Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
those arriving by automobile. Many were built by the CPR, far from their rail line, includ-
ing in Kootenay National Park and at Radium Hot Springs. Lodges were also built deep in
the backcountry, including at Mount Assiniboine and Lake O'Hara.
Another major change that has occurred over the last 90 years is in the way the complex
human-wildlife relationship in the parks has been managed. Should the relationship be
managed to provide the visiting public the best viewing experience, or rather to provide
the wildlife with the most wild and natural environment possible? Today the trend favors
the wildlife, but early in the history of the Canadian Rockies' parks, the operating strategy
clearly favored the visitor. The Victorian concept of wildlife was that it was either good
or evil. Although an early park directive instructed superintendents to leave nature alone,
it also told them to “endeavor to exterminate all those animals which prey upon others.”
A dusty century-old philosophy, perhaps, but as recently as the 1960s, a predator-control
program led to the slaughter of nearly every wolf in the park. Seventy years ago, you could
view a polar bear on display behind the Banff Park Museum. Only 50 years ago, hotels
were taking guests to local dumps to watch bears feeding on garbage. Creating a balance
between growth and its impact on wildlife is today's most critical issue in the Canadian
Rockies. Many high-traffic areas are fenced, with passes built over and under the high-
way for animal movement. Development in the national park towns of Banff and Jasper is
strictly regulated, unlike areas outside the parks, such as Canmore and the Columbia River
Valley, where development continues unabated.
Amazingly enough, throughout unsavory sagas of the 20th century and ever-increasing
human usage, the Canadian Rockies have remained a prime area for wildlife viewing and
will hopefully continue to be so for a long time to come.
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