrugged beauty. To get to know this Job tributarywell would require several days of exploring.

At the mouth of Job Creek, another decision mustbe made to go up or downstream, this timefollowing the east bank of the Brazeau River, nextto Jasper National Park. Either direction meansseveral days of travel to the nearest road.Continuing a trip from the junction of Job Creekand the Brazeau River requires careful planningand the prior positioning of pickup vehicles.

Downstream, travellers are faced with a tough dayalong a combination of cut horse trails and seismiclines that are now designated for off-road vehicleuse. The trails are soft in many places and theoccasional muskeg bog has to be crossed. Insummer, the no-see-em flies can drive horses madalong this stretch. After approximately 15 km, thehorse trail leaves the Brazeau and enters the morehospitable and vehicle-free Blackstone valley at the

north end of the Wapiabi-Blackstone. From here,trails can be followed within the Bighorn Wildlandto Wapiabi Gap or Crescent Falls.

Upstream, travelling and the scenery are far morepleasant, and this part of the Brazeau is off-limitsto motorized recreation. Again, there are severalgood camps along the way, such as the one belowthe trail to Longview Lake. With planning and thecorrect permits, a wonderful route can be followedupstream and across the Brazeau River into JasperPark, and on out to Highway 93 over Nigel Passand along Nigel Creek. Crossing the Brazeau Riveris a challenge for hikers, however, and should beattempted only by those experienced with rivercrossings, and only when the river is low.

Arising in the southeast corner of the Job-Coralsection is the crowning glory of the BighornWildland. Here are high, expansive and flower-strewn meadows where streams rush, waterfallsplunge and the sheep, goats and fat marmots feedlazily in plain view. Golden eagles catch thethermals, and even a rare wolverine may play hide-and-seek with a golden-mantled ground squirrel.Elusive alpine poppies are at home here too, on softshale slopes at about 2600 metres. These are thehighlands of the Littlehorn and Bighorn Rivers,where the waters originate amongst a myriad of rocktowers and snow-clad peaks, just east of Job andCoral Creeks. Few places in the Rockies are as fair ofview or as inviting to linger in as the upper reachesof the Littlehorn and Bighorn Rivers.

About 10 km above its junction with Job Creek, onebranch of Three Whisker Creek tumbles over a craggyfalls. The rest of the day’s exploration of upperWhisker is on foot; the terrain above the falls is steepand rough.

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RARE AND LOVELYLAPLAND ROSEBAYCanada’s Rocky Mountains have only twospecies of rhododendron, the gangly white-flowered variety and its astounding little cousin,the royal purple Lapland rosebay. Laplandrosebay is a low, tangled shrub that blooms in ashow of purple azalea-like cups right at the timeof snowmelt. An inhabitant of Canada’s arctic,this small plant is also established in scarcepockets along the Eastern Slopes, particularly inthe Bighorn Wildland, and most particularly incertain treeline locations throughout Job-Coraland the Wapiabi Front Range.

Most people would fail to notice this shrubunless they happened to see its exotic bloomsduring the last week of June or the first week ofJuly. In places, as on the slopes east of Job Lakeor on the top of the lowest obstruction on theroute to Obstruction Lakes, Lapland rosebay islocally common but often goes unnoticedamongst the heather species growing with it.

The headwaters of Coral Creek arise from a series of exquisite alpine tarns.

Lapland rosebay in royal purple splendour – a raretreat seldom seen.

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Trails into these alpine meadows ascend bothrivers, and another climbs over Littlehorn Pass, upWhitegoat Creek, from the waste transfer site offHighway 11. All, unfortunately, are the remains ofexploration roads, and this place of beauty andtranquility has been scarred by the search forminerals. The road scars will linger as reminders ofan era when wilderness was considered infinite andwithout value, except for its extractable resources.

From Crescent Falls off Highway 11, a trail followsthe Bighorn River upstream to its junction with theLittlehorn River. Beyond this junction, both valleyshave trails suitable for horses, although only hikerswill be able to make the final ascent over BighornPass into the top reaches. It is too steep for horses.The valley of the Littlehorn is long and rocky beforeit passes through a tight notch made by a recentlandslide and begins a brisk ascent. The way is anold exploration road that in places is being narrowedto a trail by slumping soils. Both river valleys areflanked by intriguing tributaries that are full ofsurprising delights for those who have the time,energy and experience to explore them.

Although the highly scenic meadows at the top ofthe Littlehorn-Bighorn are officially off-limits tosummer recreational vehicle use, they have recently

been designated as a general winter playground,with the access trail being up Whitegoat Creek andover Littlehorn Pass.

The Job-Coral region is known for its vigorouspopulation of bighorns, and the strongestpopulation of mountain goats in the region is foundin this remote area. Elk and moose numbers,however, are well below summer carrying capacity.Grizzly and black bears and wolves are foundthroughout. During late August and earlySeptember, at the height of buffalo berry ripening,bears may concentrate along such trails as lowerCoral, and hikers must be alert at such times.

Job-Coral supports three summer trail-ridingoutfitters who are equipped to take tourists onextensive tours. The Sands (now retired),McKenzie and Colosimo families have a longassociation with Job-Coral and have been bringingtrail riders and hunters to the area for twogenerations. Several spring bear outfitters and falloutfitters guide foreign and resident huntersseeking trophy bighorn rams and elk. There arefew other places where hunting, for bighorn sheepin particular, is still possible in such wild andspectacular settings as those of the headwaters ofJob-Coral and the Bighorn-Littlehorn.

Nestled among high peaks and surrounded by cliffs,Obstruction Lake is a challenge to reach, but wellworth the effort.

THREATS TO ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITYWhy Protection, Management and Enforcement Are Necessary

• Impact of off-road vehicles along the Brazeau River and in Jasper National Park• Impact of snowmobiles on wildlife in the valleys and highlands of the Littlehorn and Bighorn Rivers• Snowmobile compaction damage to soils, plants and small mammals wintering under the snow• Impact of helicopter tourism on wilderness qualities and on fish and wildlife populations• Trail erosion, especially over Job Pass

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Ridges and open slopes at the top of Coral Creek provide excellent bighorn sheep habitat and the haunt of isolation-seeking grizzly bears.

CLINE RIVER

8CLINE RIVERVIVIAN PHARIS

The most rugged portion of the Bighorn Wildland lies in the region of the Cline River.

Bordered by the White Goat and Siffleur Wilderness Areas, Banff National Park and the

North Saskatchewan River, the Cline region is almost a separate entity

from the rest of the Wildland.

High glaciated peaks, striking alpine lakes, abundant waterfalls,

open foothills slopes and serpentine

river valleys make this an especially scenic recreation area and

one with a long history of use and appreciation.

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CLINE RIVERVehicle access to the Cline region is limited to twopoints off Highway 11. One begins at the Pinto Laketrail staging area south of the Cline River bridge, andthe other is about eight km. to the west, at thejunction of Highway 11 and the Wildhorse Creektrail. Foot travellers have more choice, however. Theycan enter the Cline region from several Siffleur andWhite Goat Wilderness Area trails, such as thosefollowing Cataract and McDonald Creeks. TheSunset Pass trail from Highway 93 in Banff Park is oneof the most popular hiking trails into the area. Thistrail climbs in a series of switchbacks up NormanCreek and past Norman Lake to the pass and parkboundary, where views can be glimpsed of Pinto Lake,an azure mirror circled by dark green forest againstsheer, limestone cliffs.

Even prior to the old “four-wheel drive only” forestryroad along the North Saskatchewan, which was theforerunner of Highway 11, recreational use of theCline region was relatively high. In 1966 when theroad was upgraded to all-weather standards, usecontinued to increase. Hunters, fishermen andmountaineers came to enjoy the area’s specialattributes. Glaciated Mount Cline, the Bighorn’stallest peak, rises to just over 3300 metres, and nearbypeaks like Whitegoat and Resolute are over 3100metres. Such peaks have long been a draw to themountaineering fraternity.

Traditionally, fishing has been another majorrecreational use. Pinto Lake’s phenomenal populationof bull trout seemed inexhaustible and attractedoutfitters and private parties for decades. First Nationsuse dates at least to the earliest recorded history of thearea. But when they are abused, all good things end,and increasing fishing pressure caused populationdepletion, which forced the lake’s closure in 1989.Due to the slow population recovery, there are nocurrent plans to reopen the lake to sport fishing; thiswill allow the lake’s shores to recover from decades ofrandom camping.

The story of Pinto Lake’s fishery collapse is beingrepeated in nearby stocked lakes. These are the muchsmaller Landslide Lake and Lake of the Falls, stockedwith cutthroat trout, and Michele Lakes, stocked withgolden trout. All three are suffering from thecombined effects of under-attention by a resource-strapped government agency, too much attention byfoot- and horse-powered anglers and, since 2000, theadded pressure of helicopter fishing.

The Cline section of the Bighorn Wildland used to beknown for its remnant herd of rare mountain caribouthat wandered through these and neighbouring landsin Banff Park and the Siffleur and White Goat

The rewards of wilderness camping in the Cline River area include waking to the crystal waters of Landslide Lake.

Above Landslide Lake a backpacker continues to ascendto the 2500 metre saddle before dropping steeply intoWildhorse Creek toward the David Thompson highway.

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Wilderness Areas. Today there is scant evidence of thenoble beast anywhere in the region. Parts of the Clineregion, including Pinto Lake and Cataract Pass, arekey mountain goat ranges. Bighorn sheep makeLandslide Lake and other high and grassy slopes theirsummer homes. Grizzly and black bears havetraditionally frequented the vicinity of Pinto Lake,probably because of lush vegetation along the lake’sshores and meals of bull trout from the lake’s outlet.The effect of increasing helicopter traffic on localwildlife has yet to be assessed.

Only two main horse and foot trails traverse the Clineregion. One follows the north boundary, along thesouth bank of the Cline River to Pinto Lake, where itconnects park and wilderness area trails with theHighway 11 staging area south of Cline RiverCrossing. The other trail leaves the Cline River aboutfive km. upstream, to climb steadily to LandslideLake. This trail traverses a 2500-metre pass beforedescending steeply down Wildhorse Creek toHighway 11. A trail branches west from the LandslideLake Trail to Lake of the Falls and its outstandingscenery. An informal hiking trail follows closely alongthe banks of Waterfalls Creek, and a horse trail takes alonger route through the forest to lovely MicheleLakes, which are almost on the Banff Park boundary.

Portions of the trails to Michele Lakes, Lake of theFalls and Landslide Lake now fall into a restrictedcategory that permits horse travel only betweenOctober 1 and May 30. These restrictions are anattempt to allow recovery of deeply eroded sectionsand to remove pressure during wet weatherconditions.

Since the 1960s, the area’s mountains have beensurveyed for potential ski developments, and theSaskatchewan River valley has been researched forpotential resort sites. Various proposals for each have

come forward throughout the years, some eliminatedby the Eastern Slopes Policy zoning and others by thedesignation of the White Goat and Siffleur WildernessAreas. The public, in a prolonged and concertedeffort, was successful through a 1984 decision by theAlberta Court of Appeals in defeating the grandioseOdyssey Resort proposed near Cline River Crossing.Today, the 700-hectare Whitegoat LakesDevelopment Node north of Cline River Crossing, anarea described in government documents as sensitiveand suitable for low-impact development, containsthe modest David Thompson Resort, McKenzie’strail-riding concession, Aurum Lodge, an unobtrusiveecotourism venture, and the Icefield Helicoptersstaging area, and is available for further development.

In 1999 Icefield Helicopters was given countyapproval to locate a base at the mouth of the ClineRiver; since then, they have steadily increased thenumber of helicopters, number of flights per day andflight times from dawn to dusk. These flights arehaving a growing effect on wilderness recreation andthe peace and solitude of the Cline region, theKootenay Plains and the Columbia Icefields of JasperNational Park.

Mt. Wilson within Banff Park and its extensiveicefields can be seen from high elevations throughoutthe Cline area.

THREATS TO ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITYWhy Protection, Management and Enforcement Are Necessary

• Impact of helicopter tourism on wilderness qualities and fish and wildlife populations• Increased tourism development along the North Saskatchewan River • Trail erosion on steep slopes• Over-fishing

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REDUCING THE IMPACTOF HORSE USEIn Chapter 18, Don Wales describes low impactbackpacking in high elevation, sensitive sites. As horseuse increases, equestrians too, must become morecognizant of their impact on the landscape. Trailproliferation and erosion are becoming majormanagement problems in parts of the Bighorn andare not being adequately addressed. Most suchproblems are within a day’s ride of trailheads andfavourite campsites, such as Hummingbird at thejunction of the Ram and Hummingbird Creeks, atthe Clearwater and Panther Corners trailheads and inthe vicinity of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch and the PantherCorners. Care must be taken to keep horses to singletrails and to avoid cutting switchbacks and indentingnew trails down steep slopes.

Generally, horse camps are located in lower elevationvalley bottom sites that are often less sensitive thansites backpackers might choose. Indeed, Europeanshave used some horse camps in the Bighorncontinuously for the past 100 years and possibly FirstNations peoples have used them for a longer time.Some of these show remarkably little damage exceptfor the inevitable woodcutting. Other backcountrysites, however, do show soil compaction, weedgrowth, a proliferation of fire rings and tree rootdamage from horses left tied to trees. Such campsneed management attention and closure on a rotatingbasis in order to allow rehabilitation.

Established outfitters often have favourite semi-permanent backcountry camps that are assigned tothem by the Forest Service, and they are responsiblefor maintaining these sites. When such camps areused for extended periods, supplemental feed that

may be hauled or air lifted in can bring exotic weedsthat establish themselves. The availability of naturalforage is a limiting factor for horse camps. In the past,First Nations peoples would have freely used fire tocreate good grazing for both wildlife and horsesaround their traditional camp. Outfitters, too, arereputed to have managed wildlife habitat and theircampsite grazing with fire. Today, however, fire islargely suppressed, and much of the open valleygrazing sites associated with old horse camps are nowovergrown with dwarf birch and willow. There is aneed to return to prescribed fire management ofhabitat and grazing sites for recreational use and toreduce the need to pack in horse feed.

Common Sense Horse Use: • Keep to established trails, avoid braiding,

cutting switchbacks and trail proliferation. • Avoid tying horses to trees, especially for

extended periods. Use high picket lines between trees or allow horses to roam on hobbles.

• Camp back from creek banks. • Bring a shovel to scatter manure. • Avoid proliferation of fire rings – use gas

stoves or clean up and reuse established rings. • Rehabilitate your fire ring by removing rocks,

scattering cold, wet ashes and throwing on a couple of scoops of mineral soil followed by a couple of scoops of organic soil to encourage new growth.

• Camp only a night or two in one spot and leave the site clean and tidy.

• Keep horse numbers to a minimum. Generally one packhorse is adequate per rider, for a weeklong trip.

• Pack out all non-burnable garbage. • Pick and burn any weeds and bring only weed-

free supplemental feed.

An old horse camp at the junction of Vimy andWapiabi Creeks shows severe damage from horsestied to trees for extended periods. Forty-sevenstanding trees are suffering from root damage. In2003 AWA pulled and burned several armloads ofexotic weed from this site.The site contains morethan a dozen campfire scars. A camp like thisshould be officially closed for at least five years inorder to rehabilitate.

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Mountaineers have been drawn to the challenging Cline River area peaks since the early 1900s. The area contains the Bighorn’s highest peaks.

KOOTENAY PLAINSECOLOGICAL RESERVE

9KOOTENAY PLAINS ECOLOGICAL RESERVEDOROTHY DICKSON & JULIA COOK

A long natural corridor extends from the Columbia River drainage in British Columbia,

over the Howse Pass on the Continental Divide, to the North Saskatchewan River drainage in Alberta.

The trail along its length passes spectacular mountain scenery, glaciated valleys,

turbulent streams and dark forests, but the landscape changes abruptly

where the North Saskatchewan River emerges from the confines of the Front Ranges

of the Rockies about 14 km from the eastern gate of Banff National Park.

Here the river flows out into the broad, grassy Kootenay Plains of the Montane ecoregion.

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The four seasons bring fresh delights to the KootenayPlains. The winter ice on Abraham Lake provides abroad and fascinating study of Nature’s artwork.

KOOTENAY PLAINSECOLOGICAL RESERVETo the south and east of the Plains is the NorthRam River drainage and to the north and west, therugged Cline River region. As the NorthSaskatchewan River valley continues eastward, theland becomes heavily forested, and the Montanearea, the only one in this part of the BighornWildland, ends.

The typical Montane ecosystem of grasslandsinterspersed with stands of trees is warmed anddried here by the chinook winds blowing throughthe Howse Pass. Indeed, the aboriginal name forthe area was Kadoona Tinda, meaning the “WindyPrairie.” With its thin, fragile layer of sandy soil,the region is almost desert-like and very susceptibleto wind and water erosion. Unlike in the montanegrasslands further south, the grasses here are Junegrass and northern wheatgrass rather than fescue. Itis speculated that fescue grasses may once havegrown here but were destroyed by overgrazing. Thegrasses are interspersed by typical montane forbssuch as pussytoe, strawberry, yarrow and aster. Thetrees are mostly lodgepole pine with some whitespruce, Douglas fir and, on exposed rocky ledges,limber pine. Because it is so dry, there are fewstands of aspen, but willows grow in some riparianareas. Canada buffaloberry and wild roses arecommon shrubs. Low-growing species such asbearberry and creeping juniper help to hold thevulnerable topsoil in place.

Since the cutting of trails in the forests to the east,access to the Kootenay Plains from both west andeast has been reasonably easy for both wildlife andhumans. For thousands of years the grasslands havebeen a major wintering ground for hoofedmammals, especially bison, elk and mule deer.

Groups of woodland caribou used the woodedareas, while the bighorn sheep and mountain goatsstayed on the fringes to be close to their escaperoutes to higher land, as the congregations of preywere naturally followed by their predators, mainlywolves and humans.

Many Kootenay people lived on the Eastern Slopes,and others from British Columbia joined them forthe winter. When the fur traders, such as DavidThompson and Joseph Howse, came from the eastin the early 1800s, they named the Plains after theinhabitants they found there. However, variousAlberta-based First Nations, by now supplied withhorses and guns, drove all the Kootenays back intoBritish Columbia to keep the good hunting andlucrative fur trade for themselves. It was the Stoneyswho eventually settled permanently in the area andin 1910 were promised land there – a promise thatremains unfulfilled.

Horses were added to the teeming populations ofwild winter grazers, which were under such heavyhunting pressure that the bison were extirpated andother species greatly reduced in number. As tradingposts, forestry and mining enterprises multipliedand roads crept westward, people started coming tovisit the Kootenay Plains for recreation, and thenumber of visitors continues to increase to this day.

Since Highway 11, the David Thompson Highway,was paved and extended to the Banff Parkboundary, many more people have been able toexplore and enjoy the Kootenay Plains in allseasons. But what you see today, while stillbeautiful and interesting, is very different from thesight of grasslands teeming with wildlife as theyonce were. Now you will see a flooded valleybordered by the remnants of the Plains.

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Construction of the Bighorn Dam near theconfluence of the Bighorn and NorthSaskatchewan Rivers was completed forhydroelectricity in 1974. The long reservoir wasnamed Abraham Lake after Silas Abraham,patriarch of the Stoney Abraham family, who livedon the Plains for more than 150 years and whosehomes and gravesites are now under the water.

While the reservoir has flooded valuable wildlifegrazing lands and displaced the First Nations frommuch of the land they were once promised, it hasenhanced the views of the surrounding mountainsby the ever-changing colours of the water and thereflections of the convoluted rock formations thattower above it. It is not, however, as was oncehoped, of use for recreation because of thedangerous winds, and the shoreline is too sterile tocreate habitat for wildlife because of thefluctuating water levels.

Many trails start from Highway 11 and leadthrough the Kootenay Plains to more ruggedcountry beyond; these are well described in trailguides for the area. However, there is also much ofinterest easily accessible within the Plainsthemselves. At Whirlpool Point on the south sideof the road, limber pines cling to the rocky,windswept ledges. Many of these trees are at least400 years old and some are estimated to be nearer1000 years. Their slow growth and constantpressure from the prevailing winds cause them togrow in a spiral, turning very, very slowly from theforce of the mono-directional winds. The easternend of the Plains has one of the largest naturalstands of Douglas fir on the Eastern Slopes. This isone of the easiest evergreens to identify – just lookfor the “mouse-tails” sticking out from betweenthe scales of the large cones.

