Recent data on Canmore’s wildlife corridors shows there is more human use than wildlife use in the wildlife corridors.
This demonstrates that little consideration has been given as to how to make these wildlife corridors functional.
Novell Environmental Consulting (NEC) has come up with a proposal to address this issue. Our proprietary Interdisciplinary Holistic Framework (IHF) was used to ensure the proposal works for both people and wildlife. Due to Canmore’s financial situation and the hardship of the 2013 flood, we have offered our services pro bono as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility Program (CRSP).
Our proposal is a follows:
There will be separate times for wildlife and recreational use in the wildlife corridors. Wildlife will be allowed to use the corridors from dusk until dawn, and recreational users during daylight hours. This will prevent human wildlife conflict by keeping people, pets, and wildlife separate. People will also be able to recreate while wearing headphones and walk their pets off-leash without fear of being attacked by wildlife. If recreational usage starts to degrade the wildlife corridors, a lottery permit system will be instated to control use.
Wildlife containment structures will be built on either end of the corridors to house wildlife while they wait for their designated time to use the corridor. Each wild animal will be housed in a separate enclosure to prevent inter and intra-species conflict. Care will be taken to ensure mothers are not separated from their offspring.
Highly trained Wildlife Guardians will care for the wildlife during daylight hours. The town will be fenced off to ensure that wildlife is funnelled into the containment structures/or wildlife corridor depending on the time of day. Researchers will run a long-term monitoring program to adaptively manage the wildlife corridors, and to learn more about the wildlife using the containment structures.
Visitors can pay a nominal fee to visit the containment structures and view the wildlife. A smartphone app will be available for download to learn more about the wildlife and the wildlife corridors, and statistics will be updated in real-time, letting visitors know which animals are present.
Other visitor amenities will include a concession stand, gift shop and washroom facilities with composting toilets, solar lighting and recycled rainwater for washing hands. Visitors can also rent a professional photographer to advise them on how to get the perfect wildlife shot.
All hired positions will pay a living wage high enough to buy a property in Canmore and become a small-time rentier. Affordable housing complexes of approximately 100 units will be built above the wildlife containment structures to house disadvantaged wildlife.
To reduce costs and environmental resources, each floor of the affordable housing complexes will have a communal feeding area, several communal living spaces and guest bedrooms.
NEC hopes Canmore will accept our proposal and partner with us on future projects.
(Note: I think we all need a good laugh, while we tackle the serious issue of how to live with wildlife in this Valley. The Migratory Words Writing group encouraged me to send this in, after I read it at our last meeting.)
Ryan James,
Harvie Heights
