Bert Riggall

Dave Sheppard's Full Unedited Essay - "The Castle: A Conservation Legacy Through Time"

On September 4, 2015, the newly elected NDP government announced the establishment of two new provincial parks in southwestern Alberta: the Castle Wildland Park to include the South and West Castle Rivers, the canyons of the Front Range, and all headwaters, including those of the Carbondale River; and the Castle Provincial Park to include the main Castle River and the lower Carbondale.

The South Fork of the Castle River is the core of this new wildland park. Its valley is forty-two kilometers long, and before settlement was probably used as a north-south travel route by Indigenous people, particularly the Ktunaxa (Kutenai), the Nakoda (Stoney), and the Piikani (Peigan).

When Bert Riggall began guiding hunters into the South Castle around 1909 (Burton 56), it was wild country still, but not pristine. Settlers had taken up most of the arable land outside the mountain valleys. Local ranchers were already grazing (and probably overgrazing) the Front Range canyons and the South Castle’s bottomlands. The elk and buffalo were gone, their antlers and skulls perhaps still to be found half-buried along the streams (Burns et al 70). But a few moose had returned and were once again inhabiting the upper South Castle, and mountain goats and bighorn sheep were abundant (Burton 25). Indeed, Riggall himself had shot a trophy bighorn ram in 1906 that placed fifteenth in the Boone and Crockett wildlife record book (Burton photograph 33-34).

The Castle River derives its name from Castle Mountain, a distinctive peak recognized as a landmark by Thomas Blakiston in 1858. Guided by Ktunaxa, Blakiston travelled up the Carbondale River to North Kootenay Pass, entered present-day British Columbia, and returned to the Alberta plains through South Kootenay Pass in present-day Waterton Lakes National Park (Haig 13; MacDonald 35; Ramsey 19).

Biodiversity

There is a common belief that, faced with development, wild creatures can simply move over and get out of the way, just as Indigenous people have had to do. This doesn’t work very well with animals, though. They simply die or are killed when they get in the way.

The biodiversity of the Castle is often said to be the highest in Alberta outside of Waterton Lakes National Park (Government of Alberta). No comprehensive inventory of species exists for the Castle, but information is most complete for vascular plants (flowering plants and ferns). There are over 800 species of these, more than half of all vascular plant species in the province (Gibbard and Sheppard 29). Over 200 species of plants and animals are rare or at risk in the Castle (Government of Alberta).

Biodiversity was a word unknown to Bert Riggall. He would simply have called it Nature. The term biodiversity was first used by wildlife biologist and conservationist Raymond F. Dasmann in 1968 (Wikipedia). For our purposes, the term refers to two aspects of Nature: the number of species in an area, and the abundance of each. Since, obviously, there exists no inventory of species from pre-settlement days, we have only recent and historic observations to guide us.

Have species been lost from the Castle in the last two hundred years? No question, some have. Have some others, though still present, declined in numbers? Again, no question.

The bison are gone, of course, and river otter and fisher were undoubtedly present originally, but seem to be there no longer. We can think of others, too, that may have been present in pre-settlement times. Peregrine falcons, passenger pigeons, and woodland caribou are a few possibilities, but their loss is speculative (see Doherty 20). Some other species are clearly less abundant than originally. Beavers, porcupines, and blue grouse were once much more common in the Castle than they are today. Elk and moose were completely wiped out by 1900, but have since returned, the elk by transplants from Yellowstone to Waterton, Banff, and Jasper, the moose by natural dispersal from the north (Burns et al 71, 85).

Livestock grazing and logging were among the earliest impacts of settlement on Castle biodiversity. Over-grazing probably occurred early on, partly due to excessive numbers of cattle, but also due to large numbers of domestic sheep that were grazed in the Front Range canyons. As early as 1919, over-grazing was noted in Waterton Lakes Park, which back then included the Castle, and by 1925 was reported to have altered plant composition in lowland areas of the park (MacDonald 66). Today, we find, in places, the valley bottoms in the Castle greatly altered by grazing, the present grassland communities almost devoid of native grasses and wildflowers, these having been replaced by introduced smooth brome, Kentucky bluegrass, timothy, and Canada thistle.

Logging and seismic exploration, too, have been responsible for spreading these introduced grasses and weeds. Abandoned seismic and logging roads, as well as wellsites, cutblocks, power lines, pipelines, and roadsides – any disturbed soils - have all been invaded, resulting in further losses of biodiversity.

