Wilderness in our backyard vulnerable
to exploitation
Bill Kaufmann
Calgary Sun
August 23, 2004
Scrambling above the treeline onto a
sloping field of rust-coloured shale, a panoramic sweep of
crags and mountain ramparts was revealed.
Below, pillowy carpets of emerald
moraine fringed the tiny alpine lake cradled at the end of
a cirque valley.
On its shores, marmots and a
bushy-tailed wood rat frolicked -- some of them brushing
the feet of a pair of hikers who had the shale beach and
entire valley to themselves.
The silence was broken only by the
skittering tumble of rocks, undetectable by the eye in the
alpine immensity.
A steep hike onto slopes of scree above
was rewarded with the shifting hues of the lake,
dissolving from lighter to darker blue-green at the
command of the clouds.
At night, legs aching from the strenuous
backpacking effort of the day were forgotten beneath a sky
brilliant with stars, satellites, streaking meteorites and
lightning flashes.
The next morning, campers were regaled
by mirrored images of the surrounding peaks on a
glassy-smooth lake.
On a weekend blessed with perfect
weather, only a small handful of other hikers shared the
majesty.
Astoundingly, the solitude of this
mountain jewel lies a mere 60 km as the crow flies from
Calgary, in the rocky folds of the East Kananaskis.
With each breath of pine scented air,
the great divide between Calgary and Edmonton was rarely
more apparent.
A million people bustle within a meagre
jaunt's distance, yet this swath of rugged splendour
remains rarely disturbed.
Those lucky enough to luxuriate in the
mossy timber and humbling natural amphitheatre
instinctively realize a sense of ownership, of exclusive
connection. I first discovered this spot I'll call Hidden
Lake 27 years ago on a City of Calgary summer excursion
for teens.
To my pleasant astonishment, there's
been no apparent despoilment and the hiker traffic has
grown little since then.
For fear of forever altering that
reality, I'm loathe to reveal the true name of this font
of inspiration and rejuvenation.
Just call it a selfishly-guarded
non-secret that's obscurely mentioned in locally-published
trail guides.
But rediscovering it became a reminder
of how vulnerable the wilderness in our immediate
backyards and beyond continues to be in a province
obsessed with commerce.
Aside from a few small provincial parks
and protected areas, much of K-Country remains
theoretically at the mercy of development. That's
certainly true of the foothills approaches to one
priceless little alpine lake.
"People assume because it has
stayed intact that it's protected," said Dianne
Pachal of the Sierra Club's local branch. "The
Foothills natural region has very little protection."
Logging, oil and gas interests can still
make inroads on scenic playgrounds not held sacrosanct by
the province, she says.
Indicative of the province's nagging
urge to favour development in these wild lands is the case
of Kananaskis's Evans-Thomas area, says Pachal.
"We've had at least two
consultation processes and generally the public says 'no
more development,' " she says.
"But the government comes back and
asks the question."
The province's Special Places 2000
program to shield valued wilderness from development
lacked ambition at its inception and even then its goals
were never met, she adds.
The province's secretive sale of public
lands to private interests -- often leaseholders -- raises
more red flags.
"You've got a government abrogating
its responsibilities to public lands -- it sees them as an
encumbrance," she says.
A "No trespassing, paying guests
only" sign gracing a sewage-spewing chalet complex at
Hidden Lake seems hardly beyond the realm of possibility.
Fights with the province over the
trashing of ecosystems in the Castle wilderness and at the
Cheviot Mine site further erode confidence in the sanctity
of our natural heritage.
A poll conducted this year by the
University of Alberta for the Alberta Wilderness
Association shows 76% of respondents "strongly
agree" protecting wilderness makes a positive
contribution to the quality of life here.
Fifty-one percent said they'd be more
likely to support a party that vows to extend protection
of wild lands.
Widespread savouring of the sublime at
Hidden Lake would no doubt push those numbers higher.
And the meaning of public ownership and
the value of wild retreats become more than tangible when
drinking in the un-spoiled splendour of such a place.
Copyright © 2004, Sun
Media Corporation / Netgraphe inc. All rights reserved.
