The Jasper Local February 1, 2016

a lt e r n at i v e +

LOCAL + independent

// B1

thejasperlocal.com

// B3

// B6

monday, february 1, 2016 // ISSUE 66

Snowshoers charged with entering caribou closure information regarding these charges at this time,” said communications officer, Steve Young.

Rasheed confirmed that Parks Canada officials observed ski tracks in the Bald Hills area on two other occasions. However, in those cases the observations Separate parties of two pertook place after the suspects sons were discovered having had left the area. trespassed in delayed access Portions of Jasper National zones; one of the two groups, Park, including the Bald Hills whose members were on snow- in the Maligne Range, are subshoes, was discovered during ject to delayed access restrica regular patrol of the Maligne tions until March 1.

Lake area, said Salman Ra“Parks Canada continues to sheed, Jasper’s acting resource seek the co-operation of the conservation manager. general public to assist in “Our law enforcement colproviding the best possible leagues noticed tracks [which] conditions for conservation of ducked under the tape and Woodland caribou throughout wandered up to the Bald Hills,” Jasper National Park,” Young Rasheed said on January 15. wrote in an email.

The snowshoers were escorted The offending winter users’ back down to the trailhead by court dates are set for February law enforcement staff.

11 and March 10, 2016. Canada The Jasper Local could not National Parks Act offences confirm details about the seccan result in eviction, a fine ond incident. or in more serious instances, “All matters have yet to be arrest. The fine for entering a heard by Provincial court, closed area is up to $25,000. therefore it would be premaBob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com ture to release any specific Parks Canada is pressing charges against four winter backcountry users for entering areas that have been closed for the protection of caribou.

YOU’VE BEEN ICED! DIE-HARD BIKER LAURA DZIKOWSKI NEEDED THE FAT TIRES TO NAVIGATE THE SLICK TRAILS ON THE PYRAMID BENCH JAN.28. // BOB COVEY

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

editorial //

page A2 // the jasper local // issue 66 // monday, february 1, 2016

Local Vocal When I visited my nana in the fall, in Calgary, I wanted to take her somewhere special for dinner.

I had a pretty good idea where to get a cheap pint, and I could find a donair shop with my eyes closed, but when it came to choosing a restaurant with an innovative kitchen and a funky cocktail list, and also somewhere I could take my grandma, I was at a loss.

And so I did what many travellers do these days when they’re in unfamiliar territory: I went to Trip Advisor.

Twenty minutes later, after a fairly thorough perusal of the joint’s most recent reviews, I was calling the city’s top-rated restaurant for a reservation.

Interestingly, Vero Bistro Moderne isn’t just the number one rated restaurant in Calgary. According to Trip Advisor users, it’s at the top of the pile in the whole province. But the real kicker for readers of this publication is what eatery sits at number two. The second-rated restaurant in Alberta is none other than Jasper’s Patricia Street Deli. Three spots down, at number five, is The Raven Bistro, and Syrahs of Jasper (full disclosure: I work there part-time) is currently at number 12. In all, Jasper is home to 11 of Alberta’s top 100-rated restaurants on Trip Advisor.

For businesses in a tourism community living in a digital age, it is a different world than 10 years ago.

The power of user-generated content on travel sites such as Trip Advisor means that providing a quality product and excellent, honest customer service takes on a whole new level of importance. Traditional means of promoting a business are quickly becoming obsolete; before they make that reservation, rather than flipping through a guidebook or asking at the Information Centre, more and more customers are consulting online reviews.

In that sense, it would seem that Jasper having 11 of Alberta’s top 100-rated restaurants on Trip Advisor is pretty awesome. But as with most disruptions, there’s a potential downside, too.

Simply put, when you’re lifted up high, you’ve got further to fall. And just as social media has the power to rain down success on local businesses, it also has the power to devastate them.

A low Canadian dollar has travel experts gazing into their crystal balls and seeing a rush of American tourists heading our way this summer. If that’s the case, I’m predicting Jasper’s Trip Advisor site will be in for some serious uploading.

More people will mean more pressure to perform.

Critics will be a’plenty.

With that in mind, it will do all of us in the tourism industry well to be aware that 2016 will be an opportunistic year for delivering on our marketing promises.

Let’s prep our stations, sharpen our knives and get ready for service. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Viad ≠ Brewster family legacy

The association of the Brewsters’ name with the national parks is a valid one, and no one can doubt that the Brewster family was a major influence in bringing tourists to Maligne Lake and to Jasper.

