Canadian Pacific Railway is joining the Nature Conservancy of Canada in support of the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor. 

Canadian Pacific (CP) is joining the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in support of a critical wildlife corridor through the Crowsnest Pass.

The Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor is located between Crowsnest Lake and the town of Coleman.

It will connect Crown forest reserve lands in the north to the Castle parks network (consisting of Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park), as well as to Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park to the south.

“The Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor is the accumulation of many years of work in the Crowsnest Pass and is a major conservation achievement,” Nature Conservancy of Canada regional vice-president Bob Demulder said. “This natural link between protected spaces has been a priority for conservation organizations for decades.

CP is providing $500,000 to help conserve and steward lands within the targeted corridor and will be the presenting sponsor of several key community events being held to raise awareness for the corridor.

Announced in October 2018, the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor will create a network of conservation lands across Highway 3 in an area that naturally funnels wildlife movement north and south through the Rocky Mountains.

This corridor is named after the former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, who was an active supporter of conservation, including NCC’s work, both during his time as premier of Alberta and as minister of the environment with the government of Canada.

Since the launch of the campaign to conserve the wildlife corridor, NCC has seen a very positive response from the community and from caring supporters of the project.

To date, NCC has conserved more than 80 per cent of the target lands within the corridor area. NCC is in discussion with the remaining land owners and hopes to conserve the final properties in 2020.

CP’s funding will also be used to conduct research, which will begin in 2020, on wildlife movement across the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor.

This research will use cameras to capture photos of wildlife using the corridor so we are able to better understand which species are moving through the area, and gather important information on the timing of their crossings.

This is a project of international significance, as conserving a wildlife corridor through the Crowsnest Pass will benefit wildlife travelling through the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States.

This natural link between protected spaces has been a priority for conservation organizations for decades.