Peace Park marks 75th anniversary
- By Chris Morrison
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park,
the first of its kind in the world, has for 75 years served
as proof that a place of wild beauty can represent a concept:
peace between two countries.
The peace park was dedicated on June 18, 1932, linking the
adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta with Glacier
National Park in Montana. This linkage commemorates the long
standing peace and goodwill between Canada and the United
States as an example for all nations to follow.
The concept of the peace park was the brainchild of Rotary
Club members from both countries. At a meeting at Waterton’s
Prince of Wales Hotel in July, 1931, the rugged two-nation
scenery inspired the Rotarians to formally link the parks.
Politicians took to the idea with gusto, quickly passing the
legislation in their respective countries. It took less than
11 months from start to finish—a period that today seems
unbelievably brief.
The peace park was good news for everyone
involved. With the Great Depression wearing away citizens’
morale, this was an uplifting development, a reason to celebrate
the shared values between Canada and the United States, and
it was a move that had cost the governments nothing.
The peace park encompasses 4,455 sq. km (1,720 square miles)
of some of North America’s most spectacular mountain
terrain. The park features a variety of habitats on both sides
of the Continental Divide: magnificent land forms, rare plants,
unique weather, and abundant wildlife.
Upper Waterton Lake, the deepest in the Canadian Rockies,
is a shared body of water, symbolic of the ecosystem that
is Waterton and Glacier, a wilderness that man has artificially
divided with an international border.
The model for international co-operation fostered by the Rotarians
over the past 75 years has left its mark well beyond what
anyone originally imagined.
Although administration of both parks remains independent,
park officials confer and cooperate on scientific research,
resource protection, wildlife monitoring, vegetation mapping,
visitor information and interpretation, forest fire fighting,
search and rescue, and special events.
The United Nations gave Waterton-Glacier
International Peace Park global recognition in 1995 when it
was named a World Heritage Site in addition to the earlier
designation of each park as Biosphere Reserves.
You can find Interpretive exhibits about the peace park at
Waterton in a pavilion near the marina, in Glacier at Goat
Haunt, and at the head of Upper Waterton Lake; as well, you
can join guided peace park hikes scheduled weekly during the
summer.
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Waterton Lakes National Park was set aside in 1895, while
Glacier National Park was established in 1910.
The two are linked at the international border by Upper Waterton
Lake.
Chief Mountain International Highway, the only vehicular link
between the parks, is home to two handsome stone cairns erected
by Rotarians in 1947 near the border.
A Conservation Legacy: The Waterton Park Front
Largest Private Conservation Initiative in Canadian History
In the mid-1990s, members of the Weston family were first
awed by the natural surroundings just outside of Waterton
Lakes National Park. They learned of the exceptional diversity
of animal and plant life in the area, as well as the growing
threats to this remarkable ecology. Inspired by this jewel
in Canada’s crown, the Weston family, through The W.
Garfield Weston Foundation, together with John and Barbara
Poole and family, were moved to work with the Nature Conservancy
of Canada to identify ways in which they could help prevent
the loss of magnificent ranches and preserve this landscape
for Canada.
Approximately 28,000 acres (113km2) in size, the Waterton
Park Front is today the largest private land conservation
initiative in Canadian history. A series of agreements have
been established with local landowners to keep the landscape
intact and in sustainable agricultural production. The goal
is to conserve the beauty and biodiversity of these private
lands and to enhance the integrity of Waterton Lakes National
Park and the Waterton Biosphere Reserve.
A Biodiversity Storehouse
The Waterton Park Front is home to a remarkably high diversity
of flora and fauna: over 675 species of vascular plants have
been recorded in this small area, which also provides habitat
for 150 bird species and six species of amphibian, among them
Trumpeter Swan, Sandhill Crane, Sprague’s Pipit, Long-toed
Salamander, and Columbia Spotted Frog. Elk winter and have
their calves here, and Black Bear and Grizzly Bear roam, foraging
for berries and raising their cubs.
Caring for the Future
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is committed to working with
local partners to ensure these ranchlands will support the
plants and animals they are home to for the long term. Regular
monitoring, control of invasive species, and ongoing range
management all form part of our active stewardship program.
Waterton Park Front Interpretive Centre
With the support of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, beginning
June 15, 2007, the Nature Conservancy of Canada will launch
its new Waterton Park Front Interpretative Centre at the Waterton
Springs Campground (Hwy 6 just north of Waterton Lakes National
Park). Please stop by to learn more about the conservation
of this remarkable area through private action. Call 1-877-262-1253
for more information, or visit www.natureconservancy.ca.
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