An inaugural speaker series provided a message to “prioritize conservation in light of climate change in national parks.”
Insight on “climate change in national parks and large landscape conservation” was given by Dr. Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist for Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), at the Y2Y and Whyte Museum Speaker Series in Banff.
She highlighted the fact society must consider climate change in order to protect biodiversity, which means coexistence between humans, wildlife and ecosystems.
“In 1993, about 11 per cent of the Y2Y territory was protected. In 2013, that increased to 21 per cent,” said Hilty. “It’s a ways to go, but that’s progress.”
In a followup interview with the Outlook, Hilty broke down some of the challenges surrounding climate change in the Bow Valley, which has national and provincial parks and changing effects on local wildlife and vegetation.
Banff National Park (BNP) can be leaders in promoting renewable energy, said Hilty – “truly” renewable energy that has low impact on biodiversity and allows Parks to obtain and utilize energy sources that don’t produce carbon.
“(BNP) has millions of people go in through that park and there’s a real opportunity to provide some targeted information to individuals about what climate change is doing in the natural world and what some of the human solutions might be,” said Hilty.
To the Bow Valley’s credit, Hilty described it is a “model” in terms of community coexistence with wildlife, particularly its designated wildlife corridors and over/underpasses.
The Bow Valley is much further along in conservation than many regions in the Y2Y area, said Hilty.
“We know from a great deal of monitoring that wildlife are able to move back and forth across the valley in a number of different places,” she said. “Obviously, one of the flagships of that effort is the overpasses and underpasses that have been put in in Banff National Park, and also in structures outside of Banff.”
With climate change, the most remote areas are being affected, including the arctic regions, said Hilty. Closer to home, wildlife species such as the elusive wolverine may be at risk.
“Wolverines, they are thought to be extremely tightly linked to snow,” said Hilty. “They’re one of the animals that could definitely suffer in this time of climate change.”
Speaking towards natural disasters such as the 2013 Alberta floods, Hilty said a keener eye should watch where development in the valley is constructed to avoid expensive tragedies.
“I think in terms of climate change and local communities in general … it’s speaking about really thinking about development in light of climate change, and where to put it,” said Hilty.
A vital area that could be affected is the winter tourism economy, as recreational snow activities are a natural draw.
Over the past few years there has been a rising tourism rate. The fiscal year from April 2014 to March 2015 saw visitation to BNP up 10.4 per cent from the previous year; about 3.3 million people to 3.6 million. It was the busiest year for BNP in 15 years. Banff is currently a top-10 world destination on the rise, according to Trip Advisor.