When Bert Riggall began guiding his hunters into the upper South Castle around 1909, extensive stands of old-growth forest were present. After 1914, when hunting was no longer allowed in the Castle, he would often take his clients there in the summer. Imagine how pleasant it must have been on a hot summer’s day to ride under those big trees, perhaps following a game trail or a pathway of Riggall’s own making. Huge Engelmann spruce and the big, forked trunks of whitebark pine, trees two hundred years old or more, would provide the shade, penetrated here and there by sunny shafts where trees had fallen, some recently down, others half-rotted, moss-covered, and already supporting the next generation of spruce seedlings. On first entering the forest, we can imagine the party’s conversation suddenly falling away, stifled by awe and reverence, sunny shafts, silence, and shadow.

Perhaps, in the depth of the forest, Riggall would signal a halt now and then to point out something of interest to his guests – a pine marten, perhaps, only briefly interested in their passing before resuming to its search under the logs for red-backed voles. Or, in a small, sun-lit glade, a patch of mountain rhododendron, bright with showy white flowers. Or, dismounting for a rest break, drawing attention to the pink flowers of wintergreen or a carpet of creeping twinflowers, dozens of tiny paired trumpets erect above the mat.

In 1934, a wildfire swept over the South Castle Pass and down the length of the valley, taking away some of the magic. But as mountain wildfires often do, it jumped over some of those headwater forests, including most of the stands along Bert Riggall’s usual route. Large stands of old-growth were spared in the South Castle headwaters and in Font Creek, along a trail Riggall often used to reach Sage Creek and the west side of the Continental Divide. In 1979, most of this surviving old forest was clear-cut.

Logging in the Castle has liquidated much of the old-growth forest. Old-growth has high biodiversity compared to earlier stages of forest succession. Many forest species are partly or exclusively dependent on old-growth conditions. Over-cutting of old-growth has caused additional losses of biodiversity. A rule of thumb among forest ecologists is that about 25% of a forest should be left in old-growth. In the Castle the figure is less than 10% (Gibbard and Sheppard 78).

The development of the Shell natural gas field in the Front Range canyons beginning in 1957 has resulted in additional losses of biodiversity due to well sites, roads, power lines, and pipelines. Each disturbance is a loss of native vegetation and a loss of the animals that depend on it. No preliminary biological survey was done before development, so the actual impact on rare plants and animals is largely unknown.

Abandoned roads and cutlines, travelled on by off-road vehicles, have caused additional losses. Elk and grizzly bears, when subjected to hunting, tend to avoid humans and roads where they are more likely to be killed (Gibbard and Sheppard 43, 57-58, 80-82). This avoidance helps them survive, but represents habitat – often food-rich valley-bottom habitat - that cannot be used. A habitat loss. In addition, off-road vehicle users have not restricted themselves to established roads and trails but, in too many cases, have gone off-trail to make their own roads, causing substantially more damage over time.

Finally, unreclaimed roads are a never-ending source of stream siltation, which represents a direct loss of spawning gravels, stream insects, fish eggs and fry, and fish populations (Fitch 8). In 1861, Dr. David Lyall, surgeon and angler with the Dominion Boundary Survey, caught nine dozen fish in a Waterton stream in just four hours (MacDonald 67), a feat clearly impossible today. In 2016, Global Forest Watch Canada reported a total of 1,822.6 kilometers of roads and other linear disturbances in the Castle.

This account of the losses of biodiversity over the years in the Castle sounds depressing. It seems to add up to whole lot of unrecoverable damage. In reality, though, the Castle is still largely intact, still wonderfully wild, its biodiversity still remarkably high and there to be enjoyed by sensitive users. One can still find surviving patches of old-growth, with trees big enough for a three-person hug. And damaged land can be recovered with time and a strong commitment.

Why should we care if biodiversity has been diminished in the Castle? I like the late Charles Bowden’s simple answer: “Species are worth saving because a world with less life is less of a world” (Bowden 49).

Conservation

Bert Riggall was a naturalist and, from all accounts, a very good one. Was there ever a naturalist who wasn’t also a conservationist? The English naturalist Charles Waterton, for whom the lakes were named by Blakiston, set up a nature preserve on his own estate (MacDonald 7). How can you cherish the elements of Nature without mourning their loss?

With the demise of the buffalo in the early 1880s, conservationists became concerned that other species might soon follow. After 1900, various conservation actions were taken in Canada: elk hunting was prohibited in Alberta in 1910 (Burns et al 70); a Dominion Commission of Conservation was formed in 1909 which established the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve on the Eastern Slopes (Burns et al 24, 25); Glacier National Park in Montana was established in 1910 (MacDonald 51); numerous game preserves were established, including the Castle Game Preserve (Burns et al 69); Waterton and other national parks were expanded; predators were controlled under a bounty system (Burns et al 17); elk were reintroduced; and the international Migratory Birds Convention Act was passed (Burns et al 25). It was a conservation era.

