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Southwest needs to stay a grazing paradise

The southwest corner of Alberta near Waterton National Park never fails to live up to its majestic reputation

The southwest corner of Alberta near Waterton National Park never fails to live up to its majestic reputation with incredible vistas in every direction. It’s also a paradise for grazing animals of every kind including cattle. But the area has its issues and one ponders what the future may hold. First is the changing nature of the rolling hills of grass and forbs - it’s starting to disappear - especially close to the foothills and mountains. Just like the foothill ranchlands further north, infestations of brush and trees are taking over, some ranches have seen up to 40 per cent of their grassland lost to encroachment. That’s ominous as such a trend could see much of the area lose its agricultural productivity and iconic scenery. On the surface nothing seems to be being done to forestall this menacing development. However, there is hope, but it would take some visionary leadership from the federal government, and conservation groups operating in the area.

The first agency that could show insightfulness is Parks Canada, they could initiate a back-to-the-future approach to the land they control and manage. Most of the park land almost up to the townsite and mountain sides were once open grasslands. It was kept that way by the regular occurrence of extensive prairie fires and mass grazing by vast herds of bison. That kept out not only brush and tree encroachment, but also noxious and unwanted vegetation that could not survive fire and grazing. The area was once a vast sea of fescue grass that was adapted to occasional fires and grazing.

Parks Canada likes to proclaim that part of its mandate is to preserve the ecology of land under its control for future generations. That hasn’t happened to the original grassland area of Waterton Park since its establishment back in the early 1900s. The approach seems to be one of benign neglect, which has seen much of the park grassland lost to brush and trees. Without fire and bison that would be inevitable, and the remaining deer and elk population would have no effect in slowing the process being they are primarily browsers not grazers. I would suggest that the encroachment trend in the park can still be addressed by that tried and proven method –fire and bison.

Controlled fires are feasible; they have been used in the past, and would be the more natural control approach compared to the widespread use of herbicides to eliminate brush and trees. It would also better remove plant species not native to the area like dandelions and domestic grasses. As to bison use, the park since its inception has kept a small herd in a fenced paddock for public awareness purposes. They are native to the area and with some investment in more extensive fencing, the existing herd could be expanded a hundred times. With more targeted managed grazing, the bison as they have done for millennia, could keep unwanted vegetation in check. You can imagine how thrilled tourists would be to see hundreds (thousands?) of bison grazing in their natural environment. It can be done. The bison could actually produce a sustainable income from the sale of breeding stock, meat, hides and decorative skulls.

Another group that could seriously help arrest the loss of grasslands in the area is the Nature Conservancy. They, along with other conservation groups, are to be commended for acquiring ranch properties and issuing conservation easements to preserve the land around the park boundaries from being sold for residential and recreational purposes. Having done that, they should now consider how they can stem the tide of brush and tree encroachment on the properties they own or manage. They now have the power to carry out control practices with their leaseholders or for their easement responsibilities. If carried out, extensively resuscitated and renovated grass land could see more grazing land available for more cattle. It’s a win-win situation for the original ecology and agricultural production. It would also keep the vast vistas open for the enjoyment of visitors.

One suspects that bringing back fire and bison to save the grass land is not a new idea. But inertia probably set in early through bureaucratic bias and other priorities to develop the park. For surrounding properties cost was probably a big issue to keeping encroachment at bay. Perhaps the Alberta government could contribute to resolving the cost matter for property owners through the same investment approach it makes in the irrigation industry. In the end – something needs to be done about eating beef and those folks are the primary cattle producers. Perhaps the day may come sooner than we think that raising cattle in a perceived politically correct sustainable way may itself become financially unsustainable.

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