In that regard, the article (Back in Time, January 15) is most informative. Thanks for the historical review.

However, make no mistake about the new owners. Viad has no commitment to the preservation of the parks or to the responsible exploitation of Maligne Lake.

It is notable that when Viad embarked on the construction of the Discovery Walk, the Brewster family issued a statement distancing themselves from both the project and from the mercenary objectives of Viad. Any claim

to an association with the likes of Fred Brewster is at best an invention. All that Viad owns is the name.

In terms of this article, it is also interesting that Viad was very active behind the scenes when Maligne Tours Ltd. attempted to push through its proposal to build a luxury hotel at the lake. I believe the intent was to sneak through the project using MLT’s credibility, then buy out Gerry Levasseur.

Viad’s sole purpose is to exploit the parks for their shareholders. We can expect the company to start pushing for more development at Maligne, and we can look for paid admission to everything they control.

-Peter McLure, via Facebook

The Jasper Local //

Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0

Published on the 1st and 15th of each month Editor / Publisher

Bob Covey..........................................................................................bob@thejasperlocal.com Art Director

Nicole Gaboury........................................................................nicole@thejasperlocal.com Advertising + sales

Rachel Bailey..............................................................................rachel@thejasperlocal.com

cartoonist

deke......................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com facebook.com/thejasperlocal

@thejasperlocal

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Local Housing //

monday, february 1, 2016 // issue 66 // the jasper local// page A3

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

// JASPER’S JONATHON ASHTON LINES UP A HOT SHOT AS PART OF THE JASPER CURLING CLUB’S JASPER IN JANUARY CELEBRATIONS. THE JANUARY 27 EVENT SAW PARTICIPANTS ATTEMPT A SERIES OF TRICKY PLACEMENTS FOR PRIZES. ASHTON ENDED UP IN A TIE FOR THIRD. RON HEALEY WAS THE BIG WINNER WITH 14 POINTS. // BOB COVEY

Jasper to define housing needs, design solutions Glen McGrath, who manages Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge on behalf of the Evergreens Foundation, is a Certified Professional With the goal of creating Consultant on Aging. developments which would McGrath said like most ease Jasper’s housing communities across shortfall, members of the Canada, Jasper is trying to Jasper Community Housing figure out ways to respond Corporation are asking to aging baby boomers’ businesses and residents housing and healthcare to help quantify the need needs. for local staff and seniors’ “If we can give seniors housing. The JCHC wants options, it creates an to hear from people by opportunity to free up space February 25, said Mark for young families and for Fercho. rentals,” McGrath said.

Fercho, the CAO of the The JCHC has lands Municipality of Jasper and tentatively set aside a member of the JCHC, said for developments. The time is of the essence. maximum build-out for the “The need has been defined, parcel on Connaught Drive it’s time to get something is 43 apartment-style units done,” he said. or 21 condo-style units.

For starters, that something Another development, would include participating slated for the 800 block in the planning and of Turret Street, could design process of new potentially fit 27 units. accommodations for “This is a priority of both staff and seniors. council’s,” Fercho said.

Businesses have longFercho indicated that the argued that staff shortages first step was identifying hamper the success of the potential locations and Jasper’s economy. Similarly, ensuring the development seniors looking to downsize could be serviced by town from their full-sized homes infrastructure. Now the have for years had few JCHC wants to know who’s options; local seniors interested in the design facilities are at capacity and process. wait-listed.

Residents and businesses are being invited to help define, and design, solutions to housing shortages in Jasper.

“We want to know who these people are, so at least we can get the process started,” Fercho said.

McGrath echoed the sense of urgency. He worries that any developer will come up against restrictions with the Parks Canada agency.

“My concern is that with the red tape of expanding or building in the national park we won’t be able to respond as fast as the shift in demographics is happening,” he said.

Fercho was confident that Parks Canada has the same goals; after all, part of the Turret development would replace current government staff accommodations.

Moreover, Parks Canada’s Cathy Jenkins is a liaison with the JCHC. Fercho stressed that the developments would not be co-operative housing for residents.

“It’s for businesses to get a space for staff,” he said.

“That known demand hasn’t been addressed.”

Interested business owners, as well as seniors, should contact the JCHC

by February 25. For more information, contact 780852-6504 or jchc@town. jasper.ab.ca bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Local tourism //

page B1 // the jasper local // issue 66 // monday, february 1, 2016

People power: Trip Advisor a double edged chef's knife As traveller-review websites gain more clout in tourist markets, two Jasper business owners are enjoying their time at the top—while not taking anything for granted.

