While it’s all well and good that Canmore council is looking to take the bull by the horns in an effort to possibly put some teeth into a stance on living with wildlife in the valley, one wonders about future progress.
In recent weeks, wildlife issue highlights have included bear 148’s travels between Banff and Canmore, and the fact she was moved out of this valley because she allegedly posed a danger to humans; that a bear attacked a young woman in/near a closed area; that there is a chronic shortage of people carrying bear spray; that there are those with a sense of entitlement who choose to ignore bear closures and/or dangerously remove closure signage and tape and, in court, there continues to be a litany of people illegally camping and feeding wildlife and allowing dogs off leash – and being fined for doing so.
Trouble is, none of this is new. It just so happens that in relatively short order all of the above issues have been highlighted once again. If anything, these issues, along with less recent examples of remote cameras illustrating massive volumes of people with off leash dogs recreating in wildlife corridors, seems to illustrate a growing, rather than diminishing, sense of entitlement to pursue personal priorities, rather than taking steps to live with wildlife.
So, while it’s hard to imagine what will come of roundtable discussions between various civic, environmental, recreational and provincial groups, at least Town representatives, along with MLA Cam Westhead, will be involved.
In both cases, pocketbooks may well need to be opened to make a difference – by way of increased enforcement.
It’s no secret that Alberta Parks, in all its iterations, could be considered understaffed, meaning appropriate enforcement of rules and regulations may be lacking. There’s little doubt that more provincial money should go into enforcement coffers for increased staffing (Westhead’s turf).
One can only imagine the frustration felt by Alberta Parks staff when faced by the vast region and complex geography that needs to be patrolled. We’re not saying more enforcement staff is needed across the board in Alberta; rather, in hotspots like the Canmore area.
On the local front, one wonders whether bylaw staff (Town turf) shouldn’t be playing a larger role in enforcement; even if that means extra manpower or hours.
On Aug. 10, in this same space, we had a photo of a family, with dog, casually lounging by a no dogs sign at Quarry Lake in Canmore as they watched the swim portion of a triathlon. On that Sunday, numerous dogs were to be found near Quarry Lake, but there was no sign of any enforcement staff. Yet it’s likely safe to say that no event at Quarry Lake is dog free, despite signage.
Again, while it’s all well and good that the living with wildlife issue is due to be re-visited on a broader, more inclusive scale, short of a serious attitude adjustment on the part of many, or a boost in enforcement that would make it prohibitively expensive to ignore corridors, borders and closures (ie.: user fees for those who ignore rules/closures/borders) it’s unlikely much headway will be made.
There will, of course, be those who rail against stepped up enforcement as they believe it interferes with personal freedom, but somehow, in some way, we all need to accept the need for living with, rather than despite of, our wildlife in this valley.
