Update on the Castle

Clear cut logging in the Castle Special Place in an area near Beaver Mines is about to begin, and concerned citizens are staging a protest at the site. A bulldozer has arrived on site and road building could start any time now.

The most important thing you can do is call Premier Alison Redford at 310-000 to let your concerns be known about logging in the Castle Special Place. Even if you have already called, it's important that your voice is heard again. Alternatively, please express your concerns through a letter to the Premier (link this to the action alert - I will send a url shortly as it's being updated) so she is aware that people continue to care about this issue.

About the Castle

In southwestern Alberta along the spine of the Rocky Mountains lies a ribbon of forested wilderness called the Castle Special Place. It is an ecosystem rich in biodiversity and incredible landscapes including alpine lakes, old growth forest and wetlands. It is a unique place of irreplaceable spiritual, recreational and ecological values but it is under threat from industrial exploitation and irresponsible recreational use.
For more than 20 years conservationists have been campaigning to increase protection of Alberta's Castle Special Place, but parts of the Castle are due to be logged in coming months.
CPAWS SAB is currently working with several environmental groups and campaigns to stop logging in the Castle and obtain legislated protection for this Special Place. A market action campaign http://www.albertafoothillsnetwork.org/ that was launched in the spring of 2011 is ongoing and will be until logging has been cancelled. Please consider signing on to the market action campaign if you represent a business, and do not purchase wood from Spray Lake Sawmill if you are a consumer.

We continue to work with various organizations to stop the logging. Recently, a collaborative of groups congratulated the new Premier, Alison Redford and are looking for meaningful ways to work with the Government of Alberta to secure the Castle’s protection. Much of that work continues to be based on the hard work of the Castle Special Place Working Group www.castlespecialplace.orgwhose work was to create and submit a conceptual proposal for protection of the Castle. This work was completed in 2010, but this conceptual proposal still forms the foundation of our recommendations to the new Government.

Why is the Castle such a special place? It is a water tower for much of Southern Alberta, providing one third of all water in the Oldman Watershed. It has profound cultural and sacred value to the Nitsitapii, Piikani (Peigan), Siksika, Kainaiwa (Blood), and Blackfeet First Nations, as well as the Nakoda (Stoney) and K'tunaxa First Nations. It is second only to Waterton National Park for species richness (number of species) in the province. It is home to over 120 provincially rare plant species and 59 species of mammals. It encompasses Alberta's second largest montane landscape. It is crucial to the state and health of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem and the greater Rocky Mountain ecosystems. It is a critical connection for grizzly bears, and other wide ranging mammals, from Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park to other protected areas in Canada. It holds great recreational opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, backcountry camping, and wilderness discovery.

Click to learn more: Letter to the Premier Castle Public Opinion Study Castle Poll Castle Poster More on the Ecology and Biodiversity of the Castle Special Place Threats to the Castle Proposal to Protect the Castle Wilderness Hiking Guide: Exploring the Castle Ecological and Resource Report How You Can Help Recent News See also: Y2Y, Big Wild, CPAWS BC Flathead Campaign ("See also" links open in new windows)

Rare north-south valleys within the Castle provide critical wildlife corridors that allow the movement of large animals and keep wildlife populations in touch with each other. This flow of individuals and of genetic information is essential to their survival and their ability to cope with changes in their environment, including disturbances, disease and climate change. (You can read more about the international efforts underway to establish and connect large protected areas in the Rocky Mountains through the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y)). There are also important east-west wildlife linkages between the Castle and British Columbia's Flathead Valley, uniting the two valleys into a single regional ecosystem.