New hope for preservation of Castle Special Place

Call it a Special Place or a Special Management Area, but regardless of the moniker, it has been in name only since 1998.

The Castle is the only one of 81 parks in Alberta that hasn’t received legislated protection.

“Three quarters or more people between Crowsnest Pass and Lethbridge are in favour of making the Castle a wildland park,” said Gordon Peterson of opinion polls.

Part of the Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition, Peterson has helped lead efforts to protect the region for years.

“There is every reason to protect the Castle and few reasons not to.”

The latest Canada Parks & Wilderness Society report tends to agree the time is now.

“It’s the headwaters for southern Alberta,” said Katie Morrison, a CPAWS spokesperson. “It’s the clean water we drink, use in agriculture, and it’s important for wildlife habitat and recreation.”

The report calls the Castle a “Beacon of Hope”, with the upcoming South Saskatchewan Regional Plan considered an opportunity for change.

Environmental experts say the Castle holds the highest biodiversity in Alberta, outside of Waterton Lakes National Park.

With vital headwater streams and a core grizzly habitat, its impact on neighbouring Waterton may be immeasurable.

“Waterton is quite a small park,” Peterson said. “It depends on surrounding lands to maintain ecological integrity.”

Activists have done their best to prevent development in the Castle, fighting clear-cut logging from the forest all the way to the courtroom, and they want that battle to end soon.

“Protecting the Castle would be a good way for the province to show it’s serious about the environment,” said Peterson.