The Bow Valley Parkway region of Banff National Park is considered a special place for wildlife.
Scientists have learned the eastern half of Highway 1A becomes critically important to wildlife, especially in early spring as the sun hits south-facing slopes and montane meadows.
Elk, deer and bighorn sheep fatten up on new greenery before giving birth to offspring, while wolves from the Bow Valley pack return to denning areas to raise new pups.
Grizzly bears, whose numbers are said to be about 60 park-wide, and black bears, venture down from snowy higher grounds and head to the valley bottom in search of early season food along the road and on nearby slopes.
To protect wildlife in this treasured area of the busy Bow Valley, Parks Canada made a controversial decision in 2011 to put a 3 1/2 month mandatory overnight closure in place along a 17-kilometre stretch of the 48 km parkway, effective this spring.
But last week, Parks Canada announced the March 1-June 25 ban on travel between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. was being delayed a year – a move that has been condemned by conservationists but praised by the tourism industry.
The current voluntary restriction, which has proven to be ineffective in dramatically reducing traffic levels, and thus disturbance on wildlife during the crucial spring period, will remain in place for another year instead.
Parks Canada officials say the delay until March 2014 is important to the overall vision of the action plan for the parkway, which includes ecological integrity, visitor experience and education components.
They say some work has been started, but installation of gates, information kiosks, signage, welcoming structures, and educational material – expected to cost around $2 million – cannot be completed in time for March.
Dave McDonough, superintendent of Banff National Park, said the success of moving to mandatory restriction is linked to having comprehensive public outreach, visitor experience and education programs in place.
“We’re committed to this plan. The Bow Valley Parkway is a special place for visitors and wildlife and we want to make sure we do this right for the long-term success of the action plan,” said McDonough.
“There’s been work done, but it would be too rushed to get all of the necessary communication and visitor information and construction done in time for March 1.”
Parks Canada initially announced its intention to seasonally close a portion of the Bow Valley Parkway as far back as 1997 in response to recommendations from the $2 million, two-year Banff-Bow Valley Study.
But in the wake of intense opposition from hotel businesses along the parkway and members of the tourism industry, Parks Canada backed away from a mandatory closure and went with a voluntary restriction instead.
In 2009, Parks Canada struck an advisory group to come up with a plan for the parkway and, while the group did not reach consensus, Parks decided to go with a mandatory restriction based on the science before them.
The Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment (AMPPE) welcomed the news of the delay to make sure there was education in place, while conservationists claim Parks Canada is simply dragging its feet.
Jim Pissot, executive director of WildCanada Conservation Alliance, who sat on the advisory group, said delaying the travel restriction is “irresponsible and totally unacceptable.”
He said Parks Canada has had well over a year to get the work done, and there’s no reason the travel restriction can’t be implemented this year while work continues on other elements of the plan.
“The evidence is overwhelming that this is a priority area for wildlife and that vehicle traffic is causing problems… disturbing wildlife, reducing their fitness, reducing their foraging and their reproduction,” he said.
“Why is there staff time and money to monitor all these commercial contrivances like GranFondo, triathlons, Melissa’s, triathlon and dragon boat races, but not for implementation of travel restrictions on the Bow Valley Parkway?”
Monica Andreeff, AMPPE’s executive director who is also representing the outlying commercial accommodations on the parkway, said the delay to allow for the visitor education component of the plan is wise.
She said increased signage, interpretive panels and education will teach people they are travelling in a special place and also teach them how to behave around wildlife.
“Parks Canada is showing they are following the national mandate and balancing visitor experience,” she said, pressing the fact that the advisory group did not meet consensus on the mandatory travel restriction.
Andreeff said there is also a lot of science underway, including a joint Parks Canada-Canadian Pacific Railway study to reduce grizzly bear deaths on the train tracks, and work on the benefits of highway crossing structures.
She said there are also plans for future prescribed burns in the Bow Valley that will create better habitat for wildlife and draw them away from the side of roads.
“There’s a lot of site-specific research going on, so it makes sense to delay a decision until we have some of the results of the site-specific research,” said Andreeff.
But Colleen Campbell, who has studied bears in the area for years, said she is “disappointed and angered” by the delay, saying the voluntary restrictions have never influenced traffic along the parkway.
She said Parks could go with the overnight mandatory restriction with a few, but obvious, signs and a simple information sheet handed out at the gates, information centre and hotels, while waiting for the full plan to be finished.
“Delaying the overnight restriction of travel equates the protection of wildlife in value and importance with interpretive messaging and a few other changes,” she said.
“Gating and restricting travel is far more important than the other actions in the Parks plans for the (parkway). What value are any of the changes when we finally tip the grizzly bears, black bears and wolves into local obscurity?”
