Large landscape conservation is the subject of an Emmy-nominated movie making its Canadian debut in Banff this week.
Wild Ways: Corridors of Life showcases conservation efforts that started in Alberta and are now being replicated across the globe.
“As a boy, I grew up coming to these mountains all the time,” Banff resident Harvey Locke said. “My mom and dad were both from Banff and then, when I was 16, I went to school in Switzerland. Those mountains are very beautiful also, but they have no life in them. They’re not wild.”
“I made a little vow when I was 16 years old – I wasn’t going to let that happen in the Canadian Rockies.”
It wasn’t until 1993 that Locke came up with a plan of action, and what would eventually be a foundation for change. He jotted his ideas down on the sides of a map while on a camping trip.
“Initially by the fire, and then, in my tent, I went out and wrote down this idea of Yellowstone to Yukon,” Locke said.
The initiative is now the subject of award-winning American filmmaker James Brundige’s latest work.
Banff National Park is part of a chain of protected areas along the Rocky Mountains. The idea behind Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) is to reconnect them into a large landscape that allows animals to migrate greater distances, mating with animals in other regions and thereby growing their gene pools.
It’s a model that’s now being replicated worldwide. Brundige and his crew traveled to the Serengeti Plains, southern Africa, Bhutan, Nepal, and across North America to showcase stories of connectivity and challenges that stand in the way.
“I came to understand that these national parks and sanctuaries, as great as they are, were necessary but not sufficient,” Brundige said. “Most parks in the world are too small to do what they were designed to do – which is to protect biodiversity.”
Scientists featured in the film use Alberta’s grizzlies as an example of landscape fragmentation.
“The bears of Banff are genetically disconnected from neighbouring bears,” Brundige said, touching on research by leading bear biologist Dr. Michael Proctor, who is also featured in the film.
Crossing structures over the Trans-Canada Highway, meanwhile, are showcased as one example of success.
READ MORE: Parks Canada snaps photo of elusive lynx crossing wildlife overpass near Banff
Since its inception, the Y2Y initiative, with help from partners around the world, has helped to almost double the amount of protected area from Yellowstone National Park to Canada’s northern borders.
“We need to step back, reduce our footprint and leave more room for wildlife to thrive if we want to have wildlife into the distant future,” Brundige said.
For Locke, it’s simply part of a life-long promise made to the mountains he calls home.
“I wanted them to remain wild and beautiful where you could drink from the streams and see wild animals… so here I am – forty years later – still working on it.”
For upcoming screenings of the Wild Ways movie, chick here.
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