A three-toed woodpecker feeds his noisy brood in a cavity in one of the Kootenay Plain’s old trees. The Plainsare home to a wide range of animal and plant species, including one of the largest stands of Douglas fir on theEastern Slopes.

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Interesting features north of the highway can beaccessed from the campgrounds. Two O’clockCreek got its odd name because early in themorning in the summer there is little or nowaterflow in this creek, which runs east of thecampground named after it. However, by mid-afternoon, the sun has caused the edge of theglacier that feeds it to melt, giving the creek a goodwaterflow – so if you want to get across you hadbetter be there before two o’clock! The ridgebehind the campground is worth exploring, withdelightful views over the valley and manywildflowers and nesting birds in early summer.

You can continue upward to the alpine zone onTwo O’clock Ridge or stay on the easy slopes andsee the First Nations sweat lodges, built each yearfor traditional sundance ceremonies. Near theCavalcade Group Camp, a large ice-wall forms inthe winter. This is not a frozen waterfall but an“ice-fall” formed by small seeps and trickles on thecliff face from the slightly sulphurous springsabove that never freeze.

Recognizing that this is one of the few montaneareas in the foothills and that it has features notfound elsewhere, making it a place to be protectedand cherished, the provincial governmentdesignated much of what is left of the KootenayPlains as an Ecological Reserve in 1987. Most ofthe low land along both sides of the highway isincluded, but the major part of the Reserve lies eastof the road. The parking area and access is 62 kmwest of Nordegg and has a good on-site mapshowing the trails beyond.

Antlers shed on the Kootenay Plains testify to the area’s use by ungulates in the fall and winter. Prior toAbraham Lake’s flooding, the Plains over-wintered large herds of wildlife and was permanent home to generations of First Nations peoples.

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The primary purpose of the Ecological Reserve isto protect the natural features of the Montaneecosystem. However, because the region had longbeen used for recreation and – unlike most suchreserves, which are more isolated – was much usedby the public, it was decided that strictly regulatedhorse riding and mountain biking would bepermitted. Three established trails were designatedfor these uses, mainly to provide access totraditional routes leading further south.Unfortunately, these privileges are being abusedand off-trail damage to the fragile soil cover isincreasing. If the native plants recover at all, it willtake many years, and opportunistic plants such aschickweed often invade the disturbed areas.

The most popular hiking trail is to the SiffleurFalls. It takes visitors through several differentareas typical of the Montane zone. The flowers,especially the calypso orchids of spring, and themore than 60 species of birds, including bluebirdsand several species of both swallows andwoodpeckers, are a joy to see and hear. The trailpasses near the spectacular gorge of the SiffleurRiver, named after the siffleurs, or “whistlers,” anickname for the hoary marmots found in themountains of its headwaters. The Falls themselvesare picturesque but deceptively dangerous. Visitorsare wise to stay behind the barriers.

The Kootenay Plains may hold just a small fragmentof the wonders of the Bighorn Wildland, but theyhold more of our natural and human history thanmost other areas. Wherever you go in this preciousplace, tread lightly, with respect for the past andwith hope of preserving it for the future.

THREATS TO ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITYWhy Protection, Management and Enforcement Are Necessary

• Overuse of the fragile areas• Non-compliance with regulations in the Ecological Reserve• Lack of financial and human resources to monitor the effects of use and enforce regulations• Overflights by helicopters from a tourist operation east of the Kootenay Plains

Before damming and flooding of the North Saskatchewan River, the Kootenay Plains was one of Alberta’s mostoutstanding examples of the rare Montane ecological region. Today most of what is left of the area’s Montane isprotected as an Ecological Reserve.

SIFFLEUR WILDERNESS

10SIFFLEUR WILDERNESSDON WALES

At 254 sq km, the Siffleur Wilderness Area is small by wilderness standards, but it contains

some of the most spectacular scenery in the Eastern Slopes. Like the White Goat and Ghost Wilderness Areas,

it is protected by the Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves and Natural Areas Act, which prohibits vehicle access,

helicopter access, hunting, fishing and trapping. It is a “benchmark” wilderness or “living museum,”

where collecting plants, fossils and artifacts is illegal without a permit. Much of the Siffleur is

more than 2800 metres above sea level, and it contains the headwaters of Porcupine,

Escarpment, Loudan and Spreading Creeks. The Siffleur River bisects this wilderness area

from its headwaters at Pipestone and Dolomite Passes.

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Once in Spreading Creek meadows, the towers of Mt. Murchison reward hikers who have scrambled andbushwhacked up a taxing route from Highway 93.

SIFFLEUR WILDERNESSThe Siffleur’s boundaries are relatively indistinct.The west and much of the south are bounded byBanff ’s eastern boundary; the north by animaginary line approximately four km south fromthe North Saskatchewan River; the east by arugged range of peaks separating Siffleur from theWhiterabbit Creek drainage; and an indistinct partof the southern boundary is near the confluence ofDolomite Creek and the Siffleur River.

Fortunately for the Siffleur, access is difficult,requiring several days of hiking, a high level offitness and knowledge of wilderness travel. Existingtrails can be blocked with deadfall, and other meansof access are simply routes. Some original horsetrails were abandoned when seismic explorationlines were cut through valleys in the 1950s and1960s. Most of these lines have become impassabledue to deadfall and erosion, leaving the area withfew established trails. The suggested entry pointslisted here are in ascending order of difficulty.

• Probably the easiest access is over a pedestrian swing bridge, which crosses the North Saskatchewan on a trail from the Siffleur Falls parking lot on Highway 11. An abandoned logging road parallel to the Siffleur River soon degenerates into an exercise in deadfall dodging due to a 1974 forest fire. At about 18 km from the trailhead, a trail branches to Porcupine Lake and beyond. Guidebooks suggest it is possible to access the lakes at the headwaters of Escarpment Creek, but this route is reported to be difficult because of deadfall. This access to the Siffleur is entirely valley bottom with restricted views.

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• A more spectacular access from the south begins at Highway 93 and follows a trail past Helen and Katharine Lakes, over Dolomite Pass and past Isabella Lake to the south boundary. This trail is good all the way but the area is popular with grizzlies and is sometimes closed. To camp along the way requires a national park wilderness permit. A longer access from the south would be 29 km from Lake Louise over Pipestone Pass; alternate routes from Fish Lakes or Devon Lakes are described in detail in Banff Park trail guides.

• A spectacular but exhausting route from Highway 93 is up Totem Creek. The trailhead is near Waterfowl Lakes and involves a tough bushwhack and scramble over a high tight pass into the alpine meadows of Spreading Creek. A truly alpine route connects Totem Creek with Noyes Creek, also off Highway 93, and a steep descent eastward will take you to Porcupine Lake.

A recommended area to linger is the campsite atPorcupine Lake, but for a truly alpine experienceand to see the very best of the beautiful Siffleur,nothing beats Spreading Creek’s meadows. TheTotem Creek access features exquisite alpine lakes,a spectacular view of Mount Chephren and itsmassive towers, and the hanging glaciers on thebackside of Mount Murchison. Days could bespent enjoying the alpine flowers and exploringnearby ridges, waterfalls and canyons. Bighornsheep are found here and it may well be one of thelast southern refuges of the mountain caribou. Ihave never seen grizzly sign here, but I am surethey pass through. Bird life, as in the White Goat,is typical of alpine areas. Snowfields persist herewell into late summer, if they melt at all. A roughalpine route to Noyes Creek or east to Porcupine

Lake provides perhaps the best overview of theeastern Siffleur, as well as breathtaking views westto Howse Peak and the turquoise jewels ofMistaya, Cirque and Chephren Lakes.

Wilderness Areas permit only foot travel, and dueto the distances involved, backpacking is required.Care with disposal of human wastes, protection ofwater sources and minimum impact camping areessential to protect this fragile environment. Firesare discouraged except for emergency purposes, asfirewood is at a premium in the alpine. Followingthese simple common-sense rules, a well-preparedbackcountry hiker can expect a wildernessexperience second to none.

Siffleur Falls is reached in an easy day hike acrossthe Kootenay Plains.

Vistas of towered peaks, including Chephren andMurchison, unfold from a fall camp in SpreadingCreek meadows at the heart of the Siffleur.

WHITE GOAT WILDERNESS

11WHITE GOAT WILDERNESSDON WALES

Quietly tucked along the eastern boundary of Banff National Park and the southern

boundary of Jasper National Park is one of Canada’s best kept wilderness secrets: the White Goat Wilderness.

This benchmark wilderness area was protected by the Provincial Wilderness Areas Act in 1960,

at which time it comprised 1259 sq km. In 1971, when the Act was changed,

it was reduced in size to 445 sq km.

Much of the area removed is described in the chapters on

Job–Coral and the Cline River.

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The Cataract Creek trail that bisects the western half of the White Goat passes by such notable Banff Parkboundary peaks as Cirrus Mountain, shown here.

WHITE GOAT WILDERNESSWhite Goat’s wilderness values are protected bylegislation, which prohibits entry by vehicles,aircraft and horse, while its wildlife is protected bybans on hunting, fishing and trapping. It is alsoprotected by its isolation. Access is difficult,involving a high level of fitness, experience inwilderness travel and route-finding skills usingmap and compass.

The western boundary is a series of spectacularnational parks peaks of over 3000 metres. Thenorthern boundary is the upper Brazeau River andJasper National Park. A rugged line of peaks thatseparates Coral Creek drainage from McDonaldCreek constitutes the eastern boundary, and theCline River, the southern boundary.

Getting to the heart of the White Goat is anexperience in itself. Listed in increasing order ofdifficulty are these access routes:

• For a tantalizing taste of the western Cataract Creek portion of the White Goat, take established trails from Highway 93 to Norman Lake, Sunset Pass and Pinto Lake. From Pinto Lake, a passable 13-km trail parallels Cataract Creek to the alpine meadows of Cline Pass. An alternate access to the same point leaves Highway 93 and traverses to Nigel Pass and on to Cataract Pass, but involves some off-trail hiking and an elevation gain of 595 metres. A route to a less spectacular view of the White Goat’s southern boundary starts from Cline River Crossing on Highway 11 and travels up the Cline River to Pinto Lake. This route can be problematic, with difficult fords of Coral Creek and McDonald Creek.

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• To experience the true wilderness qualities of the White Goat, you must access the headwaters of McDonald Creek. The easiest way appears to be from the north, taking excellent trails from Highway 93 to Nigel Pass and down the Brazeau River to Four Points Campground in Jasper (a park wilderness permit is required). From here, several routes traverse either side of Afternoon Peak. They involve fording the substantial Brazeau River and bushwacking on game trails to a 2710-metre col overlooking the middle fork of McDonald Creek. An alternate access, mentioned in Hiking Alberta’s David Thompson Country, ascends McDonald Creek from the Cline River but this 44-km route has several difficult fords and a lot of tough bushwhacking, and is therefore not recommended.

• A truly spectacular but physically demanding access is over a high ridge east of Cline Pass. A bit of confusion may exist here because topographical maps show this rugged ridge to be Cline Pass, while the pass is actually the height of land between the Cataract Creek drainage and the creek running north into the Brazeau. Regardless, the route ascends from Highway 93 to Nigel Pass to Cataract Pass, left to Cline Pass, followed by a heart-pounding grind up to the 2700-metre ridge top. But what a view! The descent is not much easier, with steep snow slopes, huge fields of ankle-turning talus and several surprising cliff bands. This is the western fork of McDonald Creek, often called the Valley of the Lakes.

Afternoon Peak shown in the distance is an explorer’s landmark at the north end of the White Goat. After aneasy climb up, the crown offers views over much of the White Goat Wilderness area.

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The Valley of the Lakes includes more than a dozen tarns exhibiting a dozen different colours and other distinctive characteristics. They are well worth the effort to get to them.

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• A final access is not for the faint of heart. It involves a long climb from Job Lake past a series of spectacular tarns and over a high col to the east fork of McDonald Creek. The descent is somewhat steep and hazardous. The moving scree can be especially unnerving.

Once you get there it is spectacular! The westernValley of the Lakes features over a dozen lakes andtarns, some crystal clear and brilliant blue, someperpetually silted from glacial run-off, and somethat remain frozen well into summer. Camping isrecommended at the lowest lake, from which it ispossible to spend a day exploring the upper lakes.Mountain goats frequent the valley’s cliff bandsand the whole area is dominated by rugged MountStewart. In the heart of the valley is a massivecairn, made with skill and care, of a rock fingerpointing to Mount Stewart. Who made it is amystery. An adjoining valley to the south containsMcDonald Lake, which has a trail meeting it,apparently arising from McDonald Creek valley.The Valley of the Lakes appears to be “grizzlycentral,” judging by the amount of bear scat in thearea.

The middle fork of McDonald Creek is anextensive willow meadow deeply incised bytributaries of the main creek and is home tomoose, grizzly and large herds of bighorn sheep.On snow patches on the slopes of Afternoon Peak,rare mountain caribou may still be spotted.Camping is difficult, with barely a flat spot to befound among the willow tangles.

The eastern fork is gentler. Near treeline is an oldoutfitter’s camp, which makes an excellent basefrom which to explore. For the energetic, a routeup the creek past waterfalls and two frozen alpinetarns takes you to the 3162-metre summit of

Mount McDonald. Views of the ColumbiaIcefield expanse and of peaks north in Jasper andsouth in White Goat are spectacular.

Although this area has been off-limits to horses,hunting, fishing and trapping, signs of theseremain, including an old cabin at the fork ofMcDonald Creek. Trapper Michael Cline of theHudson’s Bay Company may have built it. Some ofthe trails appear to have been forged by horsetraffic and are now kept open by wildlife. There isthe odd old outfitter camp with its characteristicmidden of rusted bean cans and whisky bottles.

Historically the Kootenay, Peigan and StoneyNations have visited this area. Later visitorsincluded James Carnegie in 1859, the Earl ofSouthesk in 1892, geology professor A. P.Coleman in 1902 and the adventurous MarySchäffer at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In order to maintain the White Goat as thewilderness jewel it is, visitors are encouraged tofollow no-trace wilderness travel guidelines,camping away from water bodies, properlydisposing of human waste, using backpacking stovesand packing out garbage. As in adjoining nationalparks, nothing can legally be taken from the WhiteGoat except photographs and fond memories.

Mt. McDonald on the Bighorn’s northwesternboundary dominates and defines the northernboundary of the White Goat.

GEOLOGY & EXPLORATION

12GEOLOGY & EXPLORATIONROGER MACQUEEN, PH.D.

Earth scientists know much about the geology of the

Bighorn Wildland region from more than a hundred years of geological mapping*

and more recently, from seismic studies and from drilling

for oil and natural gas in the foothills.

It’s the geology of the Bighorn Wildland that is responsible for

the magnificent scenery of today.

12GEOLOGY & EXPLORATIONROGER MACQUEEN, PH.D.

Earth scientists know much about the geology of the

Bighorn Wildland region from more than a hundred years of geological mapping*

and more recently, from seismic studies and from drilling

for oil and natural gas in the foothills.

It’s the geology of the Bighorn Wildland that is responsible for

the magnificent scenery of today.

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GEOLOGYThe Canadian Rocky Mountains and Foothills arethe crumpled western edge of the Western CanadaSedimentary Basin that underlies the prairies.They are also part, however, of something muchbigger – the huge North American CordilleranMountain Belt extending from the northernYukon to Mexico and making up North America’sdeformed western edge.

The Rockies, and the undisturbed sedimentarybasin to the east, are mostly layered sedimentaryrocks forming two quite different thicknesses ofrock called “sedimentary wedges.” The older of thetwo, the platform wedge, overlies igneous andmetamorphic rocks continuous with the exposedCanadian Shield to the northeast. Platform wedgerocks are mainly carbonate rocks – that is,limestones and dolomites – with some shales (Fig.1), which were deposited in shallow basins on andbeside the ancient continent. We don’t see thecomplete platform wedge in one place, butreconstructions suggest that it was more than threekm thick when deposited. Platform wedge rocksrange in age from Proterozoic time approximatelyone billion years ago to mid-Mesozoic timeapproximately 150 million years ago (Fig. 2).During this long time period, there was very littlemountain-building in the region.

The younger, overlying wedge is the clastic wedge,made up of sandstone, siltstone and shale erodedfrom the rising mountain ranges to the west. Thesemountains resulted from compressive platetectonic interactions in which tectonic plates ofthe Pacific Ocean were squeezed against the NorthAmerican plate from mid-Mesozoic time about170 million years ago until about 55 million yearsago. Again, we don’t see the complete clastic wedge

Figure 1. Rocky Mountain Front Ranges. View north in Longview Lakes area, northwest Bighorn Wildland.West-dipping and resistant-weathering gray Upper Paleozoic carbonates from right to centre of photo, overlainby less resistant-weathering brown and orange Mesozoic rocks in left of photo. Note the well-developed dipslopes, which are inclined bedding planes exposed by erosion.

Readers can learn more about the geology of Alberta, including that of the Bighorn Wildland, ina fine general reference written for non-specialists entitled A traveller’s guide to geological wondersin Alberta (Mussieux and Nelson, 1998).

* References and terms in blue text are defined briefly in a glossary at the end of the book.

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anywhere, but likely it was more than five km thickwhen deposited. Both wedges have manyformations: nearly 40 different formations are foundin the Bighorn Wildland. Their study is important inunderstanding the origin of these rocks and anyresources that they may contain. Mussieux andNelson (1998) provide additional information onthe geology and origin of the Rockies.

Figures 3 and 4 show the Rocky Mountainstructure in the Bighorn Wildland region. Figure3, a generalized geological map, shows major rockunits and structures including faults and folds.Most Bighorn Wildland faults are thrust faults, orthrusts – faults that may be slightly inclined tosteeply inclined at the earth’s surface, butcommonly flatten below the surface; above thefault rocks have been moved – pushed, really –some great distances compared to rocks below thefault. Thrust faults in the Rocky Mountains aremainly responsible for what geologists call crustalshortening. Through the effects of thrust faultingand folding, rock masses perhaps 100 km in widthwhen deposited have been shortened to widths ofonly 50 or 60 km Figure 4 shows two geologicalcross-sections in and close to the BighornWildland: in these sections thrust faults causedoverlapping of rock units, normally older rocksresting on younger rocks with a thrust faultbetween the two. The westernmost part of theBighorn Wildland has normal faults, where rockson one side of the fault plane have droppedcompared to rocks on the other side. Thrust faultsproduce compression, a kind of telescoping ofrocks, but normal faults produce extension ofrocks – units with normal faults may be wider orlonger in area than before faulting. Rocks can alsobe bent to form folds of two different kinds:anticlines (Fig. 5) and synclines.

Most of the Bighorn Wildland (Figs. 3 and 4) is inthe Front Ranges geological province of the RockyMountains, except for the Blackstone-Wapiabiarea to the northeast and Panther Corners to thesoutheast, both of which are part of the Foothillsgeological province. The westernmost part of theBighorn Wildland, west of Abraham Lake towardSaskatchewan Crossing, takes in a small part of theMain Ranges geological province.

The Foothills province extends east as far asCordilleran folding and faulting is found (Fig. 3).Bighorn Wildland Foothills are part of the CentralAlberta Foothills, the area between the Bow andAthabasca Rivers. The geology of the CentralAlberta Foothills is controlled by two major west-dipping thrusts, the Brazeau thrust and theBighorn-Cripple Creek thrust, both several hundredkilometres in length and with displacements of upto 30 km This means that the rocks above the thrustfault have moved about 30 km to the east of wherethey once were (Figs. 3 and 4)!

The Front Ranges province has a series of thrust-faulted slices, mostly dipping to the west. Thesethrust slices expose platform wedge gray-weathering Middle and Upper Paleozoic (Fig. 2)carbonate rocks and in the upper parts, Mesozoicrocks of the clastic wedge. These Mesozoic rocksare soft and prone to weathering and erosion, sothey are usually found in the valleys of the BighornWildland (Fig. 6).

