The Gathering

At this time of year in Waterton Park, there are very few people living here (about 10 of us under 30). Hosting a gathering was more difficult than I thought. It was almost impossible to bring a group together on one night.

So for this activity I used a previously planned dinner gathering to bring up the topic with the group and over the next few days made an effort to speak to individuals in more detail about water issues here in Waterton. I focused on the ethical dilemma we face about restoring the aquatic ecosystem and how to go about that.

Here are some interesting examples we discussed that are relevant to restoration issues. 

Fish and Bison

While there is a lot of research and restoration work going on in some national parks, there is very little optimism for the future of the bull trout here. In many ways it is good that Waterton has maintained a well-connected watershed. There are no culverts, dams or any other obstructions that isolate populations of fish. But this also means that once an invasive fish is introduced they can and will get everywhere. It would be nearly impossible to remove all the non-native fish from the entire park.

The only isolated waters in Waterton are the small, historically fishless lakes. If we really want to have the native bull trout here, it would be possible to remove the non-native fish from these lakes and introduce a small population of bull trout to these lakes. But is this really what it means to have a healthy aquatic ecosystem? Is it enough to just have the right species somewhere?

A similar decision was made with the plains bison. In the early 1800’s they had disapeared from the prairie landscape due to over-hunting. Today Waterton has about 15 plains bison that live in a large corral at the edge of the park. These bison, while they do offer great viewing for visitors and are in their natural habitat and area, they are not making the same contributions to the ecosystem that their ancestors were as they roamed the plains in great herds.

The general consensus with my friends is that it is not worth harming other fish and invertebrates just to have a few native fish when they can’t really be part of the ecosystem. 

Linnet Lake

Linnet Lake used to be a very popular swimming area. Parks built a bath house in the early 1920’s and even employed lifeguards in the late 1920’s. But eventually over the decades the water was contaminated with many tadpoles and in the mid 1950’s bloodsuckers infested the lake. In response to this a large olympic size swimming pool was built in 1960. From this point swimming in Linnet Lake has not been encouraged. From 1960 onward people swim in the available pools in Waterton. 

This is a great example of how our use changed the aquatic ecosystem of Linnet Lake. But over time we realized our activities were not suitable for the area and needed to change. So change we did. While there are still invasive species in Linnet Lake, it has become a popular place for animals to hide in amidst all the tourists. I have seen bears quietly swimming in Linnet Lake this past summer, just out of site from visitors at the boat docks on lower Waterton Lake. The wildlife cameras pick up a lot of action particularly from cougars and bears using the lake. 

This is an interesting reflection on how our activities impact aquatic health, but also how we can change our behaviours which can open up new opportunities. While Linnet Lake is probably not the same place or the same ecosystem it was in the 1800’s it still provides valuable habitat and cover for animals living in a high visitor use area of a national park. 

For me this seems like an interesting example of how change happens and we have to adapt – good things can happen and new life can benefit from an altered ecosystem. Now the question is can we learn from this little example and apply it to bigger issues of aquatic health? We are still up to debate on that!

My reflections on this activity.

While I had some great discussions with people about aquatics and learned more about Waterton conservation issues, I did not succeed in hosting a gathering where people came together to really discuss water issues at the same time.

Perhaps I could have found more time to make a more structured and engaging event. Reflecting on how I could have done this differently I though about other environmental events I have been to since graduating from university. I have found, being outside the school/academic setting there is very little interest in formal discussions or presentations about social and environmental issues. I have myself attended presentations and workshops and am often the youngest by decades. Here in Waterton my friends come from all over; some have degrees, some don’t. We live and work in a national park and love being outside. But again, I found very little interest in structured discussion, gatherings and learning of environmental issues outside of work. So my thoughts going forward is how to engage with my friends (youth out of school) effectively about topics like this. Any suggestions or observations from others on this are most welcome.