A $5 million project aimed at stopping wildlife from being run over and killed on the highway through Kootenay National Park has been put on hold due to the federal government's tightening of its financial belt.
The funding aimed to allow Parks Canada to install about three kilometres of wildlife exclusion fencing along a particularly deadly stretch of the parkway, plus one or possibly two underpasses.
Trevor Kinley, a Parks Canada wildlife biologist and project manager for the Highway 93 South wildlife crossing project, said the funding has been deferred because of the government's fiscal situation. The plan, at this point, is to spend the allocated dollars over the next two years.
“This fiscal year, a number of projects have been delayed because of cost savings happening through all agencies throughout the federal government, " he said.
“We hope to move ahead in the future, but we're in a bit of a holding pattern and we don't know for sure when this is going ahead. "
Back in the 1920s, automobiles were few and far between when the Kootenay Parkway was built as a scenic drive between Banff and Windermere.
Today, it's a busy highway that sees 5,000 vehicles on a typical summer day and an average of 50 large animal deaths every year over the last decade.
The $5.15 million investment aimed to address public safety, wildlife mortality and wildlife habitat connectivity along the two-lane, 104-kilometre Highway 93 South between Castle Mountain and Radium.
The federal government made a big deal of the media announcement in Nov. 2009, saying it was taking “concrete action to protect national parks ".
“Protecting the environment and ensuring healthy wildlife populations is our shared responsibility, " said Jim Prentice, then the federal environment minister responsible for Parks Canada.
From 2001 to 2010, 494 animals were killed on the deadly stretch of highway in Kootenay, but Parks says many more are struck by vehicles and never found.
The death toll over the last decade includes 14 black bears, two grizzlies, 12 coyotes, 361 deer, 15 elk, two mountain goats, one lynx, 68 moose, one red fox, 13 bighorn sheep and five wolves.
In fact, a bull moose was struck not far from Sinclair Canyon on Friday (Sept. 30). The injured animal wandered off the road and had to be put down by Parks Canada wildlife managers.
Eleven moose were killed last year alone, which is double the long-term average. If wildlife deaths exceed births and immigration, a population will decline.
Conservationists are bitterly disappointed with this budget decision.
“I think it's really unfortunate because we know it's a problem and we know what was being planned was at least a partial solution, " said Mike McIvor, president of the Bow Valley Naturalists.
“The other thing that can be done that doesn't involve capital dollars is to get really serious about enforcement and find ways to actually slow people down. "
McIvor said Parks Canada was once known for its vibrant science program, particularly in the years coming out of the Bow Valley Study, but the emphasis on science has all but dried up.
“I guess time will tell whether it (this budget decision) is actually a reflection of the current priorities for senior management, " said McIvor.
“At the moment, Parks appears to have thrown its energy behind the perpetual growth model of the tourism industry and who knows how long that will last? "
In 2008, Parks Canada contracted the Western Transportation Institute to identify mitigation measures to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and provide safe crossing opportunities for wildlife.
The group recommended experimenting with animal detection systems, increased RCMP enforcement of speeding, alternative road striping and vegetation management on the right-of-way.
But they also recommended 60 per cent of the highway inside the park boundaries be fenced to keep wildlife off the road, plus underpasses to allow safe passage and maintain connectivity.
“That's their recommendation and it makes sense to me, but it's a bit more challenging to raise funding, " said Kinley.
Based on preliminary budgeting, though, Parks Canada initially hoped to build about three kilometres of wildlife exclusion fencing and one or two wildlife underpasses in the first phase of the project.
“It's a dead straight stretch of road north of Dolly Varden, and that's the area we're looking at because it has a high rate of road kills, " he said.
But the long-term goal is for more fencing and crossing structures, subject to ongoing monitoring of the success of the initial work and evaluation of the needs for more mitigation.
“That's probably something to do over decades in order to raise the funds for that, " said Kinley.
Also subject to funding, Kinley said Parks hopes to control weeds along the roadside, upgrade day-use facilities near the project area, and do off-site interpretation or education work.
“We also want to conduct wildlife research and monitoring on the effect of fencing and crossing structures on animal movements, and providing opportunities for citizen involvement in monitoring, " he said.
As well as identifying the priority areas, Parks Canada has already drilled groundwater monitoring wells to ensure underpasses are feasible and collected pre-construction wildlife information.
Kinley said funding decisions are made at the beginning of each fiscal year.
“If or when funding becomes available, we would first need to do the engineering and environmental and archeological assessments, " he said.
“Most likely the year following that we would do the construction. "
The $5.15 million must be spent on projects that work to maintain or improve ecological integrity, which officials state remains a top priority.