Figure 2. Simplified geological time scale. ThePhanerozoic Eon is divided into the Cenozoic Era,Mesozoic Era and Paleozoic Era. Precambrian timeis divided into the Proterozoic Eon and the ArcheanEon (not shown, as there are no known Archeanrocks in the Bighorn Wildland). Ages given in yearswere derived from radiometric dating.

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Figure 3. Geological sketch map showing (a) major groups of rock units in the Central Foothillsof Alberta; (b) major thrust faults, some named(from east to west: Brazeau Thrust, Bighorn-CrippleCreek Thrust; McConnell Thrust; SulphurMountain Thrust; Bourgeau-Siffleur Thrust andPipestone Pass Thrust [Main Ranges Thrust]);arrows on the thrust faults point toward thedirection from which the thrust masses came; (c) normal faults in Main Ranges, west side ofsketch; filled circles indicate down sides of faults; (d) locations of geological cross-sections A-B and C-D, shown in Figure 4; (e) approximate edge ofCordilleran deformation marking the easternboundary of the Foothills (from Hamilton et al.1999); (f ) approximate area of Bighorn Wildlandshown in green; (g) city of Calgary, and towns ofNordegg, Rocky Mountain House and Sundre.Modified from Figure 1, in Jones and Workum(1978, p. 2). Used with permission.

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Figure 4. Geological cross-sections A-B and C-D,locations shown on Figure 3. These cross-sections arevertical slices into the earth, showing explanations ofthe structure of the rocks from the surface to depths of5 to 7 1/2 km below sea level. Geological sections suchas these are constructed from surface geology as seen inthe geological sketch map, Figure 2; information fromwell logs, cuttings and cores from petroleumexploration wells (one well is shown and named oncross-section A-B and five wells are shown and namedon cross-section C-D); and seismic sections fromgeophysical studies completed to discover structure

below the surface, along lines on the surface. On these cross-sections you can see the following:1) The boundaries of the Foothills, Front Ranges andMain Ranges, shown across the top of cross-section A-B. 2) Precambrian basement, the igneous andmetamorphic rocks of the Canadian Shield, underliesthe sedimentary rocks of the Rocky Mountains and isnot involved in thrust faulting or folding. 3) The thrust faults shown in sections A-B and C-Dflatten below the surface, joining to form a masterfault above the basement. 4) Many of the thrust faults are folded.

5) Exploration wells in both sections are located inthe Foothills and were drilled where anticlinal foldsare present: most commercial Foothills hydrocarbontraps are found in anticlinal structures of the kindshown here. 6) The vertical and horizontal scales are the same,providing a realistic view of the geological structurebelow the surface. Modified from cross-sections C-C’ and D-D’ shownin Jones and Workum (1978, p.17). Used with permission.

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Figure 5. View north from an airplane toward an anticlinal fold in Brazeau Range, Rocky MountainFoothills east of the Bighorn Wildland. David Thompson Highway is seen at the top of the photo to the left.Rocks seen are Upper Paleozoic carbonates in the core of the Range. Note that the bedding in the west limb(side) of the anticline (left of photo) dips gently to the west, but the bedding in the right limb of the anticline(right of photo) is vertical. Geologists call this an “east-facing” fold, showing thrusting from the west.

The eastern boundary of the Front Rangesprovince – which is also the western boundary ofthe Foothills province – is the McConnell Thrustfault, named after R. G. McConnell of theGeological Survey of Canada (G.S.C.), who firstidentified and recognized the importance of thisfault (Figs. 3 and 7) in 1887. This thrust fault isthe surface over and along which Lower Paleozoicto Lower Mesozoic rocks of the platform wedgewere displaced from the west to where they arenow, directly above Upper Mesozoic rocks of theclastic wedge. The western boundary of the FrontRanges Province is a thrust fault, the Main RangeThrust (Figs. 3 and 4), which brings very hard,resistant Lower Paleozoic and Proterozoic rocks ofthe platform wedge to the surface.

In the Main Ranges province we have resistantLower Paleozoic/Proterozoic (Fig. 2) rocks inbroad, open folds underlain by nearly flat-lyingthrust faults. Weathered mountain faces here aresteep and high (Fig. 8).

Geological mapping in the Alberta foothills goesback to the nineteenth century. Foothills geology ishard to understand by looking only at rocks on thesurface because much of the rock has been erodedover time, or else it is covered by soil, glacialmaterial or vegetation, thus hiding much of thestructure. The early geological mapping wasexcellent for its day, but the geology of the foothillscan’t be well understood without the thirddimensional information that we have acquiredmore recently from seismic work and oil and gasdrilling. Recent work shows that most thrust faultsof the Foothills province are themselves folded (seeFig. 4), once considered rare. To make things evenmore interesting, recent work also proves thatsome thrust faults don’t reach the surface – they areblind thrust faults that can only be seen on seismic

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sections or analyzed from petroleum well data(e.g., Jones 1988). This is important because ithelps us to understand structural traps, reservoirsand seals that may contain fossil fuels.

Early geological exploration by A. R. C. Selwyn, G. M.Dawson and D. B. Dowling, all famous nineteenth- ortwentieth-century G.S.C. geologists, was conductedmainly to help in the search for coal (references inSmith 1989). Early work was completed on footand using horse parties, a style of fieldwork thatlasted until the1950s. As coal exploration becameless important from the 1920s onward, explorationfor oil and natural gas became an important reason

Figure 6. Rocky Mountain Front Ranges, viewnorth along Whiterabbit Creek to distant AbrahamLake. Resistant-weathering gray peaks to the rightare west-dipping Upper Paleozoic carbonate rocks,overlain by recessive-weathering Lower Mesozoicrocks, mostly tree-covered and occupyingWhiterabbit Creek valley.

for geological mapping of a number of 1:50000topographic sheets in the region by G.S.C.geologists in the 1930s and 1940s. The last 30years have seen new geological mapping in theFront Ranges and Foothills provinces that blendssurface and subsurface information, leading tobetter understanding of geological structure andpossible oil and gas traps.

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RESOURCESEarly geological work showed that about half ofCanada’s bituminous coal is found in UpperMesozoic clastic wedge rocks of the RockyMountain Front Ranges between Crowsnest Pass,British Columbia and the Panther River-Clearwater District (Smith 1989). Coal is alsofound in the Bighorn Basin of Foothills Belt,mostly east of the Bighorn Wildland. The Nordeggarea of the Bighorn Basin was an important sourceof coal for the railways from World War I untilclosure in 1955 owing to reduced demand fromthe railways. Some coal seams occur in the BighornWildland, a few of which have been well explored,and some reclamation of the disturbance from coalexploration has taken place (Fig. 9). As part of theEastern Slopes Resource Management Policy, theAlberta government has not permitted coalexploration in the Bighorn Wildland sinceimplementation of the Coal Policy of 1976.

Natural gas is found in foothills anticlinal and fault-bounded structural traps. The Front Ranges areunfavourable structurally for petroleum explorationand they fall mostly within national parks orprovincial reserves. Other than the Turner Valley oilfield, foothills pools only produce natural gas. Presentor past producing gas fields in the vicinity of theBighorn Wildland include Panther River, LimestoneMountain, Nordegg and others. G.S.C. scientistssuggest that the foothills of Alberta, British Columbia,and the Yukon have about 14 per cent of thediscovered natural gas reserves of the Western CanadaSedimentary Basin, but that there could be more to bediscovered. Bighorn Wildland foothills have two areasof interest to industry: Panther Corners andBlackstone-Wapiabi. Because of the sensitivity ofterrain in these areas, the Alberta WildernessAssociation position is that further drilling should notoccur.

Figure 7. Ridge in Foothills, Panther Corners, southernmost Bighorn Wildland. View northwestacross Red Deer River valley to Scalp Creek areashowing Rocky Mountain Front Ranges in the distance above the McConnell Thrust.

The discovery of what is now the Ekati diamond minein the Northwest Territories sparked a huge stakingrush in Canada that included Alberta, where morethan 40 kimberlite occurrences are known, some ofwhich contain diamonds. None are known in theBighorn region however, and it’s not very likely thatwe’ll find diamonds there. Other interesting mineralsthat geologists look for in sedimentary rocks are leadand zinc, and gold and silver – these are not likely tobe found in the Bighorn Wildland either. Sand andgravel of glacial and river origin are found in theBighorn Wildland but the only reason to produce thismaterial would be for local road or buildingconstruction.

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Figure 9. Foothills of Panther Corners area, southernmost Bighorn Wildland. Upper Mesozoic,soft-weathering brown and orange sandstones andshales in foreground; view west to gray UpperPaleozoic rocks of the Front Ranges above theMcConnell Thrust. Note reclaimed former coalexploration road on Mesozoic rocks in foreground.

Figure 8. Rocky Mountain Main Ranges, Ram Glacier area, headwaters of Ram River, west-central Bighorn Wildland, showing Lower Paleozoic nearly flat-lying (i.e., nearly horizontal bedding planes) resistant-weathering carbonate rocks. Note steep faces and castellated peaks, typical of Main Ranges carbonates as also seen on Castle Mountain and above Lake Louise in the Bow River Valley.

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BIGHORN WILDLANDSCENERY AND HERITAGEIn the Bighorn Wildland the lush valleys and well-treed ridges of the foothills change westward into thebroad valleys and jagged, majestic peaks of the FrontRanges. How was this landscape created? Theunderlying geology is the major cause, but two morefactors are important. The first is that the RockyMountains and foothills seem to have been stronglyuplifted over the past few million years (whencompared to most of the approximately 55 millionyears since mountain building ended in this area), andthis recent uplift greatly increased erosion, allowingnew, high-relief topography to develop. It is this high-relief topography that was glaciated during the pasttwo million years. The second factor is that the RockyMountains have only recently been freed from thealpine and valley glaciers of the Cordilleran ice sheet ofthe past two million years.

Because the Rocky Mountain landscape becamemostly free of ice in the last few thousand years(present glaciers such as those of the Columbia Icefieldare remnants of the most recent ice age), most oftoday’s features are part of a glacially sculptured high-relief topography. This is what gives us the greatscenery: uplifted rocks that weather differently (somesoft, some hard), high-relief topography and glacialsculpturing! Fortunately, the period of erosion sincethe ice departed has not been long enough to destroythe superb glacial effects we see now, especially in thehigh country. These include arêtes (sharp-edgedridges), horns (sharp-pointed triangular peaks),cirques (head-of-valley armchair-shaped hollows),tarns (cirque lakes) (Fig. 10), U-shaped valleys (Fig. 11), hanging valleys, rock basins and rock glaciers.

Figure 10. Rocky Mountain Front Ranges. Magnificent local scenery showing cirque and tarn (cirque lake)developed in Paleozoic carbonate rocks, Lost Guide Canyon trail area, Clearwater River, south-centralBighorn Wildland.

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Glacial deposits, including sand, gravel and glacialtill, are also present. Truly modern features are rarein comparison with glacial features because thelandscape is so young geologically; they includeoutwash plains of the present rivers and minorfeatures such as landslides.

In Eastern Slopes wildlands – Our living heritage,Kolar and Brawn (1986) and other authors discussa number of Alberta wildland settings, and presenta strong plea for the preservation of Alberta’sunique wildland heritage. The Bighorn Wildlandhas an important geological heritage too, fromevidence of the broad sweep of geological time to the progress we humans have made inunderstanding and appreciating the geologicalorigin and importance of this grand area. I hopethat what is briefly sketched here helps readersenjoy the Bighorn, perhaps with a new andhumbling sense of the majesty of its origin and ofthe importance of preserving this magic area forfuture generations.

Figure 11. View from Rocky Mountain Foothillswest toward Rocky Mountain Front Ranges, lookingupstream along Red Deer River toward Ya HaTinda Ranch from a high ridge, east side of PantherCorners. Note U-shaped valley; modern meanderbelt of Red Deer River, which meanders over a glacial outwash plain; and road cut on north (right) side of river.

PLANTS OF THE BIGHORN

13PLANTS OF THE BIGHORNELAINE GORDON

The highly varied plant life of the Bighorn Wildland is related to the diversity

of the five different natural subregions*, including the

Alpine, Subalpine, Upper and Lower Foothills and Montane.

Each subregion offers a wealth

of plant treasures for wildflower enthusiasts.

White forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris) are anuncommon and beautiful variant of the normal blue-coloured flower.

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PLANTS OF THE BIGHORNMuch of the Bighorn is made up of long, openupper foothills ridges that rise in elevation towardthe peaks of the Front Ranges to the west. Theseare ideal habitat for wildflowers, particularlyduring prime blooming season fromapproximately early July to mid-August. Someyears provide better displays than others, but theseridges can usually be relied upon to burst into acycle of colours as different species bloom throughthe short five- to six-week flowering period. Whenthe monkshood and larkspur are flowering inAugust, slopes that are normally gray-brown canbe blue as far as the eye can see.

This unique area contains several rare oruncommon plant species, and care must be taken toprotect them and their habitats. Therefore, whenvisiting these areas, please stay on established trailsand do not collect any plants or pick any flowers.But do enjoy them all and take home as manyphotos of these beautiful plants as you like.

ALPINEThe Alpine subregion refers to the high altitude areathat is too cold and windy to support trees. This isnot an area for the fainthearted of any species!Winter starts early and ends late. During their activegrowing season, the resilient little plants that growhere are exposed to daily summer temperaturefluctuations, ranging from blistering hot sun in thedaytime to freezing cold at night. They areconstantly battered by wind and precipitation,usually in the form of snow. Dwarf shrubs such asthe white mountain dryads and sturdy little arcticand reticulated willows dominate most of the area,spreading in dense low-growing mats hugging thewindswept ground. Any form of shelter, whether arock, a crevice or an east-facing slope, provides a

home for plants such as mountain heathers, mosscampion, woolly everlasting, creeping beardtongueand purple saxifrage. Rock cress, doublebladderwort, alpine wallflower and nodding pinkcling tenaciously to dry slopes and ridges, and evento steep talus slopes. How do they do it?

Surprisingly, it is often the snowfall itself thatprovides not only shelter in the form of insulation,but also nourishment from meltwater dissolvingessential minerals in the rocks. The constantfreeze-thaw process of water opens cracks andbreaks rocks into smaller pieces, which plants maythen use to their advantage. Both high altitude andhigh latitude plants are almost always perennialswith small leathery or hairy leaves that keep themfrom drying out. Small creeping or tufted growthforms also help to avoid desiccation and allowplants to absorb heat from adjacent rocks. In theseways, the plants of these extreme environmentswork with the limited resources available to themto survive where little else can.

Alpine poppies startle people who unexpectedlycome on these exotic little plants at the highestelevation where things still grow in the mountains,up around 2800 metres. They can be found in rarespots along the Front Ranges, on high ridges in theForbidden Creek drainage and on the high passes atthe top of the Littlehorn and Bighorn Rivers.Another unusual and strikingly beautiful plantfound in rare places in the Bighorn is noddingarnica. It covets sheltered nooks well above treeline,but not up at the top of the world where the poppiesblow. This plant occurs as a clump about 15 cm tall,with a profusion of nodding yellow flowers onreddish stems. Slightly more common in theBighorn’s Alpine subregion, and a wonderful findwhen in bloom, is one of the talus-slope lovers, thealpine wallflower.

* The Natural Regions Map of the Bighorn canbe found on page 13.

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KRUMMHOLZ COLONIESThe German word krummholz means“crooked wood” or “elfin wood.” This termis perfectly descriptive of the stunted foreststhat occur in the Canadian Rockies at theextreme edge of the treeline. These delightfullittle forests spark the imagination andinspire the spirit. It is easy to think of theirtangled branches as inhabited by elves. Inthe Canadian context these could bequizzical chipmunks or golden-mantledground squirrels. It is not unusual to findeither of these creatures standing on hindlegs, hands neatly folded in front, apparentlylecturing on life in the high country from akrummholz pulpit.

Flat-needled and smooth-barked subalpinefir and square-needled, rough-barkedEnglemann spruce are the most commonspecies to form krummholz in the BighornWildland. In the severe habitat they occupy,krummholz species are true tree species,stunted and sheered off by blasting winds.They cannot grow higher than thesnowdrifts that protect them during theheight of winter storms.

The hardy and uncommon alpine poppy (Papaverkluanensis) endures the rigors of exposed sites in thealpine around the 2800-metre level. It occurs inscattered sites throughout the Bighorn.

These broken remnants of the fir-spruce forest attreeline on a high ridge in the South Ram are typicalof krummholz throughout the Bighorn.

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Pallas’ wallflower (Erysimum pallasii), although fairly common in the arctic, is relatively rare in the alpine of the Rockies. The individual flowers are actually quite big(approximately one cm in diameter). The plants are biennial or short-lived perennial spreading two years in the rosette stage and quickly flowering and dying. They prefercalcareous soil and lots of nitrogen, so they are found near dung and in alpine rock piles.

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SUBALPINEThe lower altitude of the high Subalpine subregionstill is subject to high winds and precipitation, butthe temperature is somewhat warmer than that ofthe Alpine. In the upper subalpine altitudes,scrawny limber pines, Engelmann spruce andsubalpine fir are dwarfed and misshapen by thewind into unique forms known as krummholtz.Krummholtz trees and shrubs are characterized bya lack of branches on their windward side, andtheir distorted asymmetry is symbolic of thewildness of this special area, making themfavourites among painters and photographers.

This is an area where, in summer, meadows ofwildflowers bloom in breathtaking masses ofcolours, a just reward for the arduous hikes thatwildflower lovers must undertake. Here species ofpaintbrush, golden fleabane, alpine forget-me-not,rock cress, bluebell, sweetvetch (which the bearslove), rock jasmine, mountain sagewort and otheralpine species grow intermingled with low woodyshrubs such as bearberry, purple mountain heatherand the beautiful Lapland rosebay.

Displays of paintbrush in subalpine habitatswithin the Bighorn are as highly varied in colour ascan be found anywhere. These plants are hemi-parasites on the roots of various grasses and trees,and they readily hybridize, making them anightmare to identify. But their hybridization alsobrings out an array of colours more variable thanany other Bighorn wildflower variety. Fromyellows to deep magenta, pink and orange andevery variation in between, the paintbrushes are ariot of colour.

The strikingly beautiful Lapland rosebay, amember of the rhododendron family, flowers soearly that few have had the privilege of seeing it inbloom. This most gorgeous of subalpine speciesoccurs in pockets throughout the Bighorn and tosome extent in nearby parts of Banff Park. Afterfinding the plant once or twice, enthusiastsdevelop an eye for its typical treeline location,usually on open but slightly sheltered slopes.Lapland rosebay is found on slopes above PintoLake, in parts of the South Ram drainage, in theheadwaters of the Bighorn River, on the slopes ofJob Creek tributaries and along the Front Rangesabove the Wapiabi River.

Icy-clear crystal mountain streams tumbling downfrom the ramparts and seepages above form pools,streams and wet areas where mountain sorrel,bracted lousewort, leafy asters and alpine buttercupsvie for space with other moisture-loving species.

At lower subalpine altitudes, juniper shrubs andconiferous trees such as Engelmann spruce, larchand subalpine fir begin to dominate, providingshelter for the more shade-tolerant plants. Hereone can look for the wintergreens (belonging tothe genus Pyrola), bunchberry, twinflower andheart-leaved arnica, all of which extend well intothe Montane. With luck, alpine harebells might bespotted on the craggy cliffs and open talus slopes,while yellow columbines may be seen in openwoods and rocky slopes among the conifers, aldersand willows. On calcareous cliffs and ledges ittakes a good eye and determination to detectscented everlasting and smooth cliff brake.

Indian paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). This showyflower often puts on displays of colour on well-drained southerly slopes during summer.