And Bert Riggall was very much involved. Riggall, F.W. “Fred” Godsal, Kootenai Brown, Henri Riviere, and others, in particular the Camp-Fire Club of America of which Ernest Thompson Seton was president (Doherty 20), prevailed on the federal government to enlarge Waterton Lakes Park, as it was then called, a plea that was successful in 1914 when the park was enlarged to 1095 km², including the Castle as far north as the Carbondale River. Then, in 1921, due in part to public pressure and in part to the dominance of the Dominion Forestry Branch, the government took a giant step backward, excluded the Castle from the park, and reduced Waterton to 570 km² (Doherty 24; MacDonald 50). The Castle continued as a game preserve until 1954 when that status, too, was rescinded (Burns et al 365).

In 1953, the government constructed a fire road up the South Castle to Slide Meadows near the mouth of Font Creek (Jones diaries). This soon led to an escalation of human disturbance in the Castle. Natural gas exploration and development, clear-cut logging, and uncontrolled motorized access soon followed.

Inspired by the conservation work of Bert Riggall’s son-in-law Andy Russell, and in response to the plundering of wilderness up and down the Eastern Slopes, the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) was formed in 1965. The group soon documented a number of wilderness areas in need of protection, including a formal request in 1973 to protect the South Castle. But the government chose not to act.

By 1980, conservationists were becoming more active in opposing logging and natural gas development in the Castle. AWA members and others opposed the clear-cut logging that had so devastated Font Creek in 1979. They blockaded Shell’s construction of a road onto Prairie Bluff in critical bighorn sheep winter range. They attended public hearings to oppose the drilling of gas wells in the Prime Protection Zone on Prairie Bluff. All pleas were ultimately rejected by the government.

In 1990, a group of southern Alberta conservationists and AWA members formed a coalition of local environmental groups and individuals, the Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition (CCWC), to focus on protection for the Castle. When a group of developers proposed a major all-season, golf-and-ski resort for the West Castle valley in 1992, the CCWC and other conservation groups decided to oppose it. They were granted a public hearing by Alberta’s Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB). At the hearing much consistent and convincing scientific information was provided to the NRCB panel by scientists acting for the conservation groups, for Parks Canada, and also for the developer. The panel’s decision, based on the scientific evidence, was to approve the development on the condition that the rest of the Castle – all of the land not needed for the development – be protected as a wildland park. In addition, the Board said that the park should be established even if the developer chose not to go ahead.

At first, the provincial government accepted the NRCB decision, only to reverse its decision later under pressure from the logging and off-road vehicle lobbies. So the park was never designated, although the science remained as a strong part of the case for Castle protection.

Following the NRCB hearing, the Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition set about documenting and preparing a formal “Proposal for the Protection of the Castle Wilderness,” which was presented to the provincial government in 1998. Opposition parties in the Alberta Legislature supported the proposal. But governments never do anything in a hurry and approval was not forthcoming. Even so, the CCWC proposal may have convinced the Klein government to include the area in its list of new parks to be protected under a program called “Special Places 2000.” But the Castle, though listed as a Special Place, was never given park status, the only non-park on the list. As a result, the management of the area by the Alberta Forest Service did not change much, except for a few ineffective attempts to enforce an access management plan.

Andy Russell, was a remarkable force in wilderness conservation for over fifty years. His writing and inspiration helped lay the groundwork for the formation of the Alberta Wilderness Association in 1965. Awarded the Order of Canada in 1977 for his writing and conservation work, Andy made his home at “Hawk’s Nest” along the northeastern boundary of Waterton Lakes National Park. Over the years, he was visited frequently by conservationists, old and young, including members of the CCWC.

When Andy Russell passed away in June of 2005, hundreds attended his memorial in the Pincher Creek Community Hall including the premier, Ralph Klein. It was widely speculated that Premier Klein would make an announcement about the Castle, perhaps naming a Castle wildland park in Andy’s honour. The premier spoke about Andy’s conservation contributions, but didn’t mention the Castle.

After Andy’s death, conservationists began to talk about memorializing him in some way. With the cooperation of the family, they came up with the idea of combining Castle protection with a memorial. Taking the lead, the Sierra Club developed a proposal for a Castle Wildland Park and a smaller Castle Provincial Park. The proposal recommended that the name for the new parks be “The Andy Russell – I’tai sah kop Wildland and Provincial Park.” (I’tai sah kop is a Piikani Blackfoot word meaning “where we get the sacred paint.”) The Sierra Club held workshops in Pincher Creek to discuss the proposal and to generate public support. The active part of the campaign continued for several years beginning in 2006. Although the Andy Russell - I’tai sah kop Parks seemed, to many Albertans, a fitting tribute to both Andy and the Piikani Nation within whose traditional territory the park would be located, the Conservative government never accepted it.

