Parks Canada has launched an aggressive education and enforcement campaign to slow drivers down on the Bow Valley Parkway where seven wolf pups are hanging out.
The campaign, which includes several small billboard signs with impressive pictures of wolves, calls on drivers to slow down and obey the 30 km/h limit.
As well, the federal agency has had great buy-in from the Mounties, who have RCMP officers doing regular speed checks on Highway 1A.
“We really encourage people to obey those speed signs,” said Blair Fyton, a resource conservation officer for Banff National Park. “We really want to slow traffic down in those areas because the wolves are frequenting that area.
“Thirty km/h seems pretty slow, but when you’ve got little pups running around, it will definitely help. The key is helping them survive.”
There were some areas that were completely closed off earlier in spring to keep people out of known wolf denning sites. Those closures were lifted last week.
As well, there were a few small-scale signs.
“We had a few signs originally and people were still speeding and so we got pretty aggressive,” said Fyton.
“They will remain up as long as we’ve got the wolves in that area.”
The Bow Valley wolf pack has been plagued by human-caused mortality in recent years.