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UPPER AND LOWERFOOTHILLSAs the Subalpine gives way to the Foothillsecoregion, the warmer air and gentle diversity of thelandscape provides a unique area where speciesintermingle. This area along the eastern face of theRocky Mountains contains important watershedsfed by the clear mountain springs and streams fromthe high ramparts. Here beautiful forests of spruce,balsam fir and pine provide a canopy for manycommon shrubs, together with showy aster, wild lilyof the valley, sweet bedstraw and sedges. In drierareas, lodgepole pine forests provide a canopy for anunderstory of common reindeer lichens. Wetterareas are home to both paper birch and bog birch.In aspen and balsam poplar forests many commonshrub species are found. Here too is a good place tokeep an eye out for orchids. Colourful calypsoorchids and lady’s slippers prefer moist woods, whilein wetter areas several bog orchids are common.Northern twayblade, found in this region, extendsits range all the way to the Subalpine.

The rolling landscape of the Lower Foothillssupports plant communities generally dominatedby aspen and balsam poplars that form a canopyover alders, chokecherry, willows and wolf willows.Northern reed grass, tufted hair grass, hairy wildrye and rough fescue are abundant grassesthroughout this region and provide an importantsource of nutrition for migrating ungulates. Inwetlands, mare’s tail and the beautiful buckbeanare often found with numerous species of sedges.Early in spring, just as the snow is melting, glacierlilies may be found on grassy slopes and in openforests up to the timberline.

Franklin’s lady’s slipper (Cypripedium passerinum). This fragrant little orchid has been eliminated from manyaccessible areas by flower picking but can still be found in secluded foothills pockets throughout the Bighorn.

Bladder campion (Melandrium attenuatum), looking like tiny lanterns, are an unexpected delight in otherwisebleak alpine locations.

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MONTANEThe Montane ecoregion was never common inAlberta and it is becoming steadily lesscommon as it is converted to human use. Smallin area, its ecological contribution is largebecause the Montane is key winter range formuch of Alberta’s wildlife. The Montane isoften, but not necessarily, associated with riverflats and occurs as open subalpine grasslandsand grasslands with a canopy of shelteringsavanna-like trees including aspen, pine andsometimes Douglas fir. The Bow River valleynear Banff and Canmore townsites is a goodrepresentative of Alberta’s Montane ecoregion,and a good example of how it is rapidly lost tourban development.

The Bighorn lost its most significant Montane tohuman development when much of the KootenayPlains was flooded for power generation behindthe Bighorn Dam on the North SaskatchewanRiver. Smaller examples of this importantecoregion remain intact at Panther Corners, at YaHa Tinda Ranch and in pockets along theClearwater River, all within the Bighorn Wildland.These are essential winter habitats for park andBighorn wildlife. The open grasslands associatedwith the Montane, or occurring at elevations justabove the Montane, are sometimes referred to assubalpine grasslands.

Grassy valleys and grassy slopes throughout theBighorn Wildland support rough fescue,California oat grass and June grass, interspersedwith wild blue flax, pasture sagewort, Mackenzie’shedysarum and several species of sedges. Thesegrasslands are integral to the survival of allungulate species on their migrations to both theirwinter and summer ranges.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), above. The flowersof this miniature dogwood are followed by clusters ofbright red berries which decorate the woodlands laterin the summer and fall.

Round-leaved orchid (Orchis rotundifolia), below.Fairly common in damp woods and wet calcareousbogs fed by mineral springs where its flowers can beseen from mid-July on.

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OTHER LIFE FORMSLichens are actually two organisms in one. Theyare made up of a fungus and an alga; eachcontributes to the survival of the other. Althoughlichens are not plants, they are usually included inplant species lists. Lichens are found in all theregions within the Bighorn, from the rock lichensin the Alpine to reindeer lichens in the Montane.They are common on the forest floor, on the barkof both coniferous and deciduous trees and onshrubs, and are often seen hanging like old beardsfrom tree branches. After a rain, mossy forest floorsspring to life with leafy Peltigera and miniatureforests of red-capped Cladonia lichens. Broadpatches of silver Stereocaulon lichen are suddenlyalive and the tree lichens take on rich new colours.Lichens are important in their own right andprovide a food source for many ungulates. Theirpresence indicates a healthy ecosystem.

In the wake of a perfect combination of August rainsand a few warm days, fungal flora, or wildmushrooms, can convert the Bighorn’s forest floorsinto amazing displays of rich colour and form. Frompurple Cortinarious to bright orange coral fungi anddelicate ear cups, brilliant red-capped Boletus, andthe shingle-topped hedgehogs, the Bighorn is wellendowed with fungal variety. The area can alsoprovide a treat for real connoisseurs most years in lateAugust–early September. This is when, in the rightplace and at the right time, the pine mushroom, orthe coveted Japanese matsetake, arises in theBighorn, often in prolific fairy rings. In Alberta, andespecially in secret spots in the Bighorn, thesesoftball-shaped, very solid mushrooms with theircharacteristic cinnamon bouquet appear on dry pineslopes just around treeline.

There are many important plant species, includingmosses, that have not been referred to here simplybecause there are far too many to include.However, those mentioned will give a visitor asample of the diversity of this important area andhopefully instil a sense of gratitude for the singularrichness of the flora of this region.

Crusty rock lichens grow about an inch every100 years.

Mossy streams are frequent in the old-growth forestsand mountain seeps of the Bighorn.

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In the late summer a profuse variety of mushrooms and other fungi can be found throughout the woodlands of the Bighorn.

WILDLIFE OF THE BIGHORN

14WILDLIFE OF THE BIGHORNLUIGI MORGANTINI

The varied terrain and landscape, complex glacial history, diverse vegetation and climate of the Bighorn

have created a wide and exceptional quality of wildlife habitat. The Bighorn Wildland

provides certain habitats not available within adjacent national parks,

especially critical wintering habitats. Park and Bighorn wildlife ranges often overlap, and much of

the wildlife from adjacent national parks relies on habitats in the

Bighorn at different times of the year.

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WILDLIFE OF THEBIGHORNThe distribution of wildlife throughout the RockyMountains prior to 1900 is not well known.Reports from early explorers describe richlandscapes with diverse and abundant wildlife.However, by the early 1900s most large herbivoresapparently had disappeared from the region. Over-hunting, severe winters and loss of habitat due tofire are considered among the factors contributingto the decline. But in the last several decades,wildlife numbers have rebounded.

THE GREAT MIGRATORSThe North American elk, or wapiti, was an abundantAlberta species in the late 1700s. David Thompsonobserved elk as “plentiful” along the Red Deer River,and fellow fur trader Alexander Henry hunted elk onthe Kootenay Plains in the early 1800s. However, bythe late 1800s elk had almost disappeared from theCanadian Rockies. Apparently only one smallremnant population remained in west-central Alberta,on the Brazeau River. A few animals may havesurvived in secluded valleys within Banff andKootenay National Parks. The current Alberta elkpopulation is believed to have originated from therelease of elk brought from Yellowstone National Parkbetween 1917 and 1920. These elk interbred withnative elk and possibly with elk moving in fromBritish Columbia. By the late 1930s, elk werecommon throughout Banff National Park and presentoutside the park along the Panther, Red Deer andClearwater Rivers of the Bighorn Wildland.

Brought back from the brink of extinction, the elk is once again a relatively common Eastern Slopes resident.The Bighorn contains some of Alberta’s best elk winter habitat.

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and includes a cumulative height gain of 2000metres. Such a remarkable elk migration is uniquein Canada. Amongst ungulates, only caribouundergo similar extensive migrations.

Smaller, mostly resident, elk herds occurthroughout the Bighorn Wildland wherever thecombination of vegetation and topography providesuitable habitat. Migration is also a seasonalbehaviour of these elk, although on a more limitedscale. From lower elevation winter ranges theydisperse in the summer to the surrounding upperfoothills and alpine meadows.

Today elk is one of the dominant, most widelydistributed species in the Bighorn Wildland. It hasbeen said, “To know the elk is to know theseason,” for the seasons shape their lives. Inautumn, as the leaves turn yellow and the firstsnow whitens the ground, male elk begin to gatherharems. Valleys resound with echoes of bugling –the sound of bull elk during breeding season. Inwinter, with cold and snow limiting forage, femaleelk form small bands and disperse to lowerelevations to forage in open or shrubby meadows,on gentle snow-free slopes and in the shelter ofaspen groves. Bull elk, tired after the breedingseason, disperse to suitable habitat in secludedvalleys. Later in the year, females with their youngmay form large herds that concentrate along majorriver valleys, from the Panther and Red DeerRivers in the south to the Clearwater and NorthSaskatchewan Rivers further north. One of themost important elk winter ranges in Alberta – theYa Ha Tinda–Panther Corners region along theRed Deer River – is in the Bighorn Wildland.

Around the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, the warm and drymicroclimate has allowed the development ofextensive grassland surrounded by lodgepole pineand aspen. The presence of fescue grass andrelatively snow-free winter conditions make themeadows of the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch winter hometo most of the elk from the northern half of BanffNational Park. Every spring and early summer,following traditional routes and the recedingsnowline, as many as 2000 animals migrate fromthe Ya Ha Tinda to summer alpine ranges in thepark, where they disperse across 1600 sq km ofmountainous terrain. In autumn and early winterthe animals, driven out of their high summerranges by deepening snow, return to their winterrange in the Ya Ha Tinda region. This annualmigratory cycle covers between 52 and 138 km

Wildlife biologist Ian Ross, who loved these animalsand died tragically in a plane crash in July 2003,photographed this treed cougar.

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Although never common in the Bighorn, the mountain subspecies of Alberta’s woodland caribou has had acontinuous presence there until recently. The reasons for its decline in the Bighorn are unknown, although to thenorth, habitat loss due to clearcut logging and highway kills are considered primary limiting factors.

GREY GHOSTSThe Bighorn Wildland is home to the “grey ghosts” of theboreal forest – the mountain variety of woodland caribou.Mountain caribou are an endangered species in Canadaand their numbers in the Bighorn Wildland continue todwindle. The southern portion of their Alberta rangeincludes the Bighorn Wildland, which has two distinctpopulations: one in the Jasper–White Goat area and theother some 20 km south, within the Banff–SiffleurWilderness region. The distribution of the Banff–Siffleurpopulation of some 25 to 40 animals used to include theupper Clearwater, upper Pipestone, Dolomite and Siffleurdrainages within Banff National Park, and the Siffleur,Porcupine and Spreading Creek drainages within theSiffleur Wilderness Area. This group of mountain caribouappears to have declined since the mid-1900s, when theirrange reportedly extended 50 km or more east of the parkboundary. What is left of the herd apparently has nointerchange with other populations, and their very light-coloured pelage may indicate genetic isolation. In 1990several people were startled when they came upon “greyghosts” in the region of the Siffleur River. Unfortunately,since the late 1990s, no caribou have been seen in the areaof this herd’s historic range.

The Jasper–White Goat mountain cariboupopulation contains some 150 to 200 animals. Theyrange mostly within the confines of Jasper NationalPark, south of Highway 16. However, their range doesextend into the Bighorn Wildland, from Cataract Passto the Cline and North Saskatchewan Rivers. Animalsfrom this herd are still occasionally sighted in theUpper Coral and Job Creek valleys.

These mountain caribou do not migrate longdistances as do mountain caribou elsewhere.Rather, they remain in mountainous terrain yearround, shifting from summer grazing on alpinemeadows to nearby mature forests, where they feedon lichens and other palatable winter forage.

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MAJESTIC BIGHORNSThe Bighorn Wildland is of considerable importancefor bighorn sheep. It provides summer and winterhabitat for a population that may range as far westas Jasper and Banff National Parks and east of theFront Ranges to lower elevation habitats along theNorth Saskatchewan, Panther and Brazeau rivers.Bighorn sheep are often found on grassy subalpineand alpine slopes, usually near rough and steep“escape” terrain. In summer, they are widelydispersed throughout extensive alpine ridges andmeadows. In winter, they occur on windsweptsouth- and west-facing Front Ranges slopes. Somewinter ranges in the Bighorn Wildland are criticalto the survival of herds that spend summers inadjacent national parks. Just what drives bighornsback and forth between the national park and theBighorn is not well understood. However, it isknown that bighorn herds in the Panther Corners,Clearwater and Ram River regions of the BighornWildland are also part of national park herds andtherefore of national park ecology. Some herds,such as those all along the east side of the FrontRanges and along the Bighorn Range, remainwithin the Bighorn Wildland all year round.

In summer and early fall, bighorn rams tend toseek the company of their own gender and usuallyoccupy higher, steeper, more rugged habitat thando the lambs and ewes. Individual bighorn sheeptravel between herds in November and December,facilitating genetic exchange. Horn size determinesdominance in rams, and the horns are used fordefence, display, and to establish dominancethrough strength. Although rams generally livepeacefully together, the larger animals with well-

matched sets of horns will establish who is king of theherd in dominance battles, where the cracking ofhorns together may be heard up to a mile away. Lamband ewe herds tend to frequent gentler, open grassyslopes that are breezy enough to blow away peskybiting insects. Bighorn sheep can also be found invalleys, and small bands are occasionally seen grazingon lower elevation grasslands. They are attracted tomineral licks that may occur along the steep banks ofsmall creeks or in dense shrubby meadows.

The bighorn sheep is ubiquitous in the BighornWildland, where it ranges freely across WildernessArea, Ecological Reserve and national parkboundaries.

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THE BIGHORN’S BIRDSby Rod Burns

The Bighorn Wildland provides habitat for awide variety of birds from those commonthroughout the province to several that areunique to the Eastern Slopes.

A variety of birds are associated with theconiferous forest of the Bighorn’s foothills,including the three-toed woodpecker, sprucegrouse, boreal chickadee, winter wren andTownsend’s solitaire. In spring and summer thecolourful blue grouse is found on foothillsslopes, but in winter it moves to higherelevations where food is easier to reach alongwindswept ridges. Elusive hawk owls, borealowls and pygmy owls are resident during thebreeding season and may occasionally beglimpsed at the top of a lone snag. The riches ofthe Front Ranges and foothills are importantmigration routes for birds of prey. Each yearthousands of golden eagles pass through the areain spring on their way north to breedinggrounds in the Yukon or Alaska, and again inthe fall as they move south to wintering areas inthe western great plains and northern Mexico.

On several swift-flowing streams, including theBlackstone and North Ram Rivers, dippers andrare harlequin ducks may be found. Dippers areeasiest to locate during nesting season as theyoften nest near or even under waterfalls. Yellow-rumped warblers inhabit conifer trees. The

varied thrush calls beautifully from the crown ofmature spruce, where it is often difficult toobserve. White-crowned sparrows frequentthick cover at the forest’s edge. There have beena few isolated sightings of the lazuli buntingbetween the Bighorn and the Front Ranges.

Some foothills birds are also found in thesubalpine region, but the golden eagle andWilson’s warbler are true subalpine species. Thegolden-crowned kinglet and red crossbillfrequent the tops of coniferous trees aroundtreeline. Crossbills may occur in great numbersin areas where the spruce cone crop is heavy. TheClark’s nutcracker may be found with limberpine, as in pockets along Dogrib Creek in thePanther Corners and on the Kootenay Plains.Nutcrackers breed in the subalpine and winterin nearby lower elevation forests.

Certain hardy species like the golden-crownedsparrow breed above treeline, in the krummholzcolonies scattered at the edge of the alpine.Open alpine meadows and scree slopes arehabitat for horned larks, American pipits andwhite-tailed ptarmigan. High above treeline,along cliffs and scree slopes, flocks of gray-crowned rosy finch spend the summer. All birdspecies either migrate from the area or descendto lower elevations for the winter.

Rufous hummingbird. The male is elegantly colouredand is often attracted to bright colours worn bypeople.

Boreal owls are winged symbols of wilderness. Thisowl’s summer home is an isolated and ancient standof spruce along the Bighorn River.

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This splendid specimen of the white-tailed ptarmiganis in full winter plumage and will convert to a pledgeof mottled grey for summer, which will perfectlyblend it into it’s rocky surroundings.

Adult male harlequin ducks like these are unmistakable in their exotic feathered regalia. The harlequin duck isactually a maritime species that moves inland to the Rockies in summer where it breeds in the cold, fast watersof high mountain streams such as Wapiabi Creek.

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Moose range throughout the Bighorn and old cast antlers indicate the bulls at least sometimes occupy high exposed ridges late into winter. Their numbers are currently lowin the Bighorn, possibly due to a lack of fire-induced habitat.

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“WHITE BUFFALO” ANDOTHER HERBIVORESEarly European settlers called mountain goats“white buffalo” and First Nations peoples referredto them as the “wisdom of the mountain.” Theseimpressive white-coated herbivores, widelydistributed throughout the Bighorn Wildland, areassociated with craggy mountainous terrain, rockoutcroppings, cliffs, ridges and alpine tundra. Inextreme weather conditions, they may seek theshelter of caves. Usually they choose to live close tothe Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains,although some herds occur in isolated pocketsalong the eastern boundary of the Wildland. Theirrate of population growth is low in the BighornWildland, possibly due to winter mortalityamongst the kids that may be as high as 73 percent. Several decades of protection from hunting isresulting in a slow increase in herd size.

The true buffalo, or bison, was also an abundantanimal of the Bighorn in historic times. Remnantbones, especially skulls, are still occasionally foundin the broader valleys throughout the Bighornfrom the tributaries of the Red Deer northward,and even on the rugged tributaries of Job Creek.Undoubtedly early First Nations peoples followedthe bison herds into valleys like those of theSunkay, Wapiabi, Blackstone, Clearwater and RedDeer Rivers during their summer wanderings.Archaeological digs in the vicinity of Ya Ha TindaRanch confirm the use of bison as human food forthousands of years. Today in the BighornWildland, wild horses occupy some of the rangethat the bison used to roam. However, unlike thebison, the wild horse is not migratory.

Among other herbivores, moose, mule deer and white-tailed deer are widely distributedthroughout the Wildland. They are associated withdeciduous and lodgepole pine forests, withshrubby, open meadows and gentle slopes. Hybridsbetween mule deer and white-tailed deer have beendocumented along the Red Deer River, and it isnot uncommon to see the two species associatingwith each other throughout the Bighorn Wildland.Moose numbers are currently at a historically lowlevel, perhaps due to a combination of wolfpredation and a lack of their main forage – youngwillows – because of fire suppression.

The “white buffalo,” as it was called by earlyEuropeans, is making a slow recovery of numbers inthe Bighorn after hunting of mountain goats wasbanned in the 1980s.

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The majestic grizzly, the quintessential symbol of wilderness, can be found in most Bighorn habitats. Their numbers province-wide, however, are dangerously low. Long-term survival of grizzlies is dependent on maintaining large wilderness landscapes such as the Bighorn Wildland.

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FUR-BEARERSThe wilderness nature of the Bighorn Wildlandprovides ideal habitat for wildlife species such ascougar, wolf, grizzly and black bear, lynx, marten,weasel and rare wolverine and fisher. Little isknown about the abundance of predators in historic times. It is believed that in the early1900s, when ungulate populations were low,wolves and cougars were also scarce. However, asungulate numbers increased, predators havecorrespondingly rebounded.

Bordering the protected confines of two nationalparks, the Bighorn Wildland provides securehabitat for cougars and wolves. In the 1950s and1960s, these animals fluctuated in number inresponse to predator control programs inside andoutside the parks. Today the Bighorn Wildland ishome to several wolf packs that follow their preyalong all the major river valleys, in and out of theparks. Less is known about the current abundanceand distribution of cougars. However, in 1992 thecougar density of the region was estimatedbetween 1.5 and 2 animals per hundred sq kmCougars feed on a variety of prey, from grouse andporcupines to deer and elk. They have been seenstalking bighorn ewes on open slopes.

Grizzly and black bears are widely dispersed withinthe Bighorn Wildland, but little is known abouttheir distribution and movements. Grizzly bears,especially the males, range over very large territories.The home range of an individual grizzly bear canextend over more than 1000 sq km, so couldinclude parts of the Bighorn and both Jasper andBanff National Parks. As bears emerge fromhibernation, they move onto low elevation shrubbyslopes and meadows looking for over-winteredberries and the carcasses of elk, moose or deer that

succumbed to winter. With green-up and recedingsnowlines, grizzly bears shift their foraging tograsses, sedges and forbs, and gradually move tohigher, open meadows along the western sections ofthe Wildland. There are currently healthypopulations of wolves and grizzlies in the Bighorn.

