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The
Castle Wilderness is located in the southwest corner of
Alberta between Waterton Lakes National Park and Crownest
Pass. It encompasses an area of just over 1000 km2.
This area, much of which was once part of Waterton Lakes
National Park, is home to a diverse ecosystem. The
biodiversity of this area is second only to Waterton National
Park in all of Alberta. |
Update - November 2006
 | Although the Alberta Government has been in the
expected doldrums between outgoing Premier Ralph Klein and a new
Premier, the proposed park has been inching forward. After
informal discussions with some of his constituents during the
summer, Sustainable Resource Development Minister, David Coutts
has just been reported by the Prairie Post as having referred the
park proposal onto the Minister responsible for parks, Denis
Ducharme. Coutts is also the local MLA and as Minister is
currently responsible for the public lands of the proposed park.
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| This comes on the heels of a very productive
meeting of proponents for the park with Ducharme and a
representative of Coutts' department. Both Ministers also toured
the proposed park by air this past summer.
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| For more information: http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/biodiversity/wilderness/campaign.shtml?x=309
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| Contact Dianne Pachal, Alberta WILD Director -
Sierra Club of Canada
Phone/Fax: (403) 234-7368 http://www.sierraclub.ca/wilderness |
Background
| Located in the Castle Wilderness are more than 120 provincially
rare plant species. This is approximately three times as many
provincially rare plant species as found in Banff National Park,
which encompasses almost nine times the area of the Castle.
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| More than 50 different species of mammals including grizzly and
black bears, cougars and wolves can be found in the Castle
Wilderness. The region is of critical importance in the
summer and winter for moose, elk, white-tailed and mule dear,
bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. Over 100 breeding species
of birds are found in the Castle, while another 60 species use the
area as a migratory route.
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| The Castle Wilderness plays a key role in protection of Southern
Alberta's watershed. The West and South Castle Valleys see very
high levels of precipitation. The Castle has 26 major
tributary streams; these are the headwaters for the Oldman River
system. These headwaters are home to 34 high elevation lakes
and one of the best trout sport fisheries in Alberta.
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| Old growth forest, which consists mainly of Engelman Spruce,
sub-alpine fur, and whitebark pine, can still be found in the
Castle Wilderness. Due to logging pressure this area has
lost over 50% of it's old growth forest since the 1930's. Now only
10 percent of the Castle Wilderness is covered in old growth
forest.
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| Without legislated protection for the Castle Wilderness
biologists predict the populations of large carnivores (e.g.
grizzly bears) will eventually become regionally extinct due to
increased habitat degradation and human caused mortalities.
Clearly the Castle Wilderness is an important corridor between
protected areas to the North and to the South.
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| Both the Peigan and Kutenai First Nations have used the Castle
for food gathering and spiritual purpose for over 2000
years. To date, the people of the Peigan First Nation are
still using a number of spiritual sites located within the Castle
Wilderness.
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| Alberta's Natural Resource Conservation Board has acknowledged
the degradation of the Castle Wilderness, in its decision
report of 1993. The Board recommended to the Alberta
Provincial Cabinet that 739km2 of the Castle Wilderness
be established as a Wildland Protected Area. The Alberta
government ignored the boards' recommendation.
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| Recent publicity of the plight of the Castle Wilderness has
reached an international audience. A campaign to help save
the Castle Wilderness has started in Germany. As well
Reinhold Messner, the first person to summit Mt. Everest without
supplemental oxygen and a member of the European Parliament since
1999, gave his support to protecting the Castle Wilderness. |
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