“Today marks the first day of the caribou’s return.”
On August 14th, a sense of hope and optimism for the future of woodland caribou was shared at a small ceremony in the Bald Hills region of the Maligne Valley in Jasper National Park. The purpose of the gathering was to honour the spirit of the caribou and all the four-legged grandfathers. Led by elder John Wesley, the ceremony brought together peoples from the Bighorn Chiniki Stoney Nation reserve near Nordegg, and the Parks Canada caribou conservation team from Jasper and Banff National Park. It appealed to the spirit of the caribou through a traditional ceremony, and with the shared intention of returning caribou to the landscape. With a guest appearance from a bald eagle to kick things off, beautiful weather and a spectacular setting, the ceremony felt like a new beginning as the mountain national parks move into the next steps of caribou conservation.
While the ceremony was taking place up in the high country, on the trail, visitors to the Bald Hills that day met some of Jasper’s dedicated Caribou Ambassadors. Near the trailhead, visitors were able to feel caribou hair, examine a caribou hoof and hold an antler in velvet. Further up the trail, volunteers gave hikers a hands-on demonstration of radio collar tracking—or telemetry—used to monitor caribou and other wildlife in the park. For some hikers the experience also included hearing traditional drumming and singing echoing across the alpine meadows as they took in the scenery.
Parks Canada is working collaboratively with other organizations to protect and recover species at risk, like woodland caribou. The on-going involvement and support of Aboriginal partners, volunteers, stakeholders and Canadians in general is integral to the success of the caribou conservation program. Through initiatives like this, Parks Canada is supporting Canada’s National Conservation Plan (NCP) by taking concrete action to restore Canada’s ecosystems, contribute to the conservation of Canada’s lands and waters and connect Canadians to nature.