The commercially used fur-bearers of the area havereceived almost no scientific examination.Trapping has been a historic use of the BighornWildland, dating back to at least the end of theeighteenth century and the early Rocky MountainHouse trading posts of David Thompson andAlexander Henry. Marten, coyote, wolf and beaverare amongst the primary pelts now taken.Historically, lynx, wolverine and fisher were prizedcatch animals.

The small fur-bearers, such as mice and voles,packrats, ground and tree squirrels, chipmunks,marmots, pikas and hares, are often overlooked.However, their contributions, especially as preyand as distributors of seeds, are vital to thefunctioning of the diverse ecosystems found in theBighorn Wildland. Protection of the variety ofhabitats that can sustain viable populations ofthese small creatures is essential for the well-beingof all the larger mammals and of the fish and birds.

This black bear, Ursus americanus, is surveying hissituation from a tree branch. Tree climbing is quitecommon for this species, and observant explorers ofthe Bighorn may find characteristic claw marks ontrees throughout the area. Escaping a black bear byclimbing a tree is unwise.

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THE BIGHORN’S FISHCOMMUNITYby K. A. Zelt

Of the 51 native and eight introduced fish speciesfound in Alberta, 12 native and five introducedspecies are recorded within the Bighorn Wildlandarea (Table 1).

Aside from the Red Deer River to the south, themajor portion of the Bighorn Wildland fallswithin the North Saskatchewan River system. TheRam, Clearwater and Brazeau Rivers contribute tothe main stem of the North Saskatchewan River.The main stem systems and their tributaries are predominantly coldwater fish habitats, where summer water temperatures range from 10° C to 18° C.

There are very few lakes within the BighornWildland, and the majority occur at high elevations.Long periods of ice-cover and low watertemperatures limit their fish-producing capabilities.In 1974 the BigHorn Dam was completed, resultingin the creation of Abraham Reservoir. The reservoirprovides over-winter fish habitat; however, thepresence of glacial silt and the annual drawdownlimits the development of rooted aquatic plants,which are necessary for fish production.

The predominant native game fish species,distributed throughout the area, are mountainwhitefish and bull trout. The presence of waterfallsin the upper reaches of many streams limits themovement of the two species. Both utilize thespawning habitats of major streams. TheClearwater River and its tributary, Timber Creek,are historically important bull trout spawningstreams. Recent surveys on the North

TABLE 1.FISH SPECIES RECORDED FROM THE BIGHORN WILDLAND AREASource: Nelson and Paetz (1992)

Burbot (Lota lota)

Lake chub (Couesius plumbeus)

Pearl dace (Margariscus margarita)

Longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)

Brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans)

Spoonhead sculpin (Cottus ricei)

Longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus)

White sucker (Catostomus commersoni)

Mountain sucker (Catostomus platyrhynchus)

Mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni)

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)

Golden trout* (Oncorhynchus aquabonita)

Cutthroat trout* (Oncorhynchus clarki)

Rainbow trout* (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Brown trout* (Salmo trutta)

Brook trout* (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

* introduced species

TABLE 2.HIGH MOUNTAIN LAKES LOCATED WITHIN THE BIGHORN WILDLAND THATHAVE BEEN STOCKED WITH CUTTHROAT TROUT

Eagle Lake Entry Lake Lost Guide Lake

Ice Lake Kinglet Lake Obstruction Lakes

Lake of the Falls Landslide Lake

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Saskatchewan River above Abraham Reservoir haveindicated a modest population of mature bull trout,and several tributary streams were identified asspawning and rearing sites. Pinto Lake, locatedwithin the Cline River drainage, supports a uniquenative population of bull trout that is able tosuccessfully spawn in the outlet stream from the lake.Because of the vulnerability of bull trout to angling,Pinto Lake was closed to fishing in 1989, and thebull trout limit for the entire province was reducedto zero in 1998. This non-harvest strategy isdesigned to allow for the recovery of this native fish.

Specimens of lake trout, a native species, arecollected periodically from the Upper NorthSaskatchewan River, above Abraham Reservoir.These fish are thought to be possible downstreammigrants from the stock in Glacier Lake withinBanff National Park.

In 1977 golden trout obtained from Wyomingwere stocked into Coral and Michele Lakes.Golden trout are a unique species adapted to highaltitude lakes. Both of the populations in Coraland Michele Lakes have sustained themselvesnaturally; however, their survival depends uponlimited harvest and habitat protection for theinflowing tributaries and outlet stream.

In 1955 a West Slope strain of cutthroat trout,obtained from southeastern British Columbia, wasstocked into fishless areas above waterfalls withinthe Ram and North Ram Rivers and was successfulin establishing reproducing populations. Theseintroductions have resulted in the Ram Riversystem offering good trout fishing.

In 1965 Job Lake was stocked with cutthroat troutobtained from Marvel Lake in Banff NationalPark. This stock was able to spawn in the outletstream and successfully reproduce in the lake. In1971 the lake was closed to sport fishing anddesignated as a cutthroat trout brood stock sourcefor Alberta’s trout stocking program. Spawncollected from Job Lake is incubated at the SamLivingston Hatchery in Calgary. The resultant fryare reared to fingerling size and are subsequentlystocked in other locations. Job Lake was opened tosport fishing for a number of years until stocksdwindled, and it has been closed since 1989.

Within the Bighorn Wildland, cutthroat troutproduced from Job Lake have been stockedelsewhere with the goal of establishing self-reproducing populations. They have been put intothe Bighorn, Panther, Red Deer and Blackstone

This West Slope cutthroat trout is a pure form of wild native Alberta cutthroat trout. The markings and coloursare distinctive and easily recognized by the anglers who enjoy this high-spirited catch.

Rivers, and into Wapiabi, Brown and ChungoCreeks. The distribution of sizes collected byfisheries biologists in 2001 suggest that successfulspawning of the stocked fish has occurred inWapiabi, Brown and Chungo Creeks. Job Lakecutthroat trout are also used to provide sport-fishing opportunities in alpine lakes within theBighorn Wildland. Since reproduction is notpossible within these systems, the lakes are stockedon a regular schedule (Table 2).

Brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout areoccasionally collected within the mainstem NorthSaskatchewan and some of its tributaries. Thesetrout specimens are undoubtedly the descendantsof historically introduced fish. Hatchery-producedbrook trout are still stocked on a regular basis intoDormer and Allstones Lakes.

FIRST NATIONS

15FIRST NATIONSANDY MARSHALL

A European-centred perspective still tends to view the first white explorers’ sojourns into the foothills region

and beyond as the beginning of real history in the West. Yet archaeological evidence suggests that

First Nations people inhabited the Bighorn Wildland at least 9000 years ago

and reveals a long and deep connection with the region. Through carbon dating and other scientific methods,

we know that artifacts found in the area go back as far as 5000 years. They show a pattern of fairly regular

winter camping for several thousands of years after that. In other words, First Nations people savoured the glories

and natural abundance of the Bighorn for many hundreds of generations before the arrival

of the first European people. Their occupancy of the region had clearly intensified by the time people like

David Thompson and Alexander Henry passed through

in the early nineteenth century.

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Ornaments have special meanings and many of the handmade outfits worn at pow wows are cherished andmay be made by a family member. Dressed in traditional costume, this beautiful young girl is a member of theBig Horn Band and lives on the Big Horn Reserve.

FIRST NATIONSThe earliest-known nomadic people in theBighorn region were the Upper Kootenay, part ofthe Ktunaxa Nation, who made their home in alarge area including southeast British Columbia,western Montana and northern Idaho. TheKootenay travelled throughout their territory,moving from place to place as food sources becameseasonally available. The people who came into theBighorn likely made their way from the ColumbiaRiver beyond Golden through the Howse Pass,attracted by the herds of bison wintering on thenutrition-rich grasses in the region’s wide valleys.After their hunting forays, the Kootenay peoplelikely took dried meat and pemmican back to theirmore permanent settlements to the west. Whilethe focus of archaeological work and land claimshas been directed at the Kootenay Plains and YaHa Tinda areas, the Kootenay people rangedthroughout the Eastern Slopes, Frontal Ranges andvalleys of the Bighorn.

There is also evidence of the Assiniboine(descendants of the Dakota Sioux, who formerlyoccupied the headwaters of the Missouri River)moving into the area about 500 years ago. In thepast two centuries, the Stoney Nakoda FirstNation (also Sioux descendants) moved into theregion. Even more recent were the arrivals of the O’Chiese group, part of the Saulteaux Nation, and the Sunchild of the Cree Nationfrom Saskatchewan after the second Louis Rielrebellion in 1885.

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Although we have less ongoing evidence of theiractivities, a number of other tribes inhabited theregion by the 1700s, before the arrival of theStoney, O’Chiese and Sunchild. Territorialboundaries were not definitive and fluctuatedconstantly. The Peigan and the Blood, who joinedthe dominant Blackfoot people to become part ofthe powerful Blackfoot Confederacy, were amongthese groups. The Sarcee people, now the TsuuT’ina Nation near Calgary, once occupied theupper North Saskatchewan River area and enjoyeda loose alliance with the Blackfoot.

Coincidental with its acquisition of guns early inthe eighteenth century and the introduction ofhorses, the Blackfoot Confederacy gradually forcedthe Kootenay westward across the ContinentalDivide. The Blackfoot territory continued toexpand, soon extending from the NorthSaskatchewan south to the headwaters of theMissouri River, and from the Qu’Appelle River incentral Saskatchewan to the Rockies. Nomadicbison hunters, the Blackfoot undoubtedlyoccupied part of the Bighorn region. Because ofthe apparently more warlike behaviour of theBlackfoot, the white settlers remained wary ofthem. However, the fur trade flourished with thehelp of the First Nations tribes, leading to thebuilding of Rocky Mountain House in 1799.

The Plains Cree, centred in northernSaskatchewan and Manitoba, were also relativelylate arrivals to central Alberta and were able to actas middlemen between the fur companies and thewestern tribes. Diseases introduced by the whiteslater took their toll, as did the introduction ofliquor. The signing of the treaties in the 1870sprompted further dramatic changes to the lives of

all First Nations people and placed, in many oftheir eyes at least, punitive restrictions on whereand how they could carry on their traditional waysof life.

The Wesley Band of the Stoney Nation is the onlygroup still occupying any part of the Bighorn. Acouple of hundred people live on the Big HornReserve, for which they use the Stoney word WaptaMnotha meaning “Loon River.” It is locatednortheast of the Kootenay Plains near what is nowAbraham Reservoir. The land entitlement formallytook effect in 1948.

The Wesley Band, and likely other Stoney bands,occupied the Kootenay Plains for manygenerations and established themselves during thenineteenth century as a large, thriving communityliving along the Brazeau, North Saskatchewan,Clearwater and Red Deer River watersheds. Theyhad semi-permanent campsites at other placesincluding the Ya Ha Tinda, Swan Lake, BurntTimber Lake and Buck Lake. To this day, theKootenay Plains and other parts of the BighornWildland continue to serve as a productivehunting area and an important location fortraditional ceremonies and encampments.

Like the Wesley, some members of the O’Chieseand the Sunchild strive to hold onto the lifestyle oftheir ancestors, hunting for elk and moose (thebison have long since disappeared, of course),gathering berries and harvesting plants formedicinal purposes. Sundances and other spiritualactivities still take place regularly on the KootenayPlains. The annual Big Horn Pow Wow, nowcalled Kiska Waptan, is a major event.

The wolf, ever fascinating and revered, occurs ingood numbers in parts of the Bighorn. Its lonely callsoften linger in the night air along the Sunkay andWapiabi Creeks.

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CULTURENo known archaeological work of any significancehas been done in the Bighorn region since BrianReeves, a former University of Calgary professorand consultant, completed a study before theNorth Saskatchewan was flooded for the Big HornDam, which created Abraham Reservoir. Based onhis discovery of about a hundred sites in theregion, Reeves drew a picture of thousands of yearsof winter occupation by groups of 50 to 100people of all ages. Bone and stone scrapers, knives,arrowheads and butchered bones form part of theevidence. Chert mines along Shundra Creeksuggest use of the area as a tool-making site forthousands of years. Signs were found of matlodges, likely made from woven reeds easy to carryacross the mountains. Ten or 12 of these lodgesmight be built at a single campsite. Reevesspeculated that there might still be hundreds ofunexamined sites in the area.

The Kootenay or Ktunaxa language was quitedistinct from those of other First Nations, but aswith other Nations, all people, from elders to thechildren, had a place in the community. Elderswere the leaders, responsible for making decisionsand teaching each new generation the ways of life.The men’s job was to go hunting, while the womenwere responsible for making clothing, cookingmeals and gathering food. Children in the campdid a variety of tasks, from helping gather firewoodto running errands for the elders. For clothing,men wore buckskin shirts with a full collar madefrom two hides, leggings, breechcloths andmoccasins. The women wore undecorated skinfrocks and soft, knee-length leggings during thecolder months. Hats were made from rawhide, furand pliable willow twigs.

Archaeologists have found signs of vision quest sitesand circular, oval or horseshoe-shaped cairns. Theselikely date to relatively recent times and the arrival ofthe Assiniboine. Today there are about one hundreddocumented burial sites along a single trail in thenorthern Bighorn. Rock art is believed to beassociated with vision quests. Although there arelikely more in the region, the only known rock art, aseries of lines on a rock, has been found in the upperCline River and could be up to 1000 years old.

It is not surprising that many First Nations peoplelook back with longing to their extended period ofresidency before the white men came with diseasesand weapons of war. Scientists believe the Kootenay,for example, generally lived much longer thanEuropeans before modern medicine was developed.Living in the great outdoors, subsisting on a diet ofusually abundant meat and plants, most peopleremained relatively disease-free and many lived wellinto their seventies and eighties.

The Assiniboine and Stoney people likely movedaround the area in smaller numbers than theKootenay. Unlike the prairie Nations, who dependedon the much larger bison herds, they lived a morescattered existence, looking for mountain game thatoccurred singly or in small groups. Teepees weremade from cured animal hides stitched together withsinews and supported on the long pine-tree trunks.Bows were made from chokecherry or birch, and thestring from the long sinews of deer or bisonbackbones. Arrowheads were carefully chipped fromtraded flintstone. A hide scraper was made of stoneor a large leg bone, while a fishhook was made usinga thin, pliable bone from a lynx’s front leg. Althoughsurvival was undoubtedly a challenge and conditionsoften harsh, the ability to obtain food and comfortsfrom natural surroundings often seems idyllic tomodern sensitivities.

Pow wows are celebrations, social gatherings anddance competitions. Some of the regalia worn by thedancers signify special events or honours, specialreligious traditions or symbols rooted in legend.

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EUROPEAN CONTACTThe Stoney believe that the pre-contact era was atime of great happiness, peace and prosperity fortheir ancestors, the original inhabitants of the area.They lived in harmony with nature, and the GreatSpirit provided for all the needs of the people. Thecountry was rich with game, and there was lots offood and land for all the people. The landbelonged to the people. The Great Spirit had madethe country and had given everything in it to theirpeople to use.

Although it ultimately disrupted their way of life,many Nations at first welcomed the earlyEuropeans, acting as guides and in other capacities.Given the importance of the Kootenay Plains, it isnot surprising that a fur trade presence wasestablished there. Although accurate informationabout activities in the region before the eighteenthcentury is in short supply, it is clear that thelucrative trade with white men attracted FirstNations from a wide area. Traditional economiesbecame dependent on visits to the trading posts.Guns, axes, knives, kettles and other items soonbecame essential. In addition to their goods, thenewcomers also brought diseases – from measlesand smallpox to tuberculosis and venereal disease.The area was incorporated into Canada in 1870,and treaties were introduced. Although manybands sought to maintain their way of life, thefinal disappearance of the bison in the 1880sforced most to return to the government-surveyedreserves to try and forge a new and unfamiliar way of life.

This majestic wapiabi (“grave” in Stoney) is found in the Wapiabi Valley. Visitors to this site are often greetedwith the call of a red-tailed hawk, announcing the arrival of guests to this Stoney gravesite.

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TREATIES ANDLAND CLAIMSDetailing the signing of the treaties with thevarious First Nations groups is beyond the scope ofthis book. However, it is interesting to note thatthe territories covered by Treaties 6, 7 and 8intersect in the southern part of the Bighorn,complicating their impact on the region.Interpretations of the intent of the treaties vary,understandably, depending on who one speaks to.From the point of view of the Stoney, for example,the misunderstandings surrounding the treatieshave been deep and serious.

For the European settlers, the treaties were a way ofmaking peace with the aboriginal peoples andestablishing certainty for their own expandingcommercial and territorial needs. The federalgovernment wanted title to the entire North WestTerritories – including Alberta – so they could bedeveloped for the white men. Because ofconsiderable cultural and language barriers, theFirst Nations representatives might have had quitea different perspective on what they were signing.They, too, wanted peace, but interpretations todaysuggest they did not realize they were handing overthe rights to land which they had once freelyoccupied. Issues such as title to land or strictformula for establishing the size of reserves did notmean much to them.

Treaty 6 was signed in 1876, mostly by the Creepeople of what is now Saskatchewan and centralAlberta. It included a provision for agriculturalimplements and seed grain, plus a promise to giverations in the event of famine. The Treaty 6territory was bordered in this part of Alberta by theRed Deer River in the south and the EasternSlopes in the west, as shown in the maps published

in John Snow’s book, These mountains are oursacred places. Thus, most of the Bighorn area is inTreaty 6 territory.

From a geographical point of view, it would havebeen more logical then for the Stoney settlementto have been part of Treaty 6, an adhesion to it, oreven Treaty 8, which includes what is now BanffNational Park, and extending north. Nevertheless,it became part of Treaty 7, signed in 1877. Thenorthern boundary of Treaty 7 territory is the RedDeer River, with the western boundary being whatis today the British Columbia border. A primemotivation for the white settlers to have Treaty 7signed was to make peace with the Blackfootpeople further south.

For First Nations people, at least, the setting of thegeographical boundaries created a serious oversightthat is the source of resentment and controversy tothis day. The Kootenay Plains area in the Bighornwas omitted from all the treaties. The discrepancywas not discovered until the signing of Treaty 8 in1899. But the Stoneys of the Bighorn–KootenayPlains were not invited to participate in the Treaty8 settlement. Nor have they been permitted to signan adhesion to any treaty since. Former ChiefSnow speculates one of the reasons was that theKootenay Plains group was quite small, and thetreaty commissioners, in their haste to resolve thesematters and without sufficient backgroundinformation, simply overlooked the group.

The O’Chiese Reserve, east of the Bighornboundaries and about 50 km north of RockyMountain House, was officially recognized in1950 as an adhesion to Treaty 6; the Sunchild hadsigned an agreement shortly before that. TheO’Chiese, too, have ongoing claims on theKootenay Plains, which remain unresolved to this day.

Each year thousands of golden eagles pass throughthe Bighorn Wildland, an important migrationroute for birds of prey. Recently, eagle-capture pitsused by ancient peoples were recognized on Ya HaTinda Ranch property.

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After many years of petitions and promises (somebroken, according to Stoney records), the WesleyFirst Nation’s claim to the Kootenay Plains wasfinally recognized in 1948 with the creation of the5000-acre Big Horn Reserve. The Wesley have aspecific claims process under way to expand theirterritory. Further claims from the O’Chiese and theSunchild are also still before Canada’s federal court.

As we have alluded to, for the Stoney and other FirstNations people, the signing of the treaties wastarnished by misunderstanding and even treachery.Given the importance to Stoney history of thereturn of the Kootenay Plains, it is remarkable howlittle is known about the details. But when theprovincial government was preparing in 1972 tolaunch the Big Horn Dam and flood historic Stoneygravesites, Bill Yurko, a senior member of the newlyelected Progressive Conservative government of thetime said: “These people have lived in this land forcenturies. The fact that we are now flooding theland where their ancestors were buried, and wherebuildings of historical significance are located,places us under an obligation to provide land for asacred, historical site.”

