(In Person, Catharine Robb Whyte Building, 101 Bear Street, Banff)

For millennium Indigenous people used fire to maintain Canadian Rockies ecosystems. A primary objective was to provide a sustainable source of plants, wildlife, and fisheries resources. European colonization halted this long-term fire regime. Decades later forest growth and abundant fuels have created megafires of incredible intensities and rates of spread. These now routinely destroy towns and villages. Banff and Canmore in the Bow Valley have a unique history of both fire suppression and modern fire management. What more needs to be done to reduce wildfire risk? Could the Bow Valley become a prototype “FireSmart” landscape where park protection, wildlife and human coexistence achieved?  

Cliff White was born in Banff and spent several decades working with Parks Canada as a warden, biologist and national fire management coordinator. Recently CW and Associates have worked on ski area development plans and the ecology of bison restoration initiatives. He and Johanne live in Canmore. The kids have scattered and the dog stayed.