Chef and owner of The Raven Bistro, John Riedler, is baking bread. Baguettes, to be precise. After he rolls out the dough, he makes several notches in each baguette with his knife. Once they come out of the oven, they’ll be sliced and served with dinner service; a warm, comfort food which diners will use to mop up Riedler’s tasty soups and sauces.

But don’t take my word for it. Surely the baguettes are coming to a Trip Advisor contribution-near-you.

“Trip Advisor has become almost automatic [for travellers],” says Riedler. “People don’t ask the hotel desks where to eat anymore, they just go straight to social media.”

Social media, as restauranteurs are discovering, has the power to move markets. More and more travellers choose to spend their money based on reviews they read. But the impact isn’t just on buyers; a Cornell University study which looked at the impact social media has on lodging suggests that user-generated content on travel sites is changing how businesses operate, too.

“Transactional data from Travelocity illustrate that if a hotel increases its review scores by one point on a 5-point scale (e.g., from 3.3 to 4.3), the hotel can increase its price by 11.2 per cent and still maintain the same occupancy or market share,” the study’s author, Chris Anderson, deduced.

For restaurants, that exact math may not hold up.

But Riedler knows intuitively that hovering in Jasper’s top two-rated restaurants on Trip Advisor has been undeniably good for business. However, he also knows it’s a precarious position.

“As quick as Trip Advisor puts you up, you can be put back down again,” Riedler says. “And as far as how they judge—who’s first, who’s last—that’s totally a personal thing.”

While Trip Advisor’s precise algorithm—how restaurants get ranked—is a closely-guarded secret, it’s safe to assume a lot of weight is on the proportion of high quality scores businesses receive, combined with the frequency of reviews. The Patricia Street Deli, for example, in six years has racked up a paltry six “Terrible” scores (one out of five “balloons”) compared to 393 “Excellent” ratings (five out of five). The result is that the Deli is Trip Advisor’s number-one ranked eatery in town.

Even so, owner Glen Leitch regrets every one of those slip-ups.

“Do I regret them? Absolutely. They get away from you. Those are the ones you want to know, ‘what did I do wrong?’” he says.

For good or for bad, Trip Advisor will tell you.

Maybe the plates weren’t warm enough, maybe there was a draft at the table. Heaven forbid the glassware had lipstick marks or the service was slow.

Trip Advisor’s Top 10 in Jasper

Glen Leitch has benefited from being top deli dog on Trip Advisor.//Bob Covey photos

“People don’t ask the hotel desks where to eat anymore, they just go straight to social media.”

John Riedler remembers the good old days, when word of mouth was transmitted by people, not processors. //

Granted, those are things businesses can fix.

Sometimes, the customer is determined to have a bad experience. Three years ago Tekarra Restaurant received a one-star review after the customer decided she didn’t like the decor and walked out.

She didn’t even eat!

“Sometimes the second they don’t get the table they want you’re in trouble,” Riedler said.

For that reason, it’s not easy being near the top.

The pressure to please everyone is exponentially higher the further up a restaurant is ranked, Riedler believes. Syrahs of Jasper’s chef Jason Munn often cites that reason as why he doesn’t want Trip Advisor’s top slot (Syrahs is currently number three).

“Expectations would be too high,” he said.

For Leitch, although he doesn’t begin to compare his made-to-go sandwich experience with the multi-course dinners served up at the restaurants he competes with on social media, he relishes being number one.

“I love it,” he says. “It’s very powerful. It’s been very good for my business.”

As for Riedler, who knew success as a restauranteur long before Trip Advisor was born, he chalks it up to working with good staff.

“People always say you’ve got to be consistent, I say you have to be good. In food service, people get bored with consistency.”

Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

Trip Advisor rankings in Jasper changed recently, as the website retooled its algorithm for local establishments (The top two rankings did not change). as of January 28, there was no restaurant designated in the No. 7 spot //

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Local crime //

monday, february 1, 2016 // issue 66 //the jasper local// page B2

Bike-riding amateur detective helps RCMP wanted to get a picture of his license plate.”

A victim of a break and enter who staked out the perpetrator is happy to have his property back, but the RCMP officer who made the arrest is not condoning his vigilante action.

As he tried to snap a photo, the suspect came outside.