That obligation was partially met in the mid-1970swhen a section of land by Two O’Clock Creek wasgiven special status. However, bearing in mind thebroader historical context, conservationists mayunderstand better why First Nations people havenot always greeted with enthusiasm their attemptsto set aside the Bighorn Wildland as a natural,protected area. Chief Snowss charged in the early1970s that a provincial natural area in the KootenayPlains had been established without consultation atthe place traditionally used by the Stoney forsundances, and that this action appeared to be a“deliberate attempt to destroy our culture.” Thechief also criticized Alberta’s stewardship of the

grasslands at the Plains, claiming the Stoney couldcare for them better.

During discussions in the past three years betweenenvironmentalists and the province over the issue ofprotection for the Bighorn Wildland, the then-headof the O’Chiese Nation voiced his concern that hispeople had been left out. “The O’Chiese First Nationhas strong traditional ties to some of the Crown landswithin this area,” said Danny Bradshaw.

Although the historical details are still somewhatsketchy, we can strive for a better understanding ofFirst Nations ties with the Bighorn, particularlythe Kootenay Plains area. As we hike or ride alongthe Bighorn’s magnificent trails and camp by itslife-giving streams and lakes, we can meditate onthe numerous people who have gone before usunder dramatically different circumstances. Wecan try to recall their experiences, theirperspectives and their connections with therelentless and mystical rhythms of the region.

This tree is marked with cuts that a Stoney elderexplained represent the number of days spenttravelling to reach this site. It is found near thebeginning of the historic Bighorn Trail, about twokm above the Bighorn River.

EARLY EXPLORATION

16EARLY EXPLORATIONJOYCE MCCART

The nineteenth century marked the appearance of the first Europeans in the Bighorn Wildland.

They came for a variety of reasons – trade, science, adventure – but their

presence was light, and the only sign of their passage is

the writing they left behind.

Four individuals in particular, all of whom kept journals, typify these early visitors:

David Thompson, James Hector, the Earl of Southesk and Mary Schäffer.

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From rocky outcrops like this one, magnificentmountains and wide sweeping valleys inspired earlyexplorers and photographers. This photo is from theArchives of the Canadian Rockies.

EARLY EXPLORATIONOf the four, the first to venture into the Bighornwas David Thompson. He was 30 years old,recently married and employed as a fur trader bythe North West Company. Born in obscurity andeducated by charity, Thompson was an unlikelycandidate for fame, but once his maps and journalssurfaced (some 30 years after his death), he beganto be recognized as the determined explorer andmaster geographer that he was.

During the first decade of the 19th century,Thompson explored three different areas of theBighorn – the Ya Ha Tinda, the North Ram Riverand the Kootenay Plains. In the fall of 1799, hewas stationed at Rocky Mountain House, andwhen word came that a band of Kootenays wascoming across the Rockies, Thompson decided tomeet them. The ride took him west along the RedDeer River, through miles of forest, to the edge ofa broad plain. There he climbed a “very highknowl,” and wrote the first description of thespectacular view from the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch.

YA HA TINDA 1799“I had a very extensive View of the Country: fromthe southward extending by the westward to theNorth, it was every where Ranges of woody Hillslying nearly parallel to the Mountain, and risingone behind another higher and higher to the snowySummits of the Mountain” (Belyea 1994, 6).

The following spring, Thompson was part of thefirst attempt to carry the fur trade across theRockies. By June 13, 1800 the expedition was well

into the Ram Range of mountains – nowhere near,however, where Thompson wanted to be. His“useless guide,” instead of following the NorthSaskatchewan (as the Kootenays had advised), hadcrossed the river and led the expedition up theNorth Ram River to its headwaters in Mud Lake.And there the trail came to an end.

MUD LAKE 1800 “For the last 1/4 of a Mile we were on a bare Spottolerably exposed to the Action of the Sun – here wewere obliged to stop, for at the end of this was adeep Lake...whose eastern Side rose abrupt & hid itsHead in the Clouds, accessible to the Eagle only, &its western Side, equally lofty but broken, denied usa farther Road with the Horses” (Belyea 1994, 29).

Thompson pushed on to the far end of the lakeand scrambled over the divide. Below, he could seeWhiterabbit Creek, and he figured they couldreach the North Saskatchewan if they carried thepacks down the mountain. But the men swore theslope was impossible to descend without “breakingtheir limbs,” and much to Thompson’s disgust, theexpedition turned back.

Seven years went by before he was given a secondchance at the Rockies. On May 10, 1807 hedispatched a loaded canoe up the NorthSaskatchewan, then followed on horseback with acavalcade of packhorses, hunters, women andchildren. Three weeks later, the riders emergedfrom the wreckage of a burnt forest, crossed WindyPoint, and rode out onto the Kootenay Plains.

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KOOTENAY PLAINS 1807“[Course] thro’ the Kootanae Plains, where we putup near the Canoe & People – we came fast on,often at a sound Trot. The Valleys, notwithstandingthe rugged snowy appearance of the Chain ofMountains about us, are pleasant, & one might passan agreeable summer in such places we have comethro’ the last 4 Miles” (Belyea 1994, 41).

The travellers camped near Two O’Clock Creek,where they stayed until the mountain snowsmelted. On the third of June, Thompson and hisretinue headed west to cross the Howse Pass, amove that put the Kootenay Plains on the NorthWest Company’s trade route across the Rockies.But that traffic – if twice yearly can be called traffic– lasted less than four years. In the summer of1810 the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Joseph Howsecrossed the pass that now bears his name for thefirst and last time, and that fall, the increasinghostility of the Peigans drove David Thompsonnorth in search of a safer route. With the openingof Athabasca Pass in 1811, the fur tradedisappeared from the Kootenay Plains.

Half a century later, science came to the BighornWildland. It arrived in the person of an energeticyoung Scot named James Hector – 24 years old, arecent graduate of medical school and a member ofthe Palliser Expedition. Hector’s first love wasgeology, but in the mid-nineteenth century,natural science was a branch of medicine, and inorder to study geology, he’d had to become adoctor. It was in the field of geology, however, thathe made his name. In New Zealand, he isremembered as Sir James Hector, head of the NewZealand Geological Survey. Mud Lake marked the end of the trail for David Thompson in 1800. The terrain beyond the lake proved

impassible to horses, thwarting Thompson’s efforts to cross the Rockies and establish a fur trade in BritishColumbia.

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Hector made two visits to the Bighorn – the firstin September of 1858 (a few weeks after he waskicked by a horse on the banks of the KickingHorse River); the second a year later. Notsurprisingly, Hector looked at landscapes in termsof their geology, and his first act on reaching theupper North Saskatchewan was to climb PinePoint (now Whirlpool Point) for a bird’s-eye viewof the Kootenay Plains.

KOOTENAY PLAINS 1858 “The terraces along the edges of the Kootanie Plainare beautifully marked, rising successively manyhundred feet above the river. The surfaces of thehigher ones are covered with cypress pines of sturdygrowth, but free from underwood. The widestterraces are quite free from timber of any kind,excepting only in the ravines where there are poplarsand small cherry trees” (Spry 1968, 327).

From his campsite on Two O’Clock Creek, heclimbed 1128 metres up Mount Ernest Ross anddevoted a page of his journal to detailing the strataof Two O’Clock Ridge. As he continued to ridenorth, he listed the quartzite and limestone, graveland sand of the terraces enclosing the NorthSaskatchewan (now the banks of AbrahamReservoir), and noted the “ledges of quartzosesandstone” that once churned the river into rapids.

Hector’s last notes before leaving the plainsconcerned the Cline River. A Stoney hunter hadtold him the track along the river was Old Cline’sTrail, and that years before, fur trader MichaelCline had made an annual trek from Jasper Houseto the Kootenay Plains to provision his post for thewinter. The river itself had yet to be named,though it wasn’t for want of trying. DavidThompson had called it the Muleton (possibly amisprint for Mouflon, French for mountain

The fur trade had a major influence on westernculture. The Bighorn Wildland was rich withwildlife and trap lines were established early. Manytrap lines remain today. Early trappers built boxesfor trapping martin. Martin boxes like this oneremain as evidence of this area’s rich history.

Packrats live in nests built of plant material likebranches, twigs, sticks and other debris. They canbecome quite a nuisance, getting into everything,stealing treasures and generally causing havoc. Nodoubt early explorers dealt with a packrat or two.

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and bedding, a table, a camp stool, a rubber bathand the works of William Shakespeare.

Southesk was the first European to approach theBighorn by following the eastern boundaries ofJasper Park and the White Goat Wilderness. Hecrossed Job Pass, followed Coral Creek to itsconfluence with the Cline, and on September 18,1859 reached the valley of the North Saskatchewan.

KOOTENAY PLAINS 1859 “We marched a few miles, in a southerly direction,up the course of the North Saskatchewan and haltedat the Kootanie Plain. This so-called plain is merelyan inconsiderable enlargement of the valley – aspace of some fifty acres, bare of trees and coveredwith short prairie grasses” (Southesk 1875, 235).

Southesk arrived only two weeks after Hector, andthough he knew about the coincidence (he cameacross one of Hector’s markers), Hector didn’t hearabout it until the two men met in Scotland. It’s awonder they knew they were discussing the samepiece of country. The only thing they agreed onwas the “bleak moor” on the upper Siffleur River.Where Hector saw poplars and pines, Southesksaw only grass. Their most startling difference,however, was in their recollection of the size of theKootenay Plains.

In Hector’s view, the plains were “seven or eightmiles long and two to three miles wide” – in otherwords, some 12,000 acres compared to Southesk’s50. One possible reason for the latter’s view of theplains is that he really didn’t have one. He arrived atdusk, camped in the rain and left lamenting a heavymist that obscured his view of the mountains.

sheep); James Hector named it the Wapateehk (orWaputik, Stoney for “white goat”); Mary Schäfferreferred to it as the Cataract (now a falls on theriver); but it was 1902 before alpinist NormanCollie finally named it the Cline.

Hector’s second visit to the Bighorn wasmarginally longer than his first one. He reachedthe Kootenay Plains on August 28, 1859, this timeby following a First Nations trail up the PipestoneRiver to Pipestone Pass.

SIFFLEUR WILDERNESS 1859 “After crossing the highest point, we made a gentledescent for five miles over a bleak moorland...wethen came to the brink of a densely woodedvalley...The next day descend along the SiffleurRiver, a very rapid stream...travelling by a path cutthrough very dense woods. At nightfall...we reachedthe wide open valley of the North Saskatchewanopposite to the Kootanie Plain” (Spry 1968, 442).

Hector named the Siffleur River (French for“whistler”) after the cheeky little marmots thatwhistle along the trail. The next morning, he rodeacross the plains to the North Saskatchewan andset up a camp opposite Whirlpool Point. Over thenext four days, his men shot a moose, an elk andfive bighorn sheep, then turned most of the meatinto pemmican. On September 3 Hector paid thehunters, loaded his horses and set out to cross theHowse Pass.

Soon after, a Scot named James Carnegie, theNinth Earl of Southesk, arrived in the BighornWildland. Southesk was 32, a recent widower andcurrently on safari for the benefit of his health. Asbefitted a person of rank, his entourage consistedof a party of men, an Iroquois cook and a string ofpackhorses loaded with guns and trophies, tents

Early exploration required skill at moving throughmountainous areas on horseback, carrying gear andfood on pack horses.

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It is more often than not the elements that determine where people can live. Cabins like this one that stands today on the Kootenay Plains, reminding us of theadventure and hope that brought people to this region.

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KOOTENAY PLAINS 1907 “To see the Plains at their best, one should comeover the Pipestone trail in August, and look downon the scene from the rolling hills to the South.Then the golden-brown of the ripened grasses floodsthe valley with light, for miles the river winds andtwists from west to east...the faint ringing of a belldenotes that a few tiny specks on the landscape arereally horses, and the white dots are tepees of theIndians. Here the air is sweeter, dryer, and softerthan anywhere I know, and here the world couldeasily be forgotten and life pass by in a dream”(Schäffer 1911, 70).

On her last evening on the plains, Mary Schäfferattended a dinner party in Eliot Barnes’ cabin. Thecompany included the party of travellers, a clusterof Stoney women, and once it grew dark, SilasAbraham and Samson Beaver. They were a merrylot, full of teasing and laughter, but as SamsonBeaver crouched to light his pipe at the fire – face,braids and brass earrings lit up by the glow – onceagain her account was tinged with regret. “I wasglad,” she wrote, “for even this picture which in afew years can be no more.”

At the beginning of the twentieth century, anAmerican turned up in the Bighorn Wildland.Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mary Schäfferdidn’t seem the type to tackle a rugged life on thetrail. Both her parents were well-to-do, and by herown account, she’d enjoyed a pamperedupbringing. She married a doctor whose hobbywas botany, and though she accompanied himevery summer to collect plants in the Rockies, theyarrived by train, put up in a hotel and rarelystrayed far from the railway. It was only after shewas widowed that buckskins and chaps appearedin her otherwise fashionable wardrobe, and at 43,Mary Schäffer learned to ride, hired a guide andventured into the wilderness.

Her travels took her into the Bighorn three yearsrunning. In 1905, she descended the trail throughthe Siffleur Wilderness to camp on the KootenayPlains. That summer she was on a mission tocomplete her husband’s alpine collection. Thefollowing summer she returned for a second visit,but in 1907, suddenly impatient with “short trips,”she decided to explore the country that (apart fromthe Stoney families) was the exclusive province ofmen. The result was a pack trip through the Rockiesthat lasted the length of the summer.

At the end of a 25-mile ride from Pinto Lake –“stormswept, chilled, and baked by turns” – shereached the Kootenay Plains for the third and lasttime. As a rule, Mary Schäffer’s writing was lightand witty, but that fall, her mood took a somberturn. The trickle of Europeans that had leftscarcely a trace on the plains was turning into aflood, and convinced that the era of “secret places”was coming to an end, she took up her pen to writea tribute to the beauty of the Kootenay Plains.

Trail and survey markers, evidence of early travelthrough the area, were squared off from standingtrees and can be found along trails in the BighornWildland.

OUTFITTERS

17OUTFITTERSVIVIAN PHARIS

Who knows better the intricacies and intimacies of the Bighorn Wildland

than those who work and live there? In the modern era, these are the guide-outfitters

who often set up their camps in snow in May and remove them in the snow of late November.

Some of the Bighorn’s guide-outfitters have worked in, known and

admired the area for two and three generations.

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Chester Sands (left) and his successful client show offa beautiful full-curl ram.

CHESTER SANDSAND HIS FAMILYThe Sands family’s roots in the Bighorn Wildlandare anchored into the mountain soils as firmly as arethe roots of trees that hold tight at the edge oftimberline in the teeth of the blasting wind. For 78years, Chester Sands and his family have roamedthese lands, guiding and outfitting in many parts ofwhat has become known as the Bighorn Wildland.

The Sands family followed on the heels of theearliest outfitters and guides to operate in thisterritory. Both the notorious Tom Wilson and JimSimpson of early mountain exploration and BanffNational Park fame had interests in lands that arenow part of the Bighorn and included parts of thearea in their extended guiding operations. Theybarely preceded Chester’s father, Clarence, in theBighorn. Clarence began guiding and outfitting in1919, around the same time that Tom Wilson gaveup his attempts to gain ownership of the KootenayPlains and moved to British Columbia. Clarencemissed meeting Mary Schäffer by only 12 years.

On her last trip through the Kootenay Plains in1907, Mary Schäffer wrote forebodingly of theimpending flood of visitors into such secretwilderness places as Cataract Creek, the ClineRiver and the Kootenay Plains. Clarence was oneof the first to lead expeditions of the tourists andhunters whom Mary Shäffer saw as those whowould civilize and spoil the area. He led themthroughout the mountainous terrain north of theNorth Saskatchewan River and along the ClineRiver to Pinto Lake before roads came anywherenear and before the river was dammed.

Clarence was an early explorer of the Blackstone,Wapiabi and Brazeau Rivers and of the rugged Joband Coral Creeks. He continued to escortadventurers into these areas, helping them to findwhat were often record-book trophy bighorn sheepand elk, until he passed into a whole new territoryin 1952. The vast knowledge that Clarenceaccumulated over more than 30 years of the landand its wildlife, and the rivers, trails and weatherwas passed on to his sons, Chester and Sam, and totheir sister, Myrtle Ravio. All three offspringfollowed their father into the Bighorn and madetheir livelihoods, at least in part, from thisspectacular and bountiful place.

Myrtle’s guiding area included the Blackstone, Joband Coral Creeks, while Sam began his guidingcareer in the Blackstone but moved operations intoWhiterabbit Creek and the North Ram River.Sam’s son Don carried on the family tradition forseveral years in the South Ram River before sellinghis non-resident ram permits about 20 years ago toLorne Hindbo, who has ably continued summertrail riding operations in the North Ram and fallhunting operations in the South Ram ever since.Chester took over the Cline–Job–Coral area fromhis father in 1954, after six years of apprenticingwith him and several additional years of workingfor another outfitter.

In early days, before the North Forestry Road andHighway 11 had been cut through, Chester’s familytrailed their pack strings from their ranch on theSunchild Road west of Rocky Mountain House,about 200 km into their fall hunting grounds in theBighorn. They were assisted then by what Chesterclaims to be a lost breed of horse, the Cayuse.Cayuse horses were preferred for working in thisdifficult terrain of heavy deadfall, muskeg and steep,rocky slopes. They were not pretty horses, but their

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heavy bone structure allowed them to carry largeloads and their broad feet kept them on the tops ofmuskegs. Once broken, Cayuse horses wereunflappable, strong and steady – ideally suited forearly expeditions into the rough country in andaround the Bighorn Wildland.

Over the years, most of Chester’s hunting clientscame from the United States, and many returnedfor trips with him. Return clients especially admiredthe wild, scenic and challenging country they foundin places like Job and Coral Creeks and along theBlackstone and Brazeau Rivers. One particularclient returned 17 times. Chester is proud thatunder his guidance one American doctor madethree “grand slams,” or hunted three sets of trophiesfrom all four North American species of hornedsheep, completing each with a bighorn.

Chester regrets that in his 51 years of working andguiding in the Bighorn, his clients only ever tooktwo record-book trophy rams from the area. It isChester’s view that many years of selective huntingfor the best trophy rams altered the local gene poolso that small-horned animals now dominate.However, Chester’s observation is that bighornsheep numbers are about the same today as theywere 50 years ago. The same is not true for the elkpopulation, which he observes to be greatlyreduced from what it was in the 1960s. Althougha massive predator poisoning campaign in 1951and 1952 allowed the elk population to swell,Chester suggests that fire control may haveinfluenced the subsequent collapse by reducingforage availability. He feels that the Bighorn’sgrizzly bears are currently at a historically high

Chester Sands and his able pack string not only carried hunters, fishermen and tourists into the backcountry;they also accommodated geological expeditions into the Bighorn and adjacent national park lands in the1950s and 1960s.

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population level and that the mountain goatpopulation is holding its own or slowly increasing.Mountain caribou, though, while never plentiful inthe area, have dwindled to a very few animals whosetracks are only occasionally seen today in places likethe Siffleur, Cline, Job and Coral valleys.

Not all of Chester’s guiding and outfittinginvolved hunters. Prior to the filling of AbrahamReservoir in 1978, Chester ran six-day summertrail rides into Pinto Lake, where fishing for thelake’s renowned salmon-like bull trout must havefulfilled many fishermen’s dreams. Chester alsoused his expertise and string of packhorses toexpedite geological surveys in the Bighorn and intoneighbouring national park lands, wherecompanies like Shell Canada mapped outcroppingrock formations.

Chester has witnessed vast changes to thecountryside east of the Bighorn over the past three-quarters of a century, yet he finds it remarkable thata few remote parts of the Bighorn, like theJob–Coral area, have remained virtually unchanged.There are more people in the backcountry thanthere used to be, but Chester concedes that today’shunters and wilderness seekers expect to find a bit ofcompany and are not put off by it. He admits thatwhile horse and foot travel does some damage to theenvironment, the force of a single major flood andthe effects of industry and motorized travel cause fargreater and more lasting damage. He is perhaps a bitwistful that his son will not follow his father andgrandfather into the Bighorn as a guide. Chester didnot encourage his son because he thought theBighorn would fall to development just as the landsto the east have done, and be lost to a twenty-first-century generation of guides and outfitters.

