Chapter
1. Crown of the Continent:
Profile
of a Treasured Landscape
Calling a place the
"Crown of the Continent"is high praise. The phrase was
coined in 1901 by conservationist and author George Bird Grinnell.
Even more dramatic is the Blackfeet name for the land: "Miistakis,"which
translates to the "Backbone of the World."
Millions of years of
geologic deposition, uplift, and glaciation have resulted in the
spectacular landscape we know today. The Crown of the Continent
has been home to people for more than 10,000 years, and home to
a changing complex of plants and animals for far longer than that.
The Crown of the Continent
covers approximately 44,000 square kilometers (16,000 square miles),
or about twice the size of Massachusetts. The ecosystem is split
roughly in half lengthwise (north to south) by the Continental Divide,
the high ridge that separates the Atlantic and Pacific ocean drainages
of North America. The northern-most boundaries are the headwaters
of the Elk River in British Columbia and the Highwood River in Alberta,
near Highwood Pass. The southernmost boundary is Montana's Blackfoot
River Valley. The eastern periphery of the ecosystem in Alberta
and Montana extends slightly into the Great Plains. Other mountain
ranges of Montana and British Columbia, such as the Salish Mountains,
make up the western fringe of the ecosystem.
Folded within the Crown
of the Continent are mountain ranges including the Livingstone,
Macdonald, Lewis, Clark, Whitefish, Galton, Lizard, Swan, Mission,
Flathead, and Livingston. Between these ranges are narrow river
valleys like the Elk, the three forks of the Flathead, and the Swan.
Larger river systems begin in the Crown of the Continent and flow
across North America. More than 60 percent of the Crown of the Continent
is public property. About 30 percent is protected by law in a pristine
state.
If you ask what is so
special about the Crown of the Continent, be prepared to receive
many different answers.
A geologist may say
it's special for its ancient rocks and glacially carved mountains.
A biologist may explain that the Crown of the Continent is special
for its full theater of wildlife, including rare species such as
grizzly bear, wolf, and lynx, and more than a thousand species of
plants. A tourist may marvel at its spectacular mountain scenery
and wilderness solitude. A Blackfoot or Kootenai traditionalist
may explain her connection to the land with an ancient story. A
resident may explain that it is home and a place to work, live,
and play within a spectacular setting. Others may applaud the Crown
of the Continent's pure air and water, free-flowing rivers, beautiful
native fish, breathtaking bird migrations, or fascinating human
history and vibrant current culture. All of these images are true,
but none alone is complete.
The mountains are sacred
in the traditions of the native people here, who have long sought
and celebrated the land's spiritual power. In modern times, state,
provincial, and national governments in Canada and the United States,
as well as the United Nations, have recognized the Crown of the
Continent. The Alberta and Montana Rotary Clubs proposed the Waterton-Glacier
International Peace Park in 1931, as a symbolic recognition of the
friendship and goodwill between Canada and the United States. It
was established as the world's first international peace park in
1932, written into law by both countries.
In 1976, the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
named Glacier National Park a Biosphere Reserve. (The Biosphere
Reserve program recognizes the main natural regions of the world
and seeks to achieve greater understanding of the relationship between
humans and the natural environment by integrating the natural and
social sciences.) Waterton Lakes National Park was also named a
Biosphere Reserve in 1979. Coram Experimental Forest is yet another
Biosphere Reserve within the Crown of the Continent.
In 1995, UNESCO recognized
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park as a World Heritage Site,
taking its place alongside the Galapagos Islands, the Serengeti
Plain, and the Great Barrier Reef. The World Heritage Site designation
recognizes cultural and natural heritage sites that have outstanding
global value. This includes examples of outstanding ongoing ecological
and biological processes, natural beauty, and international cooperation
and goodwill.
These formal titles
indicate that something grand is going on here. The natural processes
in the Crown of the Continent continue to unfold, largely unimpeded
by human tinkering. The physical components of this place - the
composition of the rocks, the rainfall and snowmelt, the sunshine
- interact with the living plants and animals without great human
disturbances. In short, the Crown of the Continent is a vibrant,
functional ecosystem.
This document aims to
describe the Crown of the Continent as an ecosystem based on natural
communities and processes, rather than political preferences. It
will focus on the ecology of the place - how the biological and
physical components are connected. Jurisdictions and boundaries
will be less important than the way the water flows, the wind blows,
and the wildlife roams. An attempt will be made to look beyond boundaries
to see the natural world, of which we are all a part and to which
we are all linked. The Crown of the Continent is more than a preserved
vignette of the past. It is a place to learn about the present and
perhaps a window through which we can glimpse the future.
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