Waterton Biosphere Reserve, Part 1: An Eagle Eye View
Waterton Biosphere Reserve, Part 1:
An Eagle Eye View
WORDS BY BRITTNEY WYNNYK
FEATURE
Dream up an iconic Canadian vacation. Go ahead, we’ll wait. Does it involve lakes and forests, mountains and waterfalls? Can you hike in the morning, canoe in the afternoon, and end the day around a campfire? Is wildlife a major feature? Are your days spent hoping to spot a deer or a bear, from a safe distance, of course?
The good news is, this place exists. The not so good news is, these idyllic destinations see more and more visitors of varying levels of environmental awareness and education every year and are at risk of irreparable damage as a result. So what do we do with our treasured natural spaces when our presence and enjoyment can come at the cost of their ecological health? We travelled to Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park to find out.
Located in the southwestern most corner of Alberta, Waterton Lakes was established in 1895 as Canada’s fourth national park. While a gorgeous day in the summer months can yield thousands of visitors per day, it feels underrated when compared to the other national parks to which the province lays claim (ever heard of Banff or Jasper?). Renowned for the hiking, backcountry camping, watersports, horseback riding and cycling, Waterton is an action-packed small town. Situated precisely where the prairies meet the mountains in one of the most dramatic fashions, offering unparalleled natural compositions in tones of brown and blue. This landscape doesn’t just provide one of the best Instagram opps, it is also a key part of one of the most diverse and best maintained ecosystems in the world - and I’m not being hyperbolic. Like, literally, the habitat and wildlife here are among those that are as close to pre-European colonization as we have left in the world.
Waterton Biosphere Reserve received its designated status by UNESCO in 1979, making it Canada’s second biosphere reserve and first to encompass a national park.
Waterton Lakes National Park and the adjacent municipalities are included in one of Canada’s 17 biosphere reserves. A biosphere reserve is “an area proposed by its residents, ratified by a national committee, and designated by UNESCO’s “Man and Biosphere” program (MAB), which demonstrates innovative approaches to living and working in harmony with nature.” It is basically a designated space that demonstrates and celebrates ways that humans can live in cooperation with the rest of nature. It is an ongoing, pragmatic effort largely rooted in community, to strike, maintain and protect a harmonious balance between all beings that use the land, skies and waterways. Conservation is paramount to both economic and environmental health.
Kim Pearson walking amongst the farm land with Waterton Lakes National Park behind.
We learned this and more from Kim Pearson, former Chair and now Waterton Lakes National Park Liaison for the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association. Her history with and love of this area runs deep. Born and raised in Alberta, she arrived in Waterton in the late 90’s, initially working for Parks Canada. In 2004, she began her work as the first local stewardship staff person on the ground for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), who had just secured the majority of their Waterton Park Front Project. The NCC works with landowners to conserve the local ecosystems either by directly purchasing the land and leasing it back to ranchers, or by placing conservation agreements on their properties.
The remarkable voluntary buy-in of this program from Waterton landowners and ranchers has allowed over 100 square kilometers of this precious land to be protected from the looming threat of development.
Kim’s first task was to build relationships within the community and offer ranchers resources in further support to the sustainable ranching efforts that they had been undertaking over the decades. She recounts this time as “lots of kitchen table talks and getting to know the landscape alongside those whose families had been stewarding it in some cases over 100 years” - the gentle planting of proverbial seeds. Her respect and love for the land and the community are evident in her approach to her work for them, and in her retelling of that time.
That is not to say that Kim had it easy. Small ranching and farming communities have always been subject to “expert” interference; those who hold positions of power and a specific set of skills, showing up to tell fifth generation ranchers how to live and work on their land. It’s no wonder that guards can be put up when dealing with an organization or individual from outside of the community. But Kim immersed herself in the community, and did “a great deal of listening, and patiently built trust and respect” – qualities she credits as keys to her success. The dedication and grit that she had back then is just as palpable now, but in the form of your friendliest neighbor; the one who will also pick your kids up from hockey, one who helped organize the community after a significant wildfire in 2017, one who can walk up to any rancher and talk about the opportunities and the challenges of living off the land.
Kim visits her neighbours, both who you will meet in the upcoming parts of the Waterton series.
Kim left the NCC and returned to Parks Canada as an Ecosystem Scientist in 2014. Her dedication to working collaboratively with local communities to conserve this important landscape remains steadfast as she shares, “In my role with Parks Canada’s Nature Legacy Program, in addition to my volunteer work with the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association, I am very grateful to continue working alongside others who care deeply for sustaining the land that sustains us.”
It was a true pleasure to spend time with Kim in a place that means so much to her, and with people who arguably mean even more. We will meet a few of them in the coming pieces in this series. One of the most telling moments of our time together was when her young son ran to us from across the field, asked Kim to hold her hands out, and gifted her with an impressive collection of little red berries. She smiled and said, “rosehips”, and beamed with pride. She is raising the next generation of land keepers, progressive thinkers, and compassionate community members.
Perspective is a fickle thing. Close one eye and reach for something. Take a photo of the mountains with your phone and mumble, “it doesn’t do it justice”. Look back at one of the most challenging things you’ve done - does it still seem that hard?
In contrast to the spirit of tradition that comes from living off the land, the shared perspective that many Waterton Biosphere Reserve residents hold when it comes to the future of ranching around Waterton is incredibly progressive. We’re talking, solar powered electric fences, ranchers partnering with conservation organizations to safeguard the land, and full-blown, community-wide refusal to allow grouped residential development projects that would forever alter the ecosystem.
This pursuit of a reciprocal, prosperous relationship between conservation and ranching is nothing short of inspiring. It is the meeting of how things were and where they’re going, the past and the present, the prairies and the mountains.
There are no lines between the wild and the ranch, unless you count a fence, and these worlds are becoming increasingly intersected for a number of environmental and economic reasons. Waterton Biosphere Reserve, and the incredible people behind it, is an example to us all, of the kind of collaboration and openness it takes to be both a steward of our good planet and a compassionate companion to our neighbors in present times.
Stay tuned to learn more about the people, places, and practices that comprise the Waterton Biosphere Reserve.
For more on the Waterton Biosphere Reserve visit their website.