Semi-permanent outfitter camps are sometimes set up in May and removed in November. A bear-safe cachestands on the right in this Panther Corners camp.

Packing horses is an intricate and vanishing skill. Each packer uses variations on a theme. In this case the redpanniers (or pack boxes) hang from the packsaddle tree by permanent pannier ropes. The top pack is held inplace by a rope cinched down to the panniers. Over all of this goes a protective tarpaulin, and then a versionof the diamond hitch knot will hold everything securely until the next camp is reached.

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EARLY FOREST RANGERSby R. E. Stevenson

The Bighorn Wildland is part of the larger Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve established in 1906by the federal government to protect the Eastern Slopes of Alberta as forested watershed. Sincethen, the lands of the Bighorn have primarily been the responsibility of the Alberta Forest Service. In 1910 forestry staff established permanent offices in Calgary and Edmonton. Rangers, many ofthem temporary for the fire season, began to build a network of horse and wagon trails to theirremote log cabin stations and fire lookouts throughout the forest reserve. Their primaryresponsibility was the protection of forests from fire and the regulation of logging to ensure watersupplies vital to new settlements and agriculture on the prairies.

Initially, foresters and rangers followed existing First Nations paths and outfitter trails as theymapped and took inventory of Eastern Slopes forests, water and wildlife. Ranger cabins and forestfire caches were soon located at strategic points throughout the foothills and mountains. Mostcabins were spaced about one day’s horseback ride apart. Some of these old buildings are evidenttoday, such as the Headwaters cabin on the South Ram River, built in 1912. Although the Vimycabin, on a tributary of the Wapiabi River, has been replaced, the new cabin is a fine example ofthe sort of log cabin craftsmanship often found in early cabin construction.

As the pattern of stations became established, rangers spent much of their time maintaining trailsand telephone lines that connected their cabins to various lookouts and headquarters. In thefoothills, the rangers laid out logging areas for a growing number of portable sawmills supplyingtimber for new and expanding settlements, railroads and coal mines. Rangers also served as gameguardians and were the main government contact for trappers, outfitters and early recreationistsin places like the Bighorn. A close liaison between forest rangers and national park wardensallowed a “shared watch” for fire and poaching activities along park boundaries. Many of the earlyrangers and park wardens were colourful characters who took great pride in their work and theirterritories, and they were the voice of authority over large areas, like the lands of the Bighorn.

Campfire cooking at day’s end is especially fine whena bounty of fresh mushrooms is on the menu.

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The historic Headwaters patrol cabin in 1928. It still stands on a bluff overlooking the South Ram near the trail junction to Whiterabbit Creek.

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MILDRED MCKENZIEAND HER FAMILYAs a young man in the early 1940s, Ed McKenzie,Mildred McKenzie’s husband, took up thechallenging work of backcountry guiding in thefoothills and mountains west of Rocky MountainHouse. At first Ed worked for established outfitterslike Ken Thompson and the Sands family. Hegained his own guide’s license in 1948 and workedfor Ken Thompson through the early 1950s,helping to outfit and facilitate large geologicalexpeditions that were mapping landscapes andoutcrops west of Rocky Mountain House.

Ed grew up at Stauffer, just east of RockyMountain House, in a family steeped in theculture of the outdoors, hunting and horses. Hisfather freighted goods by horse and wagon as farwest as the booming coal-mining town ofNordegg. In the fall, the extended McKenziefamily would load up their wagons and travel westinto good hunting territory in order to lay in thewinter’s supply of meat. Young Ed learned from hisearliest days how to handle horses and guns and tofind his way through rugged terrain.

A bright and lively girl from Crossfield caught Ed’seye, and he and Mildred married in 1954. Thatyear the newlyweds made an epic fall hunting trip,riding from Stauffer to the Blackstone River,following a combination of truck trails, horse trailsand game trails. Mildred got a sudden andthorough introduction to life on the trail as theworking partner of a guide and outfitter. The lifeobviously suited her, as she was still out on the trailand acting as camp cook for her son Ron in theyear 2000, six years after Ed’s sudden andunexpected death.

In 1954 a road was extended west of Nordegg asfar as Whirlpool Point – part of a continuingattempt by area business interests to develop atrading route across the Howse Pass in BanffNational Park. This road allowed horses and gearto be trucked much closer to take-off points intowhat is now the Bighorn Wildland. By 1957 theroad was carved further along the west shore of theNorth Saskatchewan River to the ClineRiver/Coral Creek junction. That year theMcKenzies were employed to work in the valley ofCoral Creek by outfitter and guide Myrtle Ravio(nee Sands). It was a year of heavy rains and whenthe McKenzies came down the valley for moresupplies, they found that the new road wasextensively washed out. They left their hobbledpack and saddle horses to graze on the KootenayPlains and continued to Nordegg by vehicle.Mildred recalls that it took them eight hours todrive from Coral Creek to Nordegg – far longerthan it had taken them to ride about 20 km downthe dangerously flooded Coral Creek.

Ed and Mildred got into their own outfitting andguiding business by chance when a business dealwith another outfitter fell through and theMcKenzies felt obliged to accommodate hunterswho had booked trips in the fall of 1966. Theyborrowed gear and some horses and beganoperations. The next year tragedy struck theirfledgling company when a forest fire burned theirranch buildings and they lost newly acquiredsaddles and other equipment.

Undaunted, the McKenzies began again and soonestablished a base camp at the junction of CoralCreek and the North Saskatchewan River.McKenzie’s Trails West was born, and regular trailrides were in operation from the site by 1972. Thecompany and base camp continue to exist as

testament to the drive and spirit of Ed andMildred. Now operated by son Ron, McKenzie’sTrails West has served thousands of clients over theyears with day-long or extended backcountry tripsinto some of the most spectacular country alongAlberta’s Eastern Slopes. Other camps wereestablished at the top of Coral Creek and at Job (orBlue) Lake. Clients on extended trips were oftentaken over the rugged trail up Coral Creek to stayat Hearts and Diamonds camp before crossing thebreathtaking Job Pass and riding on to camp atpicture-perfect Blue Lake.

For many years Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife Agencyoperated Job Lake as a reservoir of pure cutthroattrout eggs. But in the early 1970s the lake wasopened to sport fishing, and it soon became anangler’s mecca. The fish were large and plentiful,and had especially tasty, deep pink flesh. Not onlywas the fishing superb, but so was the scenery. Thiscombination proved unfortunate, as so manyvisitors descended on the area that there weresometimes as many as 200 horses grazing aroundthe lake’s shores. Steep Job Pass suffered severeerosion, as did the lake’s shores. Finally, the addedpressure of helicopter fishing in the mid-1980sbrought the fishery to near collapse and forcedofficial action. Horses were banned around thelake in 1986 and the lake was closed to fishing in1989. Now, more than a decade later, the lake’sshore is still in a state of recovery and fishing hasnot been reinstated. The McKenzies moved theirBlue Lake camp about seven km to the junction ofWilson (or Blue) Creek and Job Creek, and clientscontinued to access the lake on day rides.

Guiding hunters was the primary part of theMcKenzies’ operations before a governmentdecision in the 1980s limited the all-importantnon-resident permits for bighorn sheep and elk in

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where she still lives. When the children were veryyoung, the company often hired cooks to work inthe backcountry, but Mildred would still be incharge of trip organization. When she and Ed wereat the peak of their business, summers and fallswere often a blur of backcountry trips alternatedwith trips back home to shop, pack horse panniersand organize the next trip. That all of the childrenwere able to participate in the family business andsee and experience a remnant of Alberta’s wildfrontier is a great consolation to Mildred.

For years, Mildred and Ed were involved in theAlberta Outfitters Association and were membersof the executive. Privately and through theassociation, they both strove for the protection ofthe Bighorn Wildland. Over the years the twowrote dozens of letters to government officials andattended dozens of meetings to try to gainprotection for the beautiful valleys and mountainsthat they loved so much and that sustained themin their business. Mildred expresses disbelief thatthere is now no obvious official interest inprotecting this most wild and spectacular part ofthe province – a part that has contributed so muchto tourism and could continue to attract touristswho want to see wild and scenic places. Mildred isconvinced that people suffering the stresses oftoday’s fast-paced life need places of solitude andbeauty like the Bighorn Wildland, where they canescape for a while and become refreshed.

In Ed’s memory, the McKenzie family hasofficially adopted the maintenance of the CoralCreek trail, under the local Forest Service’sAdopt-a-Trail program.

order to encourage more outfitters into thebusiness. When the non-resident permit numberswere decided by bid, the McKenzies acquired fourbighorn sheep and two elk permits. Today RonMcKenzie continues to outfit and guide clientsinto the Job Creek valley and its tributaries insearch of trophies. In earlier years, grizzly huntingwould open in May and the McKenzies would setup spring camps in the snow and sometimes endthem in blizzards at the end of November.Removing camps often involved extremeendurance, if the streams were freezing over, thesnows were deep and the ropes, hobbles and packequipment were coated in ice.

In addition to guiding, trail riding has been anintegral part of their operations ever since Ed andMildred established McKenzie’s Trails West.Extended trips may take clients up the spectacularCoral Creek valley and over into Job Creek andJob Lake, or they may begin at Tershishner Creekor Crescent Falls on the Bighorn River and travelover the historic Bighorn Trail to the BlackstoneRiver, and from there up the Brazeau River to JobCreek and Job Lake. The pattern of travel isusually one day of riding with the pack stringbetween camps, followed by a day at camp andpossibly some day riding.

Mildred’s roles in the family outfitting businessincluded trip organizer, goods purchaser and chiefcamp cook. She often had her role extended tobeing nurse, consoler and camp confessor whenclients felt out-of-sorts. A rainy day meant thatMildred also had to become entertainer for camp-bound clients. She did all these jobs as well as raisea family of nine children on the family ranch,

On a typical day on the trail, Mildred and EdMcKenzie rest against a horse they have just packed.

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A patient pack pony is entrusted with an awkward load, the head and rack of a bull moose, to carefully maneuver out of a rough piece of country.

THE VALUE OF WILD PLACES

18THE VALUE OF WILD PLACESPHILIP CLEMENT & ALAN ERNST

Large and intact wilderness areas, especially those as aesthetically pleasing and accessible as

the Bighorn Wildland, have become rare and valuable commodities in our increasingly developed world.

A host of truly sustainable economic values can be realized from unimpaired ecosystems.

These values run the gamut from basic ecosystem services such as water purification

to entrepreneurial ecotourism ventures.

The unspoiled landscapes of the Bighorn, if managed for ecosystem protection, will provide

diverse economic returns into the distant future. Such management will require public endorsement,

political will and science-based decision making.

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ECONOMY AND ECOLOGYThe root of both economy and ecology comes fromthe Greek oikos meaning “house.” Conceptually, ouroikos comprises our total environment, includingair, land, water and natural resources. However,economics has become more narrowly defined andis now centered on cash value. To most people, oureconomy is based on the stock market,consumerism, corporations and resource industries.Because all of these ultimately depend on naturalresources, however, good economics must includesound environmental management and mustprotect the resources on which it depends. Recenteconomic analyses have calculated monetary valuesfor such intangible resources as recreation, aestheticsand soil formation. It is now possible to assess, forexample, the potential wealth that might be createdthrough resource extraction, compared to theexisting wealth that would be maintained byprotecting the landscape.

Wild lands like this divide between Coral and Job Creeks offer countless benefits including aesthetic recreation,water production, wildlife habitat, air cleansing and climatic stability.

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THE VALUE OF WILDPLACESWild areas offer countless benefits to Albertans.Natural areas provide essential life-supportfunctions that have not traditionally beenconsidered as part of the economic spectrum.Increasingly, however, we are recognizing that thesesupport systems are both precarious andtremendously valuable. Nature provides us with anadequate supply of clean water and air, stabilizeslocal climates, builds soil, cycles nutrients requiredfor food production, provides habitat for wildlifeand maintains biodiversity. The Bighorn Wildland,for example, provides vital watershed services. Muchof the water in the North Saskatchewan and RedDeer River systems is gathered and naturallypurified in the Bighorn. Together, these two riverssupply clean drinking water for approximately twomillion downstream users in places like Edmonton,Red Deer and Saskatoon.

Economists have demonstrated that communitiesadjacent to large protected wilderness areas havebecome prosperous multi-business communitiesbecause people are attracted by the high quality oflife in the region. These people bring expertise, jobs,business skills and wealth to the region. By contrast,extractive resource-based economies follow a boom-and-bust cycle and lack a sustainable economicbasis. The communities of Sundre, Caroline, RockyMountain House and Nordegg are ideally situatedto reap the long-term benefits of the Bighorn, if it isappropriately protected.

Albertans enjoy wilderness for its recreational,cultural and aesthetic values. We go to wild placesto relax and refresh our minds and bodies. We turnto wilderness for adventure, inspiration andspiritual renewal. We hike, ski, take photographs,watch birds and study wildlife. We collect wildberries, fish and hunt. To enjoy these pleasures, wespend a great deal of money on facilities,equipment and expertise. In fact, Albertans spent$1.2 billion on nature-based activities in 1996,contributing over $1.5 billion to the grossdomestic product and supporting 23,600 jobs inthe province. This kind of economic activity willbe sustained only if tourism and recreationalactivities are appropriately managed. Ecosystem-based tourism management has become a viablealternative to extractive economies worldwide.

What value would this fisherman attribute to his experience at this splendid location on the Ram River?

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ECOTOURISMAlthough the term ecotourism has been a part ofour lexicon for only a short time, it is already sobroadly applied that many people have becomesceptical of its meaning. Responsible groups likethe International Ecotourism Society (IES) aretrying to rescue ecotourism’s integrity bynarrowing its definition and standardizing itsapplication. The IES defines ecotourism as“responsible travel to natural areas, whichconserves the environment and improves thewelfare of local people.”

The Bighorn has been used for a variety ofeconomic, spiritual, recreational and tourismpurposes for generations. These activities haverelied on the wilderness character of the area toprovide employment and income to local residentsfor more than a hundred years. Guiding andoutfitting for hunters, anglers, mountaineers,geological surveyors, photographers and touristshas a long and respected history in the area. Beforethe petroleum industry brought boom conditionsto towns like Sundre and Rocky Mountain House,guided hunting was among the region’s mostimportant businesses.

The Bighorn still supports approximately 30guiding and outfitting businesses, as well as othersthat occasionally operate in the area. Outfittingand ecotourism businesses are locally owned andoperated, and the bulk of income circulatesthrough the local community. By contrast, foreign-owned forestry and petroleum companies directmost of their profits outside Alberta. A 1996Alberta government study found that theeconomic potential of protected landscapes iscomparable to that of the forestry and agricultureindustries and can provide as many jobs as resource

Outdoor programs are offered year round by local operators. The opportunities for even the most extremeenthusiast are endless.

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extraction industries, without the environmentaldamage associated with these industries.

Tourists come to Alberta to visit the spectacularwilderness of our mountain parks. Demand fornature-based, low-impact, educational travel hasbeen growing at rates of 10 to 15 per cent annually,worldwide. For some countries like Costa Rica,ecotourism has become the single most importantindustry. The value of wilderness is increasing, as isthe need to protect what is left. Alberta, however,has protected a relatively small proportion of itsland base. The provincial government hasprotected only 4.5 per cent of Alberta; far moreland is dedicated to extractive resource industries.A recent federal government survey demonstratedthat about three million people in North Americaalone are interested in nature-based tourism inAlberta and British Columbia. Until the Albertagovernment recognizes the need to protect placeslike the Bighorn Wildland, the growing demandfor wilderness-based tourism will not be met inthis province.

Surrounded on three sides by national parks, theBighorn Wildland has escaped high-impacttourism development and is uniquely positionedto become an ecotourism mecca. While Banff,Jasper and the Bow Valley are heavily developedand commercialized, the Bighorn is characterizedby small-scale, ecologically sensitive developmentsthat emphasize unobtrusive wilderness enjoyment.

A large majority of visitors to the area favour low-impact development that will preserve the pristinewilderness character of the region. The localgovernment has identified two areas of theBighorn (along Highway 11) as developmentnodes, where suitable ecotourism ventures willflourish. If they are to remain compatible with the

area, appropriate ecosystem-based managementrequirements must be developed for these nodes.

The area proposed for protection as the BighornWildland is 4000 sq km, or just about half the sizeof the adjacent forest management area allocatedto Sunpine Forest Products Ltd., a medium-sizedforestry company that employs approximately1100 people. A comparable number of peoplecould be employed in ecotourism in and adjacentto the Bighorn Wildland, with greater job varietyand fewer government subsidies, and resulting infar less ecological damage.

The Bighorn Wildland is an international treasurebecause of its beauty, size and biological diversity.It is important to Albertans as a source of waterand long-term economic opportunities. Protectinglarge wilderness areas such as this one makes goodeconomic sense. With appropriate protection andmanagement strategies, places like the Bighorn canbe maintained in a wilderness state and contributeto our economic well-being in perpetuity.

For these two hikers, the superb views and totallywild and free landscapes along Whiterabbit Creekare beyond monetary value.

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by Don Wales

The evolution of backcountry travel ethics hasaccelerated over the last decade. In heavily usedwilderness areas in North America, serious effortsare made by recreationists to reduce wear on trailsby wearing low-tread hiking boots, to protect thevegetation at campsites with no fire policies andto pack out garbage and human waste.

Backcountry random camping is a privilegetreasured by adventuresome backpackers.Campsites need to be located well away fromcreeks and lakes and for river travellers, at least30 metres from shore lines, and established onbare ground, if possible. To reduce thetrampling of vegetation around the sites, don’tstay more than two nights at any one site. Gasbackpacking stoves are better than fires unlessthere is an emergency requiring drying orwarmth. There are literally hundreds of oldoutfitter camps throughout the Eastern Slopesthat have established firepits, but if fires arerequired, they must be kept small to minimizethe impact that comes from harvesting drybranches and deadfall.

If fires must be built, choose a rock or mineralbase if possible. If not, remove ground cover in

sods, dig down to mineral soil and ring the pitwith rocks. When finished remove the stones andunburnt wood, replace rocks and water the site.

All garbage, including biodegradable material,must be packed out. This includes the foilliners of backpacking food packages that don’tget consumed in a fire. Dishes must be washedin biodegradable soap and the wash waterdumped well away from any body of water.Never wash dishes in rivers or lakes. Humanwastes should be buried in soil that likelycontains the bacteria and fungi necessary fordecomposition of the wastes. The soil in thehigh alpine does not necessarily contain theappropriate bacteria, and in these areas wasteshould be deposited between the boulders of arockslide or talus slope, where they dry out andbecome part of the humus.

In Alberta’s Eastern Slopes, every effort shouldbe made to reduce our impact on our preciouswilderness resources. When walking, staying onexisting trails no matter how muddy they gethelps prevent braiding of trails. The ultimategoal of every backcountry traveller is to dowhatever it takes to “travel without a trace.”

Winter solitude is broken only by the crunch of bootsin the crisp snow as this adventurer enjoys thebeautiful scenery offered in the Bighorn Wildland.

WILDERNESS ETHICS FOR BACKPACKINGAND RIVER TRAVEL

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We go to wilderness to refresh our minds and challenge our bodies, to experience adventure and to gain inspiration and spiritual renewal.

BITUMINOUS COALCoal describes rocks made up of carbon-richmaterial derived from former living plants andaltered by burial (heat and pressure) over time. Thegeneral sequence of coal formation is peat, lignite,bituminous coal and anthracite; thus bituminouscoal is an intermediate step in coalification.

CANADIAN SHIELDThe large mass of igneous and metamorphic rocksof Precambrian age seen on the surface of theNorth American continent. These rocks continueas basement below the surrounding Phanerozoicsedimentary basins including the Western CanadaSedimentary Basin.

CARBONATE ROCKS OR CARBONATESSedimentary rocks made up of the minerals calcite(calcium carbonate, or limestone) and/or dolomite(calcium and magnesium carbonate).

CLASTIC WEDGEThe thickness of sedimentary rocks, mostlysandstones, siltstones and shales, eroded fromrising mountain ranges that developed along thetectonically active western edge of North Americafrom mid-Mesozoic to early Cenozoic time.

