ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
​​​Castle Region
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The Castle River region has been the subject of sometimes bitter conservation battles for more than 100 years. Actions by Alberta's former NDP to create a park and wildland region in the Castle have initiated resolution to conflicts that arose due to its former multi-use designation. Ongoing efforts are needed however, to ensure the area is not disturbed by motorized vehicle access, random camping, or renewed resource extraction.
​​​​Rare and At-Risk Species
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There are over 250 rare and at-risk species including grizzly bears and native westslope cutthroat trout, both listed as threatened under Alberta's Wildlife Act. Both species continue to be threatened by habitat fragmentation as a result of multi-use activities in the region.
​​​​Watershed Hydrology
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The foothills and Rocky Mountains act as water storage and recharge sites for the headwaters of many east and northward flowing rivers including the Castle and the Carbondale rivers which feed into the Oldman and Crowsnest rivers. These rivers and the groundwater flow that feeds them are subject to changes in the characteristics of surface runoff in the foothills and mountains.
Human impacts on the basins, including trail use, clear-cut logging and wildfires can significantly reduce the capacity of these basins to store water: an important consideration in light of the expected changes in the frequency of intense precipitation events that are expected from to global warming. Soil erosion can limit the potential for the region to regenerate forest cover and restore wildlife habitat.
In order to safeguard the Eastern Slopes for the enjoyment and health of future generations of wildlife and humans, as well as plant life and all manner of interconnected relationships to soils, microorganisms and insects that support them, these catchments need to be managed primarily for watershed protection.
​​​Forests
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Forests are the living basis for the Castle ecosystem and need to be considered not just as renewable resources for human use (tree farms), but as integral components of the function of the Castle watershed for all manner of life forms along the Eastern Slopes.
Changes to the forest soils due to long-term deposition of atmospheric pollutants puts the soils and the future of the forests and their inhabitants at risk when clear-cut logging removes the overgrowth and exposes soils to erosion.​
Overgrowth as well as the diverse grasses and shrubs maintain a balance between organic and mineral materials within the soil structure that help the system to recover and restore native plants adapted to this environment.
​​​Wildlife
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The Castle region is the site of dens as well as more than 500 known rub sites for threatened grizzly bears. Logging takes place within critical winter habitat for ungulates during a period when the area is supposed to be closed to logging according to provincial government guidelines.
The Castle-Carbondale elk herd is one of the most robust and important in Alberta, yet is one that is under considerable pressure from habitat disturbance from logging roads and potentially the impacts of Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) use.
Elk seek habitat away from the influence of roads, to which they are surprisingly sensitive: OHV use as far away as a kilometer is known to cause a response in elk. Enforcement of limited or no motorized vehicle access to the area is a critical issue that requires concerted action.
