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.