Before the suspect got in the car and drove away, Ferron offered a neutral “how you doing?” He didn’t confront the man.

was still in Jasper. As such, he continued his twowheeled search.

Finally, just as he thought the trail was going cold, Ferron located the vehicle at an east-end hotel. Once again he called dispatch, who alerted the RCMP. Dispatchers also told Cst. Young that Ferron was staking out the scene.

“Mimi was very determined,” Cst. Young said.

“We asked him to leave the scene and told him the dangers of him being there. It was wise that he kept his distance.”

At around 4 a.m. on December 27, Tanya Desjardins heard a suspicious sound coming from the basement storage area of her apartment.

When she looked outside her bedroom window, she could see a figure with something in his possession.

Waking up her boyfriend, Michel “Mimi” Ferron, Desjardins called the police while Ferron took stock of what was missing. He discovered it was his chop saw, an important tool to his carpentry trade.

Ferron watched as Cst. Young pulled up, inquired after the suspects at the hotel desk and eventually, along with another officer, made the arrest.

chop chop// Mimi Ferron reunited with his stolen saw // Bob Covey

That’s when Mimi took action.

Shaking the sleep from his head, Ferron immediately jumped on his bike in pursuit.

Desjardins had given him, along with Jasper dispatch, a description of the burglar’s vehicle. Having been the victim of a robbery seven months prior, Ferron wanted justice.

“I had all my fishing gear stolen from my truck,” Ferron said. “I thought it might be the same guy.”

After scouring several hotel parking lots, Ferron biked to Avalanche Esso. There, parked near the gas pump, was the vehicle in question. Inside, draped in a blanket, was his saw.

“I could see the guy inside the Esso,” Ferron said. “I

“We don’t advise chasing after the bad guy.”

What he did do was finally get that license plate photo. He also asked the store clerk if the man had indicated where he was going. What Ferron found out was that the man was planning to go back to his hotel to pick up his girlfriend. Ferron relayed the news to Desjardins, who passed it on to the RCMP. With the information in hand, Cst. Tracy Young activated a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) dispatch to neighbouring RCMP detachments. She was performing the action in case the suspect headed out of town. Ferron, however, suspected the perpetrator

While the story ended happily for Ferron, Cst. Young was not recommending citizens do their own detective work. She said if the suspect was aggressive, “the situation could have gone downhill.”

“We don’t advise chasing after the bad guy,” she said.

“It was good on him that he didn’t approach the suspect.”

The suspect, Steven Derijck, will face 11 charges in Jasper Provincial Court, including break and enter, possession of property obtained by a crime and possession of break-in instruments—a breach of conditions imposed on him by a previous court.

The afternoon following his stakeout, Ferron once again talked to the police. But this time he did listen to them.

“They told me to come pick up my saw,” he laughed.

Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 65 // friday, january 15, 2016

LOCAL FEATURE // BY BOB COVEY

FIVE TIMES

ALL BETS ARE

WINTER PE Jo bet the author he’d whip him. Guess what happened?

“I’ll buy you all beers if you can beat me in the Winter Pentathlon.”

plenty of times, but for a rookie racer like myself, there is something panicI’m the first to admit I’m a tad competitive. So when my buddy Jo Nadeau inducing about doing it amongst a pack. It’s hard threw down the gauntlet, betting that he’d finish the ACFA’s sixth annual to settle in and you feel bike-ski-snowshoe-skate-and-run event before me and four of our fittest vulnerable, like a baby hockey-mates, I found myself accepting the challenge. caribou being stalked I was aware that Jo’s being on sabbatical from his teaching job has allowed by hungry arctic wolves. him to cross train like a freak this winter, whether doing laps on the ice I’m pretty sure Meg wall at Maligne Canyon, sprint-skiing up the Opal Hills or doing endless Osborne growled as she burpees with the Fitness Network. But beating a team of five? We wouldn’t sped past me. be burdened by having to switch gear. We wouldn’t be pumped full of lacGetting to the top of the tic acid from the previous stages. We’d come into each event with a fresh hill was bitter-sweet. I was set of lungs. I could already taste the victory suds. happy to be tagging Brian As it turned out, recruiting my fellow Pentahletes wasn’t as easy as I had so he could start his leg, hoped. As I ran down the list of friends who I thought could rise to the test, but I was dismayed that I was pelted with excuses. Work, school, ski trips, childcare…I figured Jo’s Jo’s bike-to-ski transition swagger had them scared. didn’t seem to slow him down. Swishing across the On the day of the race, however, it was me who was feeling the nerves. I perfectly-set track (thanks, had only managed to round up one other teammate, and although I knew Gilbert Wall!), he was now Brian Van Tighem had lots of gas, I was a bit worried that his dreadlocks an even smaller speck, would be too wind-resistant. With an hour to go before the starter’s pistol albeit one with furiouslywas due to fire, a fortuitous text popped onto my phone. pumping arms.