Nevertheless, support for official park protection for the Castle continued to grow through the years following Andy Russell’s death, as more and more recreational users came to recognize the damage being done by off-road vehicles and by clear-cut logging. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Alberta Sierra Club joined AWA and the CCWC in publicizing the area and building broader support.

Efforts reached a climax in January 2012, when Spray Lakes Sawmills attempted to clear-cut a forest on public land near Beaver Mines. A group of activists led by the Timberwolf Wilderness Society set up a legal camp on the public land, blocking the logging company’s access (the area had not been formally closed to the public). Although it was mid-winter, concerned local residents and CCWC members quickly rallied at the site in support of the blockade. The peaceful protest lasted for two weeks until ended by a Court Injunction requiring the protesters to desist or face arrest.

Four protesters decided to continue and were arrested, then subsequently released when the government decided to drop the charges. The protest did not stop the logging for long, but it did generate much wider publicity for the protection of the Castle than had ever been the case before.

Then, on May 5, 2015, the Conservative government of Alberta fell after 44 years in power.

Protection

On September 4, 2015, before a large, mostly joyful, crowd in the Crowsnest Pass, the new Minister of the Environment, Shannon Phillips, announced that her New Democrat government would “fully protect [the] Castle Area” (Government of Alberta), thereby fulfilling a campaign promise and a long-standing commitment of the New Democratic Party. Logging was out. No new oil and gas leases would be issued. Cattle grazing and hunting would continue.

It had taken 94 years from 1921, when the Castle was removed from Waterton Lakes Park, to return the area to park status.

Conservationists were delighted and letters of congratulation poured forth. It did not take them long, however, to realize that the question of off-road vehicle access had not been resolved. Rumours flew. So did letters to the government and news releases. At the time of this writing, over a year-and-a-half later, there still has been no definite resolution of what remains an important protection issue.

The two Castle parks will be magnificent additions to Alberta’s park system, with their astonishing biodiversity, abundant wildlife, wild places, hiker-accessible alpine lakes and mountain peaks, and free-flowing streams and rivers. As to the damage done, it is significant, but small in comparison with all that remains intact. And much of this damage can be repaired through better management, reclamation of industrial roads, planting of native species in disturbed areas, stream protection, re-introduction of lost and depleted species, control of invasive weeds and grasses, and by giving Nature time to heal in addition to our commitment for protection and recovery.

I’m reminded, yet again, of Andy Russell’s advice to conservationists (I’m paraphrasing here): “There’s still lots of work to be done. Let’s get on with it.”

Literature Cited

Bowden, Charles. 1995. Blood Orchid. North Point Press, New York.

Burns, Jim, Kim Dacyk, Dave Ealey, Robin Leech, Cheryl Lund, Martin McNicholl, Karen Rimney, and Glen Semenchuk, eds. 2005. Fish, Fur & Feathers. Fish and Wildlife Conservation in Alberta 1905-2005. Fish and Wildlife Historical Society and The Federation of Alberta Naturalists, Edmonton, Alberta.

Burton, Doris. 1990. Bert Riggall, Mountain Guide Extraordinary. Gorman and Gorman, Hanna, Alberta.

Doherty, Jeffrey. 2012. American Conservation and the Expansion of Waterton Lakes Park 1910-1914. Alberta History, Spring 2012, pp17-26.

Fitch, Lorne. 2016. Myths About Off Highway Vehicle Use. Wildlands Advocate, 24(4):8-10. Alberta Wilderness Association, Calgary, Alberta.

Gibbard, Marianne J., and David H. Sheppard. 1992. Castle Wilderness Environmental Inventory. Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition, Pincher Creek, Alberta.

Global Forest Watch Canada. 2016. Linear Disturbance in the Castle. Executive Summary. Global Forest Watch Canada, Edmonton, Alberta. Bulletin 2.

Government of Alberta. 2015. Province to fully protect Castle area. News Release, September 4, 2015.

Haig, Bruce. 1980. In the Footsteps of Thomas Blakiston – 1858. Historic Trails Society of Alberta, Lethbridge, Alberta.

Jones, Frank. 1949-1953. Personal Diaries. Chief Ranger, Crowsnest Forest, 1949-53. Cited in Gibbard and Sheppard 17.

MacDonald, Graham A. 2000. Where the Mountains Meet the Prairies. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, Alberta.

Ramsey, Bruce. 1997. The Elk River Valley. Ramsey Publications, Sparwood, British Columbia.

Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity

Acknowledgements

Dave Sheppard wishes to thank Wendy Ryan for her help in accessing information, as well as Waterton Lakes National Park wardens Edwin Knox and Rob Watt (retired) for information on the early history of the park. James Tweedie was especially helpful in correcting some of my more glaring mistakes and suggesting important points I had overlooked. And, of course, very special thanks to our trail boss, Beth Towe, without whom none of this would have happened.