CORDILLERAN MOUNTAIN BELT The major series of mountains that occurs on thetectonically active western edge of North, Centraland South America, and represents the interactionof tectonic plates of the Pacific Ocean with thoseof the North and South American continents overmany millions of years.

CRUSTAL SHORTENINGThe process by which rock masses have beencompressed by telescoping along thrust faults andby folding.

DIPThe angle between a horizontal plane and a surfacesuch as a bedding plane or fault.

FAULTA fracture in rock with some relative movement ofrock masses on either side. Thrust faults or thrustsare surfaces, usually slightly to steeply inclined, alongwhich rocks have been displaced such that olderrocks overlie younger rocks. Normal faults occurwhere rocks on one side of a fault have been loweredcompared to rocks on the other side of the fault.

FOLDA geological feature in which a rock mass has beenbent or flexed into rounded shapes. The two mostcommon kinds of folds are anticlines, which incross-section look something like upside down U’sor V’s, and synclines, which in cross-section looklike right side up U’s or V’s.

FOOTHILLS GEOLOGICAL PROVINCEIn Alberta, the region of low, rounded hillsbounded on the east by the Interior Plains and onthe west by the Front Ranges.

FORMATIONThe basic unit for naming an assemblage of rocks. Aformation normally represents a similar depositionalenvironment, can be shown on a geological map andmay be traceable into the subsurface.

FRONT RANGES GEOLOGICAL PROVINCEIn Alberta, the northwesterly trending, high-reliefranges of the Rocky Mountains bounded by the MainRanges to the west and the Foothills to the east.

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GEOLOGICAL MAPA special type of map that shows the kinds anddistribution of geological material – normally rocksor sand, gravel and so on – that occurs at the surface.Geological maps also show structural features such asfaults and folds. When you look at a geological map,it is as if you are suspended up in the air, lookingstraight down at what you see on the surface.

IGNEOUS ROCKRock that has solidified or hardened upon coolingfrom a molten mass known as a magma.

KIMBERLITEA type of igneous rock that has come from deepwithin the Earth to the surface and may carrydiamonds that grew under conditions of very hightemperature and pressure.

MAIN RANGES GEOLOGICAL PROVINCEIn Alberta and B.C., the northwesterly trendingmountain ranges that extend from the ContinentalDivide on the west side to the Front Ranges on theeast side.

MASTER FAULT OR SOLE FAULTA major thrust fault normally found at depthbelow the surface and consisting of a collection ofseveral to many thrust faults joining at depth toform one continuous fault, the master fault.

METAMORPHIC ROCKRock formed without melting from a pre-existingrock in response to major changes in temperature andpressure, normally well below the Earth’s surface.

MOUNTAIN BUILDINGThe collection of geological processes, normallypart of or related to plate tectonic interactions, bywhich new mountains are formed.

PLATE TECTONICSThe interactions of the approximately 16 rigidinterlocking rock masses of the earth’s crust calledplates. Plates are created at mid-ocean ridges, zonesof crustal production, and are consumed atsubduction zones such as those found today off thewest coasts of North, Central and South America.

PLATFORM WEDGE The thickness of sedimentary rocks that wasdeposited on or beside the tectonically inactivewestern edge of the North American continentfrom Late Proterozoic to mid-Mesozoic time.

SANDSTONEA sedimentary rock made up of particles, mostcommonly the mineral quartz, between 2 and 1/16 mm in diameter.

SEISMIC STUDIESStudies carried out by earth scientists to determinethe kinds and structural nature of rocks below thesurface. Energy from explosives or from largevibrating hammers is sent into the ground at oneor more points, and the energy that is reflectedback to the surface from rocks at depth is recordedon a number of instruments widely spaced awayfrom the explosive or hammer source.

SHALEA fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from thecementation of clay and silt.

SILTSTONEA sedimentary rock made up of particles between1/16 and 1/256 mm in diameter.

STRUCTURAL TRAPSSubsurface geological features in which oil and/ornatural gas may have accumulated by being trappedwithin anticlines or fault-bounded structures. Asuccessful structural trap has porosity andpermeability (holes that are connected) in thereservoir rocks, and some kind of seal – for example,a shale unit that oil and gas can’t pass through.

STRUCTURE OR GEOLOGICAL STRUCTUREThe geometry of rocks – their surfaces, planes,lines, and contacts with other rocks. Geometryinvolves describing and classifying; anotherimportant part of geological structure is the studyof the origin of geological structures.

U-SHAPED VALLEYA valley with steep upper walls that gradedownward into a flat, wide valley floor; suchvalleys are usually eroded/excavated by ice.

WESTERN CANADA SEDIMENTARY BASIN The thickness of sedimentary rocks that wasdeposited on the igneous and metamorphicbasement rocks of the Canadian Shield andunderlies Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

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CHAPTER 2Alberta Energy and Natural Resources. n.d.Forest Land Use Zones. Edmonton, AB: AlbertaEnergy and Natural Resources.

Alberta Energy and Natural Resources. 1977. Apolicy for resource management of the EasternSlopes. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Energy andNatural Resources.

Alberta Energy and Natural Resources. 1984. Apolicy for resource management of the EasternSlopes. Revised 1984. Edmonton, AB: AlbertaEnergy and Natural Resources.

Alberta Environment. 1975. Policy statement:The development of the Eastern Slopes.Edmonton, AB: Alberta Environment.

Alberta Environment Conservation Authority.1974. Land use and resource development in theEastern Slopes: Report and recommendations.Edmonton, AB: Alberta EnvironmentConservation Authority.

Alberta Forestry. 1986. Nordegg–Red Deer RiverSub-Regional Integrated Resource Plan.Edmonton, AB: Alberta Energy and NaturalResources.

Alberta Forestry, Lands and Wildlife. n.d.Protected areas in Alberta’s mountain forests.Edmonton, AB: Alberta Forestry, Lands andWildlife Forest Service.

Alberta Forestry, Lands and Wildlife. 1987. Alberta’sBighorn Wildland Recreation Area. Edmonton, AB:Alberta Forestry, Lands and Wildlife.

Alberta Snowmobile Association. 2001.2001/2002 Alberta guide to snowmobiling.Edmonton, AB: Alberta Snowmobile Association.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.2002. The Forest Land Use Zones of the BighornBackcountry. Edmonton, AB: Alberta SustainableResource Development.

Bentz, J. A., A. Saxena, and T. T. Normand.1995. Environmentally significant areasinventory: Foothills natural region, Alberta.Prepared by Geowest Environmental ConsultantsLtd. for Alberta Environmental Protection.

Dobson, S., and J. Thompson. 1996. Parks andprotected areas: Their contribution to the Albertaeconomy. Edmonton, AB: Alberta EnvironmentalProtection.

Forman, R. T. T., D. S. Friedman, D. Fitshenry,J. D. Martin, A. S. Chen, and L. E. Alexander.1997. Ecological effects of roads. In Habitatfragmentation and infrastructure, edited by K.Canters, 40-54. Delft, Netherlands: Ministry ofTransport, Public Works and Water Management.

Government of Alberta. 1986. Press release:Nordegg–Red Deer River Integrated Resource Planapproved: Bighorn Wildland Recreation Areaannounced. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta.

Jalkotzy, M. G., P. I. Ross, and M. D. Nasserden.1997. The effects of linear developments on wildlife:A review of selected scientific literature. Calgary,AB: Arc Wildlife Services.

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Hart, E. J. 1979. Diamond hitch. Banff, AB:Summerthought Ltd.

McCart, J., and P. McCart. 2000. On the roadwith David Thompson. Calgary, AB: Fifth HouseLtd.

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CHAPTER 12Hamilton, W. N., M. C. Price, and C. W.Langenberg (compilers). 1999. Geological map ofAlberta: Alberta Geological Survey, Alberta Energyand Utilities Board, Map No. 236, scale 1:1,000,000.

Jones, P. B. 1988. Structural geology of the AlbertaFoothills Front in the Calgary region: Field tripguidebook. Calgary, AB: Prepared for theCanadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, 32p.

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Berry, D. K. 1995. Alberta’s golden troutmanagement plan. Edmonton, AB: AlbertaEnvironmental Protection, Natural ResourcesServices, Fisheries Management.

Brewin, M. K. 1991. Assessment of bull trout(Salvelinus confluentus) spawning activity usingredd counts in the Upper Clearwater River.Edmonton, AB: Alberta Enhancement Fund,Alberta Fish and Wildlife.

Brown, R. S., and W. C. Mackay. 1995.Spawning ecology of cutthroat (Oncorhynchusclarki) in the Ram River, Alberta. CanadianJournal of Fish and Aquatic Science 52:983-92.

Gardiner, K., K. Fitzsimmons, and D.Rystephanuk. 2001. Cooperative FisheriesInventory Program. Catalogue of sample sitesconducted in 1998/99 and 1999/2000. RockyMountain House, AB: Alberta ConservationAssociation Report.

Gardiner, K., and S. Herman. 2001. UpperNorth Saskatchewan River bull trout assessment.Rocky Mountain House, AB: AlbertaConservation Association Report.

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Rees, K. 1992. Clearwater bull trout project:Interim report. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Forestry,Lands and Wildlife, Fish and Wildlife.

Salt, R., and B. Wilk. 1966. Birds of Alberta.Edmonton, AB: Queens Printer.

Tebby, C. D. 1974. Fishes of Abraham Lake(Reservoir) and the upper North SaskatchewanRiver, Alberta. Master’s thesis, University of Alberta.

CHAPTER 15Andersen, R. R. 1970. Alberta Stoney (Assiniboine)origins and adaptations: A case for reappraisal. St.John’s, NF: Memorial University.

Reeves, B. Personal communication, January, 2003.

Snow, Chief J. 1977. These mountains are oursacred places: The story of the Stoney Indians.Toronto: Samuel-Stevens.

De Paola, P. Personal communication, January,2003.

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Jonker, P. M. 1983. Stoney history notes. Morley,AB: Chiniki Band.

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Reddekopp, G.N. 1997. The Wesley Stoneyclaim to the Kootenay Plains. Edmonton, AB:Alberta Aboriginal Affairs.

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CHAPTER 16Belyea, B. 1994. Columbia journals: David Thompson.Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Karamitsanis, A. 1991. Place names of Alberta.Vol. 1. Mountains, mountain parks and foothills.Calgary, AB: University of Calgary Press.

McCart, J., and P. McCart. 2000. On the road withDavid Thompson. Calgary, AB: Fifth House.

Schäffer, M. 1911. Old Indian trails of theCanadian Rockies. Republished as A hunter ofpeace, 1980. Banff, AB: Whyte Museum of theCanadian Rockies.

Southesk, Earl of. 1875. Saskatchewan and theRocky Mountains: A diary and narrative of travel,sport, and adventure, during a journey throughthe Hudson’s Bay Company’s territories, in 1859and 1860. Facsimile edition, 1969. Edmonton,AB: M. G. Hurtig, Ltd.

Spry, I. (ed). 1968. The papers of the PalliserExpedition 1857-1860. Toronto: The ChamplainSociety.

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Mckenzie, M. Personal communication, 2002.

Sands, C. Personal communication, 2002.

CHAPTER 18Bingham, G., R. Bishop, M. Brody, D. Bromley,E. Clark, W. Cooper, R. Costanza, T. Hale, G.Hayden, S. Kellert, R. Norgaard, B. Norton, J.Payne, C. Russell, and G. Suter. 1995. Issues inecosystem valuation: Improving information fordecision making. Ecological Economics 14:73-90.

Costanza, R., R. d’Arge, R. de Groot, S. Farber,M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem,R. V. O’Neill, J. Paruelo, R. G. Raskin, P. Sutton,and M. van den Belt. 1997. The value of theworld’s ecosystem services and natural capital.Nature 387:253-60.

Covault, J. 1992. Wilderness: Its role in oureconomy. In The economic value of wilderness:Proceedings of the conference. Jackson, WY: UnitedStates Department of Agriculture.

Dobson, S., and J. Thompson. 1996. Parks andprotected areas: Their contribution to the Albertaeconomy – A discussion paper. Edmonton, AB:Alberta Environmental Protection.

Environment Canada. 2000. The importance ofnature to Canadians: The economic significanceof nature-related activities. Ottawa: EnvironmentCanada.

Scott, A. C. 1992. Valuing wilderness benefits:Alternatives to economic measures. In Theeconomic value of wilderness: Proceedings of theconference. Jackson, WY: United StatesDepartment of Agriculture.

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MARK ARNESON

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RAYMOND BLANCHARD

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CHRIS BRUUN

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ALAN CAREY

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NIGEL DOUGLAS

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ANNETTE ELLIOTT

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ALAN ERNST

Pages 3, 6, 7, 18, 30 centre, 30 right, 35, 44centre, 65, 66 left, 66 centre, 66 right, 67, 68,69, 70, 94 left, 100 upper, 101 right, 104 centre,104 right, 105, 109, 110 upper, 111 left, 112,115, 118 right, 122, 126 centre, 130 upper, 132,144 left, 144 centre, 145, 148 and 150. All onBack Cover.

JOYCE GOULD

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PETER JONES

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HERBERT KARIEL

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WAYNE LYNCH

Pages 106, 108 and 121.

BILL MCLEAN

Pages 2 centre, 14 left, 14 centre, 14 right, 15,16, 19, 20, 118 left and 120.

CHRISTYANN OLSON

Pages 8 centre, 8 right, 44 right, 46, 47 upper, 50both, 51, 64, 118 centre, 119, 123, 125, 126 left,130 lower, 133, 134 left, 134 centre, 134 right,135, 138 lower and 139.

RICHARD PHARIS

Pages 1, 2 left, 2 right, 4, 5, 21, 22 left, 22 right,24, 25, 27, 30 left, 31, 33, 34 left, 34 right, 36left, 36 right, 37, 38, 39, 40 left, 41, 42, 44 left,47 lower, 48, 52 left, 52centre, 52 right, 53, 54,55, 56, 57 right, 58, 59, 82 left, 82 centre, 82right, 83, 84, 89, 90, 91 left, 91 right, 92, 93, 94centre, 96, 97 left, 97 right, 99, 101 left, 102upper, 102 lower, 110 lower, 126 right, 127, 129, 131, 138 upper, 144 right, 146, 147, 149 and 151. Front Cover centre and right.

VIVIAN PHARIS

Pages 32, 40R, 43 both and 143.

DAVID REID

Page 71.

IAN ROSS

Page 107.

CHESTER SANDS

Pages 28 and 137.

CYNDI SMITH

Page 111 right.

TAMAINI SNAITH

Pages 8 left, 45, 49, 72 left, 75 right and 94right. Front Cover left.

DON WALES

Pages 60 left, 60 centre, 60 right, 61, 62 both,63, 72 centre, 72 right, 73, 74, 75 left, 76 left,76 centre, 76 right, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 95, 98and 100 lower.

CLEVE WERSHLER

Pages 104 left, 113 and 124.

ARCHIVES OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

Page 128.

UNKNOWN

Pages 136, 140 and 142.

PHOTO CREDITS

158

Alberta Wilderness Association sincerely appreciates the generosity of the following photographers who have contributed to this book. Some are amateurs, others professionals, all share a passion for the wilderness and wildlife of Alberta.

ROD BURNS is a fisheries manager with AlbertaSustainable Resource Development, Fish andWildlife Division. An avid birder for many years,Rod is keenly interested in the protection of theBighorn Wildland as prime wildlife habitat.

JULIE COOK grew up in rural Ontario and in1968 moved to Alberta, where her earlier-discovered love of nature could flourish. Between1989 and 1993, she and her husband werecampground caretakers in the Nordegg area, andthe Kootenay Plains became their focus for naturestudy and photography.

DOROTHY DICKSON was born in Australiaand educated in England before coming to Canadawith her husband and children in 1963. Dorothy hasbeen active with AWA since 1971 and remains activewith national and local conservation groups. Sheserved as vice-chair of the Public AdvisoryCommittee to the Environment ConservationAuthority, and for her efforts, received awards andlifetime memberships from the Canadian NatureFederation and the Federation of Alberta Naturalists.She has travelled in the Bighorn for 30 years.

ALAN ERNST was born in Switzerland and hisprimary career was in international banking. In 1997Alan and his wife, Madeleine, decided to combine alove for nature with a new business challenge, anecotourism venture called Aurum Lodge. The DavidThompson Highway through the Bighorn area waschosen as the site for the lodge because this was theonly accessible area in the Eastern Slopes that hadnot been significantly affected by industry anddevelopment.

ELAINE GORDON attended the University ofAlberta, gaining a B.Sc. in plant systematics and anM.Sc. in plant systematics and ecology. She teachesbotany, plant identification and environmentalstudies, and is developing a series of books andworkshops on basic plant identification forchildren and adults.

ROGER MACQUEEN is an emeritus scientistat the Geological Survey of Canada, havingreceived his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the Universityof Toronto and his Ph.D. in geology fromPrinceton. Many parts of Canada, Europe and theMiddle East have known his geological scrutiny,and he has published more than a hundred paperson aspects of geology. He has taught at theUniversities of Waterloo and Toronto. Rogerserved for five years as editor of the journalGeoscience Canada and is currently associate editorof a Geoscience Canada series of papers onGeology and Wine.

ANDY MARSHALL is a former Alberta dailynewspaper journalist living in Cochrane. He foundedand operated for five years two weekly newspapers: theAirdrie Echo and the Rocky View Times. Andy is afrequent contributor to the Wild Lands Advocate, thejournal of Alberta Wilderness Association.

JOYCE MCCART has a B.A. in Philosophy, aB.Ed. in English and a background in technicalwriting. Her recent interest in Canadian historyresulted in the publication of the travel guide Onthe road with David Thompson.

AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHIES

159

LUIGI MORGANTINI gained one Ph.D. inscience from the University of Rome and a secondPh.D. from the University of Alberta in wildlifeproductivity and management. He has worked inenvironmental research and management for morethan 25 years. Luigi is currently the chief biologistand forest ecologist coordinator for WeyerhaeuserCanada and is an adjunct professor at the Universityof Alberta. He is the recipient of Alberta’s EmeraldAward for life-long environmental stewardship andof a Wildlife Habitat Canada award for leadership incaribou conservation.

VIVIAN PHARIS holds degrees in biology andeducation and is a veteran environmentaladvocate. Vivian and her husband, Richard, havetravelled the Bighorn by foot and by horse formore than 30 years. They are both past-presidentsof Alberta Wilderness Association and Vivian iscurrently a director of the Association.

ROBERT STEVENSON was raised in theCalgary area and attended university in Idaho,obtaining an M.Sc. in forestry. Bob worked for theCanadian Forest Service in Alberta and the N.W.T.before transferring to the Alberta Fish and WildlifeDivision in 1980. There he served as director ofInformation and Extension Services; he retired in1992 from his position as head of CommercialWildlife. Bob remains active in researching Alberta’sforestry and wildlife management history and intaking backcountry horse trips to pursue his hobbyof repeat photography of the province’s landscape.

HEINZ UNGER was born in Vienna, Austriaand is a professional engineer. Heinz has more than35 years of Canadian and international experiencein water resources engineering, including workingfor the environment department of the World Bankin Washington D.C. Locally, he has recently joinedthe Board of Directors of Alberta WildernessAssociation and is active on the Bow River BasinCouncil.

DON WALES is a recently retired naturalsciences instructor from Red Deer College. Don is alife-long avid backpacker, cross-country skier andkayaker. He has circumnavigated Baffin Island andexplored much of the Labrador coastline by kayak.Over the years Don has guided multi-daybackpacking trips for Canadian Nature Tours andBlackfeather. He has extensive knowledge of theBighorn Wildland and neighbouring landscapes.

KENNETH ZELT obtained a B.Sc. and anM.Sc. from the University of Alberta in zoologyand aquatic ecology. He then worked as a fisheriesbiologist with the Alberta government until hisretirement in 2000. Ken’s other primary interest ishorses and travelling with them in thebackcountry. He has served as president and on theboards of several provincial equestrian groups andis currently vice-president of recreation for theAlberta Equestrian Federation.

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This book has been designed and written to tell the story of the Bighorn Wildland. It is also an invitation to become more personally involved in its destiny.