“Trevor Groth wants to skate,” it said. “Do you guys need another teammate?”

“With th

It w on Jaspe and but o spi obvio

Standing in the transition zone, watching the This was indeed good news. Groth is one of the smoothest skaters in town. costumed participants come in, once again put the Chucking my skis in my car, I thought we might just have a chance. competition in perspective.

It was pretty hard to yell Arriving at the Activity Centre parking lot, I was greeted by a team of Jamaiat BVT to ski faster with can bobsledders, a horde of zombie brides, a case of wine-os and a crowd of other costumed critters and crazies. Self-supported soloist Matt Staneland had Patti Nissen’s (fake) blood-stained b his skis and poles strapped to a backpack which contained his snowshoes and Chewbacca stretched out his hairy q skates. Remembering the fun-first wasn’t aware that he needed to do tw the bad news after he just about redphilosophy of the Winter Penclad Bruno Bergeron. Personally, I w tathlon, my competitive instinct forward to lugging around the massi turned down a few notches. beasts were more suitable for tree su Still, as the cyclists lined up powder than running 3.4 kms on a fl for the start of the race, I eked As I flopped my way around the cou myself practically into pole more emotional: hearing the cheers position. As soon as the starter as a group of us crunched our way c rang the bell, my legs jumped to life. However, I hadn’t done double-relief of ditching the misery our ringer, Trevor. Although Groth more than ten pedal revolubetween him and our soloing neme tions before Jo edged by me. karma, drafting for other skaters wh With a “see you at the top”type smile, he was soon a distant speck. I secretly hoped It was around this point, with nearly a and skating around the lake (except fo he would run over a tack. shoes long before and was heading to jenny wilson-gibbons is a triathlete, this was her first five sport event. // spirit of the Winter Pentathlon came t I’ve biked up to Pyramid Lake

THE ANIMALS were on the hunt for someone, or something, to cuddle.

Wine-os and Spirit! When Tanya Desjardins dr

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

feature //

S THE FUN:

E OFF AT THE

ENTATHLON Who gave that storm trooper a lightsaber? Chewy!!! //

hose awesome costumes, Cool runnings, you jamaican me crazy!” //

was a day to not nly be proud of er’s diverse culture d its athleticism, of our community irit and people’s ous connectedness to nature.

bridal ensemble flowing by, or while quads. Even funnier was that Brian wo laps of the lake. We gave him -lined trying to catch a neoprenewas happy to wait; I wasn’t looking ive snowshoes Brian lent me. These urveys in a forest of Kootenay flat-packed lake.

urse, I couldn’t decide what was s echo off the natural amphitheatre closer to the transition zone, or the y slippers and passing the baton to couldn’t make up the 16 minutes esis, he did improve our overall hen a headwind whipped up.

all of the athletes skiing, snowshoeing or Jo, who had traded his skates for o a 20-minute victory), that the true to life. The Wine-os were popping

ressess in wine she gets huggy //

team KIDS GONE WILD galloped gallantly.

their corks as other participants raced by, the Grease Monkeys were pumping each other’s tires and the Death Star Rebels were using the Force. Some of that energy must have rubbed off on Edmonton’s Jenny Wilson-Gibbons; the only female soloist was in hyperdrive all day.

Solo steve smiling while he still could. //

When the last participant crossed the finish line, when the last bowl of beef stew was consumed and when the last of the incredible locally-donated prizes were handed out, one only had to look around to see what the event meant to those involved. It was a day to not only be proud of Jasper’s diverse culture and its athleticism, but of our community spirit and people’s obvious connectedness to nature.

And of course, it was a day to be glad that Jo’s training regiment means lately, he doesn’t drink much beer. The 2016 Winter Pentathlon was off the hook and thankfully—when it came to paying my debt, at least—so was I.

