Editor:
We are horrified by Parks Canada’s wanton destruction of so-called ‘dangerous trees’ in the Cascade Gardens and elsewhere.
We have heard all the arguments about wildfire and pine beetle control ad infinitum and they no doubt have some validity. But really – why would any sane park visitor – or local, for that matter, waste his or her time in such ugly clearcuts, or camp in the wreckage once known as Protection Mountain campground?
We wonder if Parks Canada officials have truly lost their way. One thing seems obvious: they seem intent on proving themselves to be “dangerous people,” slashing and burning national park landscapes, wreaking havoc on the homes and livelihoods of squirrels, woodpeckers and a host of other indigenous wildlife species, large and small.
And to what end? To preserve and protect structures like the park administration building and its heritage wall, or to prevent a hypothetical visitor from suing the park should a “dangerous tree” topple onto a hypothetical vehicle? And of course they must slam the gates on “dangerous wildlife.”
But perhaps Parks Canada officials are dreamers of big dreams – true visionaries. Perhaps they plan to emulate the orderly, manicured, but none-the-less artificial great European palace gardens.
Perhaps they dream of Versailles-in-the-Rockies, wonderfully stylish to be sure, but clearly an ecological wasteland. Is there no common sense left?
Believe it or not, many visitors actually do come for an “authentic” experience in a real Canadian national park – with living trees, wild birds and animals in it, and if it’s devastation they are offered in place of the beauty they expect, then they might well wish that they had gone elsewhere or simply stayed at home.
Why would anyone come to Banff – a place where every living tree has been labelled “armed and dangerous” and declared “guilty?” We wonder if Parks Canada and the Town of Banff will ever learn to value trees as assets instead of nuisances. Sadly, we fear that we may not see such enlightened thinking in our lifetimes.
Gary and Shirley Truscott,
Banff
