Our disconnect with nature is profound
Dear Editor,
It shocked and alarmed me that Maligne Canyon was blasted to alter this year’s natural accumulation of log jams.
Nature is a powerful force; every year the canyon is different. We go there to be in awe of nature. We should be adjusting our activities in the changing environment of the canyon, not exploding things in this majestic natural cathedral to suit our human intrusions.
If there were no commercial tours in the canyon, there would surely not have been dynamite blasts. They say they were concerned about the general unguided public. But we don’t go altering other potential risky areas of the park just because there are natural hazards. That would mean fencing off every cliff, bulldozing glacial crevasses shut, and shooting all the bears and cougars. Indeed, the canyon modifications happened only because of the existence of commercial tours. Therein lies the problem.
It is only after the commercialization of an activity, followed by a dramatic rise in visitation rates, guided and unguided, that Parks Canada finds itself in a quandary over what to do in the face of perceived risk. People have the propensity to trust that all is safe when they are following a well-worn path. This becomes a liability to the Park. What are the options: closure? education? landscape manipulations? fences?
Maligne Canyon, along with other areas of the Park, is gradually turning into a disneyland amusement area. Let us not lose sight of what first drew us to this magical place. The canyon is indeed a wonder of nature, which I regard as a natural temple. Where is our reverence and honour, when we see fit to set explosions in there?
Our disconnect with nature has become profound. It saddens me.
Monika Schaefer
Jasper, Alberta