Don’t be a tool, THE GREASE MONKEYS always have their hammers in hand. //

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

page B5 // the jasper local // issue 66 // monday, february 1, 2016

Local education //

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Local conservation //

monday, february 1, 2016 // issue 66 // the jasper local// page B6

Worthy of protection: CPAWS looking outside the park Jasperites have the rare experience of living in one of Alberta’s protected areas, but the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) suggests that there is much more wild Albertan land worthy of setting aside.

Only 12.4 per cent of Alberta’s land base is protected (2.3 per cent of it falls within the Rocky Mountains). Danielle Pendlebury is working to change that.

Pendlebury is the conservation coordinator for CPAWS’ Northern Alberta Chapter. For the last year and a half, she has been creating the Conservation Blueprint for Northern Alberta. Covering 560,000 square-kilometres (85 per cent of Alberta), the blueprint sets the stage to establish more protected areas for generations to come.

“Setting aside these conservation areas really should have happened 50 to 100 years ago before our wilderness areas were allocated to industry and became fragmented,” Pendlebury explains.

Better late than never. Prioritizing which areas in northern Alberta to protect (“getting the biggest conservation bang for our buck,” as Pendlebury says) has been a large part of the Conservation Blueprint. To determine where those areas are, hundreds of data sets—from large landscape features to specific habitat preferences of species at risk—were inputted into a modelling program. Eventually, the computer spit out detailed maps outlining areas that contain the highest conservation value.

“There are over 1,100 sensitive or at-risk species in Alberta alone.”

Sky’s the limit//Danielle PEndlebury is CPAWS’ Northern AB chapter conservation Coordinator.// supplied

Conservation Value within the study area of the Conservation Blueprint illustrating highest priority areas for conservation: (A) Bistcho-Cameron Hills and (B) Chinchaga-Cache Creek-Wolverine, both in northwestern Alberta; (C) Kakwa-Little Smoky-Swan Hills in west central Alberta; (D) Athabasca Rapids in northeastern Alberta; (E) the Bighorn Wildland in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains; and (F) the Beaver Hills-Parkland Dunes-Bodo Hills in the predominantly “white area” of the North Saskatchewan region. // Supplied

Guiding the copious amount of data was the Conservation Blueprint’s goal of obtaining at least 50 per cent protection of each natural subregion in northern Alberta. The goal is significantly higher than the current provincial policy target of five per cent protection, but the benchmark is based on “current scientific consensus,” which deems that at least 50 per cent protected land base is required to contain a full range of biodiversity in the region, support ecosystem processes and functions, and have enough connectivity to allow for the migration of

animals. Safeguarding more land from development would have the bonus effect of slowing ongoing extinction rates in Canada, Pendlebury says.

“There are over 1,100 sensitive or at-risk species in Alberta alone.”

The Conservation Blueprint’s ambitious 50 per cent goal has the potential to conflict with economic interests in the province, namely resource extraction, and particularly in instances where conservation gains would mean economic losses. However, Pendlebury points out that the benefit of using a computer model is its objectivity; it can assess trade-offs between competing demands for land. Moreover, the Conservation Blueprint considered two scenarios that minimized both social and economic costs in its resulting maps, which Pendlebury says “will help create a dialogue.”

The release of the blueprint is timely. The government of Alberta, in recognition of the province’s growth pressures, is in the midst of a land-use planning process called the Land Use Framework (LUF). It aims to responsibly manage provincial land and resources for long-term economic, environmental, and social goals and presents a significant opportunity to create new provincially-protected areas. Based on provincial watershed boundaries, the LUF splits the province into seven areas. Two of these regions have already been completed, and the North Saskatchewan area is currently in the LUF process. This year, CPAWS anticipates that Alberta will begin planning conservation areas in three LUF regions in northwestern Alberta: the Upper Peace, Lower Peace, and Upper Athabasca regions. CPAWS will be sure to make its voice heard.

“Now that we have these maps we can work towards drawing actual lines for protected areas during our discussions,” Pendlebury says.

Last spring, CPAWS surveyed Albertans to understand their values and attitudes about recreation and wilderness. Some of the more striking results included the fact that 88 per cent of adult Albertans want more land set aside and left as wilderness where human activity is minimal; and that 98 per cent of all adult Albertans want protection of water to take precedence over industrial development. For Pendlebury, those results demonstrate that the goals of the Conservation Blueprint are supported by Albertans. It also brings home the point that these vulnerable lands can’t wait another 50 years for protection.

“Now is the time,” Pendlebury says. fern yip // info@thejasperlocal.com

Service Directory

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com