Battle for the Castle: Environmentalists hope to limit logging, drilling in sensitive area

Sarah Elmeligi, a senior conservation planner with the southern Alberta chapter of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, stands near Castle Falls in the Castle wilderness area in southern Alberta on Wednesday October 3, 2012. Environmental groups, including CPAWS, say the provincial government is not adequately protecting the Castle wilderness area, which was part of the Special Places program.  Photograph by: Gavin Young, Calgary Herald

Battle for the Castle: Environmentalists hope to limit logging, drilling in sensitive area

Part 2 of 3

By Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald October 22, 2012

CASTLE WILDERNESS AREA — Along the dramatic southeastern edge of the Canadian Rockies, fresh snow hangs off the yellow leaves of the trees, slowly melting into a trickling creek. Castle Falls, a nearby waterfall, flows a brilliant shade of turquoise.

It’s called the Castle wilderness, one of the most biologically diverse areas in the province.

Sixteen years ago, the stunning area about 230 kilometres southwest of Calgary was identified by the province as a hot spot worthy of protection under the Special Places program it had created a year earlier.

A local committee was struck and the idea debated, but it proposed the region instead become a multiple-use zone — a designation that prioritizes watershed health and recreational value, but allows industrial uses such as logging and oil and gas exploration.

As a result, the Castle was officially protected by the province in 1998 as both an ecological reserve and special management area.

“It’s a special place, but it’s managed as a public land-use zone,” said Sarah Elmeligi, a senior conservation planner with the southern Alberta chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. “At the time, people didn’t really want a park.

“There’s a lot of aversion to government control in this part of the province.”

She and others say the last decade hasn’t been kind to the popular area. And now, the debate over the level of protection is heating up once again.

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