Page 11 - Flathead Beacon // 9.9.15

NEWS
Building Dialogue in the Crown of the Continent Sixth annual conference to take place in Missoula from Sept. 16-18
BY JUSTIN FRANZ
There are more than 100 governments and agencies that control the 18 million acre region known as the Crown of the Continent. But despite the borders and boundaries that divide cities, counties and countries, Mary Sexton says it is important to think of the region as one unified place.
That will be the topic of the sixth annual Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent at the University of Montana in Missoula starting Sept. 16. The three-day conference gathers interested parties and players from across the region to discuss issues facing the area.
“We have a shared history in this region and we’re all hooked together,” Sexton said.
The roots of the event go back to 2006, when UM gradu- ate students affiliated with the Center for Natural Resources & Environmental Policy compiled an inventory of initiatives and groups interested in promoting the region. In 2010, they held their first roundtable, which always includes representatives from Montana, British Columbia and Alberta. The event has since been held in Waterton Lake National Park, Fernie, British Columbia, East Glacier Park, and Polson.
Among this year’s keynote speakers are Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow, UM President Royce Engstrom, Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips and Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person. Among the topics being dis- cussed are trans-boundary coalitions, conservation and the state of higher education in the region. There will also be dis- cussions about businesses that have decided to stay or relocate to the region because of the lifestyle it provides.
Mount St. Nicholas in Glacier National Park. BEACON FILE PHOTO
“This is not just about conservation or the environment,” Sexton said. “There is something for everyone here.”
One of the big focuses of this year’s roundtable is how to get youth involved with protecting and promoting the region.
“We can’t have only white hairs at these conferences, we need some young people to get involved,” Sexton said.
The roundtable event usually attracts about 150 people annually, but this year they are hoping to have 200 people attend. The roundtable event costs $170 if you register before Sept. 10 and $200 after that. Students can go for just $60. For more information about the event, a full schedule of events and where to pre-register, visit www.crownroundtable.org.
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“ Community banks build better communities.”
- JOHN K.
Alberta to Formally Protect 250,000 Acres Castle Watershed is part of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem near Glacier Park
BY CLARE MENZEL OF THE BEACON
The Alberta government announced Sept. 4 that 250,000 acres just north of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park will be protected from logging and development.
The area, which encompasses the entire Castle Watershed, is part of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, which spans northwestern Montana, southeastern Brit- ish Columbia, and southwestern Alberta.
Efforts to protect the area date back decades, and on Friday the Canadian government announced the expansion of the existing Castle Wildland and creation of a new provincial park on the Alberta front range. Supporters said the desig- nation will preserve the area’s ecologi- cal integrity and offer increased protec- tion for wildlife populations, including trans-boundary grizzly bears, wolverines and cutthroat trout.
“This announcement puts Alberta back on the map in terms of international conservation success stories,” said Wendy Francis, interim president of the Yellow- stone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.
The watershed, often called the Castle
Wilderness, was once part of the now 100,000-acre Waterton Lakes National Park. The Canadian government carved the Castle lands out in the early 1920s, opening them to logging and mining. For years the watershed remained essen- tially pristine, with small logging proj- ects encroaching only at the edges. In 1998, the entire watershed was desig- nated as a Special Place. Though mean- ingful, the historical designation did not provide much legal protection. It did not prevent logging, off-road vehicle usage, or camping at undesignated sites, and it per- mitted the expansion of Castle Mountain Resort in Pincher Creek, which now sits on the park complex’s western border.
In July 2014, the Province created a Wildland Park covering portions of the Castle. This left approximately half of the watershed unprotected and this lat- est action officially covers these remain- ing areas, which are about the size of a quarter of Glacier National Park.
“This is a great day for Albertans who love wildlife, clean water and wild places,” said James Tweedie, president of the Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition.
As the Provincial Park and part of the
larger Castle Wildland Park, the land is protected by regulations that prevent industrial development. The two desig- nations are similar, but wildland parks are typically more primitive and pro- mote backcountry experiences, whereas provincial parks often have campground sites accessible by road.
Both wildland and provincial park designations prevent new contracts for the extraction of metallic, mineral, coal, or surface resources. They also prohibit commercial logging, which has been of particular concern to activists and con- servationists in recent years since the government approved a five-year plan that permitted logging in the area.
“Generally speaking, [human prog- ress] is a one-way street,” said Michael Jamison, Crown of the Continent Pro- gram Manager at the National Parks Con- servation Association. “We turn wild land or open spaces into residential land, and you don’t turn it back. [Here,] the street was the constant erosion of the Castle. The best you can hope for is to occasion- ally put up a dead end on a one-way street. And that’s what we did.”
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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