Skip to content

Cougars, corridors and impact statements

Another cougar sighting in Canmore again raises the issue of wildlife corridors and whether fencing an area to reduce human wildlife interaction makes any sense. Clearly, in Canmore’s Eagle Terrace area, a cougar has found conditions to its liking.

Another cougar sighting in Canmore again raises the issue of wildlife corridors and whether fencing an area to reduce human wildlife interaction makes any sense.

Clearly, in Canmore’s Eagle Terrace area, a cougar has found conditions to its liking. It can cruise a wildlife corridor backing onto housing in the area, has access to prey like mule deer and may feel that the area is a good one as, other than a few pet pooches and an occasional bear, few threats are likely to be found.

The thing is, with all of the construction in the Canmore area over the decades, man has moved into the backyards of the wildlife, not vice versa.

That’s why the idea of putting up a fence to separate humans from the wildlife that attracts many people to the area seems so wrong.

Here at the Outlook, we feel that people moving here need to realize we all share the space with wildlife – and adapt.

Refreshing is the attitude of the family who recently watched the cougar in their backyard (page 14). Despite the fact they shared their yard with a cougar this week, and despite the fact they have children and a dog, they are not demanding its removal, or insisting on fencing to keep animals at bay, etc. They’re embracing their proximity to wildlife.

We do hope Canmore council pours over the recently-released TSMV environmental impact statements in regard, in particular, to the issue of wildlife corridors and then decide that wildlife fencing is not the way to go in keeping wildlife at arm’s length.

Close the doors already

While normally an open door policy is best for municipal politics, the idea that Banff may go ahead with a bylaw to force business owners to close their doors in winter is a good one.

For a town that has embraced environmental concerns and went big in going to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification on its Fenlands rec centre and stopped the sale of ridiculous bottled water products within the centre, strongly encouraging shopkeepers to close their doors in winter aligns with that thinking.

The idea of keeping doors open during a Canadian winter, with heat billowing out to warm the Rockies, just doesn’t make sense in a town set in a national park where ecological integrity is important and where many view life with a green-ish

Leaving doors open as an attractant to shoppers, as heat generated with fossil fuels pours out, just doesn’t make sense.

And, we have to wonder, where is it these tourist/shoppers are arriving from where they can’t identify a store as being open for trade unless a front door is agape? Having left the comfort and familiarity of their hometown or metropolis, do these shoppers suddenly find themselves confused and unable to identify a store as being open for business?

Even the idea of installing air curtains, or air barriers, which rely on fans to halt the outward progression of heated air makes little sense – it simply exchanges a waste of natural gas for heating to a waste of electricity to keep the heat in.

Maybe, along with windows full of merchandise, art, clothing, etc., shopkeepers could embrace a low tech solution by having OPEN signs in windows?

It’s little wonder the Town of Banff regularly receives complaints of shops letting heat escape into the wild as a marketing tool.

Doors open through winter months just doesn’t jibe with anti-idling bylaws, low-volume toilets and urinals in Fenlands, or the idea that Banff, much more than most small towns, is pedestrian-friendly and thus allows vehicles to remain parked more often to have a somewhat reduced carbon footprint.


Rocky Mountain Outlook

About the Author: Rocky Mountain Outlook

The Rocky Mountain Outlook is Bow Valley's No. 1 source for local news and events.
Read more



Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks