War for the Woods follows a new generation’s campaign to protect Vancouver…
Jumbo Wild
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- Transcript
At the headwaters of the Columbia River in BC's Purcell Mountains, Jumbo Creek cascades out of deep snowpack, past crumbling glacial ice, wildflowers, and grizzly tracks. The Jumbo Valley has long been revered for its beauty; and to the Ktunaxa Nation, it is known as Qat'muk, home of the grizzly bear spirit.
 
Part of an important international wildlife corridor, the Jumbo Valley is one of only two areas in North America where grizzly bears can freely roam between Canada and the U.S. But, for nearly 25 years, local people -- First Nations, conservationists, backcountry skiers -- have fought a large-scale ski resort in Jumbo. Developers face environmental assessments, political roadblocks, and local outcry. 
JUMBO WILD highlights the tension between the protection of wilderness and ever-increasing development interests in wild places, while bringing to life the passionate fight to protect the Jumbo Valley.
'Jumbo Wild brings to life how different human conceptions of wilderness interface with economic development...The film challenges the viewer to think about how diverse actors see and interact with a lesser developed mountain landscape and the implications of these interactions. It will bring awareness and foster a greater level of understanding about the challenges and value of keeping places 'wild.'' Dr. Jeremy Spoon, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Portland State University, Research Associate, The Mountain Institute
'In the spirit of Hetch Hetchy, Jackson Hole, and Glen Canyon, Jumbo Wild clearly documents a poignant chapter in the long arc of North American environmental history. The balanced portrayal of strongly held and divergent viewpoints will grip your intellect and your emotions-a pinnacle of environmental reporting.' Stephen Cunha, Professor of Geography, Humboldt State University
'Film may be the most effective medium for turning recreationists into conservationists...[Waggoner] shows outdoor film audiences exactly why they should care about protecting the mountain.' Krista Langlois, High Country News
'Jumbo Wild transports you out of the classroom or living room to the cathedral heights and purity of the Canadian Rockies. Destined to win awards, this film educates the audience powerfully and fairly about a threat to wilderness. It provides perspectives from the natives, the newcomers, and nature's ways, eliciting the viewer's involvement in protecting mountain beauty for future generations.' Randy Hayes, Founder of Rainforest Action Network, Director of Foundation Earth
'A wonderful film for opening a discussion on how our personal values intersect with how we treat our planet. Are human creativity, passion, and ingenuity our highest held ideals? Or is there a different ideal; one that allows for all of nature's creatures to be equal with humans? Do silence and beauty matter? Or is a strong economy our highest goal? This well-made film full of majestic scenery approaches these questions in a balanced way.' Joan Maloof, Executive Director, Old-Growth Forest Network, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University
'Beautiful...In this well-paced film, Waggoner does an admirable job of allowing his subjects to tell their stories and explain their positions.' Monte Burke, Forbes
'Offers a deep examination of the broad interests at stake...A thoughtful and provocative film.' Zoe Loftus-Farren, Earth Island Journal
'Leaves the viewer to contemplate one big question; what is the value that we place on keeping places 'wild'...The movie establishes the core arguments behind the sacredness of keeping big wilderness intact and also points out that once these kinds of places have been developed, true wilderness is gone forever...A must see.' Tim Grey, Biglines
'If you think you already know what this movie is and where it's headed, you don't. And you should watch it...An incredible documentary...Jumbo Wild is a film that respects you the viewer as well as the different voices in the debate, and successfully lays out the issues so that you can judge for yourself. This isn't a propaganda vehicle or an indoctrination piece, it's better than that.' Cy Whitling, Blister
Citation
Main credits
								Waggoner, Nick (film director)
Waggoner, Nick (editor of moving image work)
Waggoner, Nick (director of photography)
Yale, Laura (film producer)
Manley, Jordan (editor of moving image work)
Techrob, Nicolas (editor of moving image work)
Techrob, Nicolas (director of photography)
Mannings, Jason (director of photography)
Turenne, Darcy (director of photography)
							
Other credits
Producer, Laura Yale; editors, Jordan Manley, Nick Waggoner, Nicolas Techrob; cinematographers, Nick Waggoner, Jason Mannings, Darcy Turenne, Nicolas Techrob.
Distributor subjects
Activism; Animal Rights; Biodiversity; Biology; Business Practices; Canadian Studies; Conservation; Ecology; Environment; Geography; Habitat; Indigenous Peoples; Local Economies; Recreation; Science, Technology, Society; Sociology; WildlifeKeywords
 00:01:21.125 --> 00:01:23.416
 - And this is an opportunity,
 honorable Speaker,
 
 00:01:23.416 --> 00:01:25.583
 to develop an iconic all-seasons resort.
 
 00:01:25.583 --> 00:01:30.625
 There will be nothing like
 this in North America.
 
 00:01:30.625 --> 00:01:33.875
 There is nothing like this in North America.
 
 00:01:33.875 --> 00:01:36.458
 When you go up a gondola to
 the top of Jumbo Mountain
 
 00:01:36.458 --> 00:01:38.041
 and you look down into Lake
 of the Hanging Glaciers,
 
 00:01:38.041 --> 00:01:41.583
 I guarantee you, honorable Speaker, people
 are going to come from around the world.
 
 00:01:41.583 --> 00:01:46.125
 This is going to help lay a foundation
 for the growth of our tourism industry
 
 00:01:46.125 --> 00:01:48.791
 here in British Columbia, and
 it\'s going to create jobs.
 
 00:01:48.791 --> 00:01:52.291
 And that member\'s riding, and he opposes it.
 
 00:01:52.291 --> 00:01:56.833
 - Every measure of public opinion of the
 Columbia Valley for the past 20 years
 
 00:01:56.833 --> 00:02:01.750
 has made it clear that people who know
 that project the best have been against it.
 
 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:06.166
 Invermere mayor and council,
 consistently against the project.
 
 00:02:06.166 --> 00:02:07.458
 79% opposed.
 
 00:02:07.458 --> 00:02:11.125
 In a referendum the Ktunaxa
 First Nations strongly opposed.
 
 00:02:11.125 --> 00:02:15.250
 After all the petitions, all the
 demonstrations, all the letters,
 
 00:02:15.250 --> 00:02:20.250
 the minister has chosen to ignore
 the residents of the Columbia Valley.
 
 00:02:20.250 --> 00:02:23.416
 So the question I have for the
 minister: does the minister seriously
 
 00:02:23.416 --> 00:02:29.333
 think that people in the Kootenays are
 going to quietly sit by while he attempts
 
 00:02:29.333 --> 00:02:32.208
 to impose a development on Jumbo Valley?
 
 00:02:41.750 --> 00:02:47.125
 - The evil developer coming to town to take
 a shit in the middle of the backyard --
 
 00:02:47.125 --> 00:02:50.250
 in the woods, the wilderness.
 
 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:51.333
 It\'s a familiar narrative.
 
 00:02:51.333 --> 00:02:56.291
 When I first started on this film, it was
 easy to buy into the black and white world
 
 00:02:56.291 --> 00:02:57.875
 those voices sold.
 
 00:02:57.875 --> 00:03:01.333
 They drew the conclusions
 for me and did my job.
 
 00:03:02.458 --> 00:03:05.125
 @It got a bit harder as I started
 looking deeper into those voices,
 
 00:03:05.125 --> 00:03:07.833
 @each with their own view of the
 world, speaking with great conviction
 
 00:03:07.833 --> 00:03:12.958
 about what should happen in that Jumbo
 Valley deep in the Canadian mountains.
 
 00:03:19.791 --> 00:03:21.791
 Voices came from all sides,
 and I had to filter out
 
 00:03:21.791 --> 00:03:25.958
 the noise to get to the heart of
 what this issue is really about.
 
 00:03:36.916 --> 00:03:42.416
 - In a way, the mountain was just
 sort of a template upon which
 
 00:03:42.416 --> 00:03:49.041
 people project their own
 preconceptions, ideologies, desires.
 
 00:03:49.041 --> 00:03:49.916
 I mean, it\'s a mountain.
 
 00:03:49.916 --> 00:03:51.958
 All a mountain is is a mountain.
 
 00:03:51.958 --> 00:03:52.500
 It sits.
 
 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:58.375
 And yet, it\'s become the focal point
 of these very disparate world views.
 
 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:38.458
 - High up in the Purcell Mountains,
 in the heart of British Columbia,
 
 00:06:38.458 --> 00:06:43.500
 lies a giant shifting block of
 ice and snow -- Jumbo Glacier.
 
 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:48.750
 For Vancouver architect Oberto
 Oberti, this is the ultimate ski hill.
 
 00:06:48.750 --> 00:06:53.208
 - The controversy in the Jumbo Valley
 has been going on for 24 years --
 
 00:06:53.208 --> 00:06:54.291
 almost my entire life.
 
 00:06:54.291 --> 00:06:58.291
 @ On one side you\'ve got Oberto
 Oberti, his partner Grant Costello,
 
 00:06:58.291 --> 00:07:00.791
 and some members of the governmentú who support the development.
 
 00:07:00.791 --> 00:07:04.458
 And on the other you\'ve got environmental
 advocates, other members of the government,
 
 00:07:04.458 --> 00:07:08.583
 and a few thousand locals -- including a
 First Nations that has lived on that land
 
 00:07:08.583 --> 00:07:13.333
 for almost 10,000 years -- who allúwant to see that land kept wild.
 
 00:07:13.333 --> 00:07:17.125
 The Jumbo Valley\'s in a pocket of British
 Columbia that\'s a long way from nowhere --
 
 00:07:17.125 --> 00:07:21.416
 between Vancouver and Calgary, the Rockies
 and the sea of mountains that run in every
 
 00:07:21.416 --> 00:07:25.416
 direction towards Montana,
 Alaska, and the Pacific Ocean.
 
 00:07:25.416 --> 00:07:27.916
 It sits at the very headwaters
 of the Columbia River.
 
 00:07:27.916 --> 00:07:31.708
 And by the time you\'ve arrived at the
 town of Invermere, population 3,000,
 
 00:07:31.708 --> 00:07:35.625
 you\'re still just shy of a two hour
 drive up a dirt logging road from Jumbo.
 
 00:07:35.625 --> 00:07:41.041
 And where that road ends is where Oberti
 and his plan for year-round skiing begins --
 
 00:07:41.041 --> 00:07:45.708
 the dream or the nightmare, depending
 on what glasses you\'re wearing.
 
 00:07:45.708 --> 00:07:47.208
 Compared with other resorts,
 the proposed village
 
 00:07:47.208 --> 00:07:54.791
 is average: about 6,000 beds down in the
 valley, 369 hotel rooms, 240 townhouses,
 
 00:07:54.791 --> 00:08:02.333
 970 condo units, and 143 chalets, with
 restaurants and retail stores in between.
 
 00:08:02.333 --> 00:08:04.125
 The ski infrastructure
 is more significant --
 
 00:08:04.125 --> 00:08:08.083
 22 lifts and gondolas will rise from
 that village to over 11,000 feet,
 
 00:08:08.083 --> 00:08:14.416
 topping four glaciers in a restaurant with
 360-degree views of the Purcell Mountains.
 
 00:08:18.208 --> 00:08:21.875
 When you look at the land of British
 Columbia, 94% of the province
 
 00:08:21.875 --> 00:08:25.041
 is public land, which means
 that everybody gets to enjoy it.
 
 00:08:25.041 --> 00:08:30.791
 But it also means that you, or I, or anybody
 can lease the land from the government
 
 00:08:30.791 --> 00:08:31.708
 to make money off of it.
 
 00:08:31.708 --> 00:08:33.666
 For the last 150 or so
 years, that\'s largely been
 
 00:08:33.666 --> 00:08:37.666
 in the form of logging and mining, which
 have been the mainstays of the economy.
 
 00:08:37.666 --> 00:08:42.750
 - Now the logs are cut to the lengths
 wanted, becoming boards useful to mankind.
 
 00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:45.208
 - From 1890 on, the Jumbo
 Valley was logged and mined.
 
 00:08:45.208 --> 00:08:49.500
 But like many other areas in the
 province, these industries boom and bust.
 
 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:51.958
 So a lot of people,ú including the government,
 
 00:08:51.958 --> 00:08:55.500
 see tourism as the nextú great hope for the economy.
 
 00:08:59.875 --> 00:09:03.666
 In the early \'90s, Whistler was
 contributing over $300 million
 
 00:09:03.666 --> 00:09:06.208
 in tax revenue to the economy.
 
 00:09:06.208 --> 00:09:08.333
 The BC government made a
 policy that essentially
 
 00:09:08.333 --> 00:09:11.708
 laid out the red carpet to
 anyone promising to bring skiers
 
 00:09:11.708 --> 00:09:15.625
 and their tourist dollars
 into the mountains.
 
 00:09:15.625 --> 00:09:18.416
 - Mom, dad, can we go skiing?
 
 00:09:18.416 --> 00:09:21.250
 - And so Oberto commissioned a
 study spanning North America,
 
 00:09:21.250 --> 00:09:24.791
 hunting the best combination of
 snowfall, duration of winter,
 
 00:09:24.791 --> 00:09:27.958
 vertical relief, elevation and access.
 
 00:09:27.958 --> 00:09:32.875
 - Just before Oberti\'s dream tumbled
 into the crevasse of the BC government\'s
 
 00:09:32.875 --> 00:09:33.916
 environmental review process.
 
 00:09:33.916 --> 00:09:38.458
 - In 1991, Oberti submitted his first
 formal proposal for Jumbo Glacier Resort.
 
 00:09:38.458 --> 00:09:41.583
 At that point they started down the
 long road of environmental review
 
 00:09:41.583 --> 00:09:45.083
 which, while standard process in
 British Columbia for any major project
 
 00:09:45.083 --> 00:09:48.625
 on public lands, took the
 government a decade to approve.
 
 00:09:48.625 --> 00:09:51.250
 - It\'s all going smoothly
 until one of his experts
 
 00:09:51.250 --> 00:09:54.791
 mentions dropping bombs
 to control avalanches.
 
 00:09:54.791 --> 00:09:58.625
 - There is some hazard of unexploded shells.
 
 00:09:58.625 --> 00:10:05.208
 - It\'s standard ski hill procedure, but not
 exactly the message Oberti wants to convey.
 
 00:10:05.208 --> 00:10:08.416
 - A convoluted bureaucratic
 process stumbled and staggered.
 
 00:10:08.416 --> 00:10:11.416
 Entire ministries were
 reorganized and renamed.
 
 00:10:11.416 --> 00:10:15.458
 @ And Oberti had to jump throughú hoop after hoop after hoop.
 
 00:10:15.458 --> 00:10:17.750
 After a series of non-answers
 from the government,
 
 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:20.750
 Oberti filed a Freedom of
 Information Act request,
 
 00:10:20.750 --> 00:10:23.833
 discovering e-mails between
 members of the government that
 
 00:10:23.833 --> 00:10:25.833
 appeared less than impartial.
 
 00:10:25.833 --> 00:10:30.000
 But if you\'re the local opposition who\'s
 never had a chance to officially vote
 
 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:32.291
 on the development that
 affects your backyard,
 
 00:10:32.291 --> 00:10:35.291
 it\'s hard to feel that the
 government cares about you either.
 
 00:10:35.291 --> 00:10:37.791
 They\'ve never given you
 democracy in regards to Jumbo.
 
 00:10:37.791 --> 00:10:40.208
 - These are the citizens of our
 valley, and they\'re speaking.
 
 00:10:40.208 --> 00:10:44.833
 And so here are 1,600 names of
 people who don\'t want this project.
 
 00:10:44.833 --> 00:10:50.250
 - They are environmentalists, members of a
 local gun club, even a local politician --
 
 00:10:50.250 --> 00:10:54.375
 people who couldn\'t have a civil
 conversation in the same room,
 
 00:10:54.375 --> 00:10:55.250
 if it wasn\'t this issue.
 
 00:10:55.250 --> 00:10:59.166
 They\'ve learned to use the latest
 tools available to battle Oberti,
 
 00:10:59.166 --> 00:11:02.000
 including a home page on the internet.
 
 00:11:02.875 --> 00:11:06.791
 - In 2004, thousands of locals
 marched on the streets of Nelson.
 
 00:11:06.791 --> 00:11:10.833
 In spite of the fact that 90% of the
 feedback was against the development,
 
 00:11:10.833 --> 00:11:14.875
 the government approved Jumbo
 Glacier Resort\'s environmental review
 
 00:11:14.875 --> 00:11:16.458
 only months later.
 
 00:11:16.458 --> 00:11:21.250
 The opposition turned to more radicalúand creative methods of protest.
 
 00:11:23.166 --> 00:11:27.750
 In 2008, when the opposition was tipped off
 by an excavator driver working on the Jumbo
 
 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:34.125
 @ Creek Road, they blockaded the
 road, stopping construction crews
 
 00:11:34.125 --> 00:11:36.791
 @ from building the resort\'s
 first proposed lift.
 
 00:11:36.791 --> 00:11:37.833
 - Get out of the way, Michael.
 
 00:11:37.833 --> 00:11:41.250
 - We officially established our
 Jumbo monitoring camp today,
 
 00:11:41.250 --> 00:11:47.625
 and we\'re expecting lots of supporters to
 come and visit over the next few weeks.
 
 00:11:50.041 --> 00:11:52.833
 - And smile at the end.
 
 00:11:52.833 --> 00:11:53.375
 - OK.
 
 00:11:53.375 --> 00:11:53.916
 - OK?
 
 00:11:53.916 --> 00:11:56.041
 Like a little welcoming smile.
 
 00:11:56.041 --> 00:11:56.791
 - OK.
 
 00:11:57.708 --> 00:12:01.625
 - In 2010, the Ktunaxa nation presented
 their Qat\'muk Declaration to the provincial
 
 00:12:01.625 --> 00:12:05.125
 government, communicating their ancient
 connection to the same valley Oberti
 
 00:12:05.125 --> 00:12:09.791
 planned to develop, and its place in
 the heart of their traditional homeland.
 
 00:12:09.791 --> 00:12:13.458
 They outlined their ethic of
 stewardship and declared it off limits
 
 00:12:13.458 --> 00:12:15.375
 to the proposed ski resort.
 
 00:12:18.333 --> 00:12:20.791
 In 2012, the opposition
 received a similar tip --
 
 00:12:20.791 --> 00:12:25.916
 that Oberti and his team were bringing a
 group of French investors to Jumbo to pitch
 
 00:12:25.916 --> 00:12:27.541
 them on the resort.
 
 00:12:27.541 --> 00:12:31.500
 When the delegation arrived at
 the helipad, over 80 protesters
 
 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:32.541
 were there to greet them.
 
 00:12:32.541 --> 00:12:36.041
 Other opposition members have snowmobiled
 and hiked through the previous night.
 
 00:12:36.041 --> 00:12:39.958
 And as Oberti and the French flew
 over the proposed base village site,
 
 00:12:39.958 --> 00:12:43.833
 their signs were there to greet
 them too, painted in the snow.
 
 00:12:43.833 --> 00:12:46.666
 - I guess the main message that
 you as investors need to take home
 
 00:12:46.666 --> 00:12:49.541
 is that people in the Kootenays
 are not going to stand for this.
 
 00:12:49.541 --> 00:12:51.916
 You\'ve got 19 ski resorts within
 a five-hour drive of here.
 
 00:12:51.916 --> 00:12:57.458
 @- The project will provide localújob creation and economic growth
 
 00:12:57.458 --> 00:12:58.166
 for the region.
 
 00:12:58.166 --> 00:12:59.708
 - Later that year, inú order to speed development,
 
 00:12:59.708 --> 00:13:05.916
 the provincial government amended a law and
 appointed a mayor of the township of Jumbo,
 
 00:13:05.916 --> 00:13:06.625
 population zero.
 
 00:13:06.625 --> 00:13:11.083
 - No one, no pipes, no transit, no
 schools, no hospitals, no people.
 
 00:13:11.083 --> 00:13:14.958
 You\'re giving money to a town with no one!
 
 00:13:14.958 --> 00:13:16.333
 (APPLAUSE)
 
 00:13:16.333 --> 00:13:20.958
 - On top of three challenges to Jumbo
 Glacier Resort in the BC Supreme Court,
 
 00:13:20.958 --> 00:13:22.458
 Oberti faced challenges on other fronts.
 
 00:13:22.458 --> 00:13:28.000
 As part of his environmental approval he
 had 10 years to satisfy 195 conditions,
 
 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.500
 or else the government would
 stop the resort in its tracks.
 
 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:35.791
 And fast forward nine years and 11
 months later, to September of 2014,
 
 00:13:35.791 --> 00:13:41.333
 and the race is on to lay foundations for
 a day lodge and several ski lift towers.
 
 00:13:44.958 --> 00:13:49.250
 For locals, developers and politicians
 alike, the question of economics
 
 00:13:49.250 --> 00:13:50.125
 is equally polarizing.
 
 00:13:50.125 --> 00:13:54.000
 Will another ski resort be a positive
 addition to the local economy?
 
 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:57.750
 - Tell me what... at the end of
 the day when this project is built,
 
 00:13:57.750 --> 00:14:04.875
 how is it going to benefit the people of
 Invermere and the people of this valley?
 
 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:13.375
 - It\'s like being home.
 
 00:14:13.375 --> 00:14:18.083
 And for the millions of people who will
 experience this, it\'s something to pass on.
 
 00:14:18.083 --> 00:14:22.125
 - The resort would create 800
 full-time jobs for the region,
 
 00:14:22.125 --> 00:14:24.791
 not including the construction
 work over the next...
 
 00:14:24.791 --> 00:14:29.625
 - When Oberto and I both looked
 at where can we build facilities,
 
 00:14:29.625 --> 00:14:31.125
 you go to where the best snow is.
 
 00:14:31.125 --> 00:14:36.583
 So it makes it the most natural
 place in the world to develop.
 
 00:14:39.958 --> 00:14:43.625
 - The skiing itself is not
 really the point anymore.
 
 00:14:43.625 --> 00:14:49.791
 Resorts that we\'ve seen come up really
 since the 1990s are not making money
 
 00:14:49.791 --> 00:14:52.125
 on lift tickets in any meaningful way.
 
 00:14:52.125 --> 00:14:56.083
 Skiing is something that
 gets people in the door.
 
 00:14:56.083 --> 00:14:56.958
 It gets them interested.
 
 00:14:56.958 --> 00:15:00.541
 It\'s an alleged reason
 for building a resort.
 
 00:15:00.541 --> 00:15:03.416
 That\'s not where the money
 is for the most part now.
 
 00:15:03.416 --> 00:15:06.125
 It\'s a real estate-driven business.
 
 00:15:07.666 --> 00:15:13.083
 - A lot of the opponents think that
 we\'ve got a broken economic model.
 
 00:15:13.083 --> 00:15:15.708
 People keep saying, \"Well
 this is a land grab.
 
 00:15:15.708 --> 00:15:16.750
 It\'s real estate development.\"
 
 00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:21.833
 Their belief is that the ski resort
 operations will be a profit center.
 
 00:15:21.833 --> 00:15:27.041
 - Whether it\'s good economically really
 depends on how you want to define \"good.\"
 
 00:15:27.041 --> 00:15:29.958
 The people with the capital --
 the people making investments --
 
 00:15:29.958 --> 00:15:34.083
 certainly are the ones who are most
 likely to make most of the money.
 
 00:15:34.083 --> 00:15:35.833
 A lot of people will benefit from that.
 
 00:15:35.833 --> 00:15:38.291
 Are they the people who live there?
 
 00:15:38.291 --> 00:15:38.833
 Maybe.
 
 00:15:38.833 --> 00:15:40.291
 Are they the people who are coming?
 
 00:15:40.291 --> 00:15:40.833
 Maybe.
 
 00:15:40.833 --> 00:15:41.666
 Is this good or bad?
 
 00:15:41.666 --> 00:15:45.833
 - We\'re a seasonal area where
 we have shoulder seasons where
 
 00:15:45.833 --> 00:15:47.625
 there is no work and no business.
 
 00:15:47.625 --> 00:15:53.291
 It\'s going to provide full-time year round
 jobs for our community and our children.
 
 00:15:53.291 --> 00:15:58.666
 So for some families, their children won\'t
 have to move away -- like my family did,
 
 00:15:58.666 --> 00:16:00.541
 like my friend\'s families, my children.
 
 00:16:00.541 --> 00:16:08.041
 And they can maybe stay in the community
 and build generations of families here.
 
 00:16:08.041 --> 00:16:11.000
 - Some people will complain
 that it\'s all about the money.
 
 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.541
 @ But it\'s been my experienceú that money is exactly what we
 
 00:16:14.541 --> 00:16:16.000
 úuse to pay teachers and nurses.
 
 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.625
 And if you want to have
 these public services,
 
 00:16:19.625 --> 00:16:21.416
 you need to be ready as
 a member of the public
 
 00:16:21.416 --> 00:16:26.625
 to help find ways to generate the
 economic activity that will raise them.
 
 00:16:26.625 --> 00:16:33.750
 If we aren\'t exporting something -- a
 tourism experience, lumber, minerals, oil,
 
 00:16:33.750 --> 00:16:39.458
 energy -- then we don\'t have the
 money to get the things that we value.
 
 00:16:39.458 --> 00:16:41.416
 This is one of the ways
 that we\'re going to get it.
 
 00:16:41.416 --> 00:16:46.333
 And I think it\'s one of the
 less disruptive ways to do it.
 
 00:16:50.583 --> 00:16:53.750
 - In 2011 the Ktunaxa Nation
 commissioned an economic study
 
 00:16:53.750 --> 00:16:57.041
 to evaluate Jumbo Glacier
 Resort\'s official projections.
 
 00:16:57.041 --> 00:17:01.000
 In his report, professor Marvin
 Shaffer made several key conclusions.
 
 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:05.500
 One, that there would be no significant
 benefit from jobs created by the project.
 
 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:10.416
 Two, that the resort\'s skier visit and tax
 revenue projections were largely inflated,
 
 00:17:10.416 --> 00:17:12.666
 and that the impacts the
 resorts would have would
 
 00:17:12.666 --> 00:17:14.458
 be markedly less than what they claim.
 
 00:17:14.458 --> 00:17:17.000
 Three, that Jumbo would only
 pull people and their dollars
 
 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:22.250
 from other tourist attractions in the
 region, and not provide any net gain.
 
 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:48.208
 ú (SPEAKING KUTENAI LANGUAGE)
 
 00:17:48.208 --> 00:17:51.666
 @ - From what I understand, theú Ktunaxa people have been here
 
 00:17:51.666 --> 00:17:54.583
 in this valley something like 9,000 years.
 
 00:17:54.583 --> 00:18:00.000
 The Ktunaxa people have been
 here for that arc of time.
 
 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.583
 And our footprint is very light here.
 
 00:18:03.583 --> 00:18:07.958
 That\'s 400 generations in
 this part of the world.
 
 00:18:09.458 --> 00:18:12.666
 And in the span of about
 seven generations, that\'s
 
 00:18:12.666 --> 00:18:16.125
 when the gold rush happened and
 settlers started to come here.
 
 00:18:16.125 --> 00:18:22.708
 Seven generations, the footprint that\'s
 on this land now, in that amount of time.
 
 00:18:23.791 --> 00:18:29.541
 I think that sacred spaces or
 spiritual spaces exist the world over.
 
 00:18:29.541 --> 00:18:39.333
 And I don\'t think that this idea of a
 sacred space is owned by the Ktunaxa people,
 
 00:18:39.333 --> 00:18:39.875
 right?
 
 00:18:39.875 --> 00:18:41.125
 This is a human thing.
 
 00:18:41.125 --> 00:18:46.750
 Qat\'muk is one of these types
 of places for Ktunaxa people.
 
 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:47.916
 The Ktunaxa people are trying to...
 
 00:18:47.916 --> 00:18:53.625
 I think express ourselves using the English
 language to the rest of the area around us
 
 00:18:53.625 --> 00:18:59.791
 -- to the proponents, to the province --
 trying to get them to understand that when
 
 00:18:59.791 --> 00:19:05.666
 we say \"a sacred place\", we\'re meaning it in
 the same way that you understand \"sacred.\"
 
 00:19:05.666 --> 00:19:08.125
 Or how do you understand \"sacred\"?
 
 00:19:08.125 --> 00:19:10.083
 What is \"sacred\" for you?
 
 00:19:41.291 --> 00:19:43.541
 - I\'ve been a skier for
 as long as I can remember.
 
 00:19:43.541 --> 00:19:47.666
 My parents used to set my brother and
 I loose on what felt like a gigantic
 
 00:19:47.666 --> 00:19:50.958
 wilderness -- Vail, Colorado.
 
 00:19:50.958 --> 00:19:54.708
 By the time I was 16, I was lyingú to my mom, escaping Manhattan,
 
 00:19:54.708 --> 00:19:57.041
 and sneaking back to Colorado for weekends.
 
 00:19:57.041 --> 00:19:59.333
 I\'d make chairlift friends
 with people twice my age.
 
 00:19:59.333 --> 00:20:03.500
 They\'d hold the rope as I ducked underneath
 the boundary, and I\'d barely keep up.
 
 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:06.708
 Just over the ridge from one of
 the largest interstates in the US,
 
 00:20:06.708 --> 00:20:10.250
 it was as wild as I could
 understand at the time.
 
 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:11.916
 Back in New York, the
 snow circled in my head.
 
 00:20:11.916 --> 00:20:14.500
 I\'d sit in class with POWDER
 Magazine behind my textbooks,
 
 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:19.458
 plotting and planning my next trip --
 always in the direction of deeper, wilder,
 
 00:20:19.458 --> 00:20:23.208
 pointing farther and
 farther away from that city.
 
 00:20:23.208 --> 00:20:26.333
 And I remember the first time I
 drove north to British Columbia.
 
 00:20:26.333 --> 00:20:30.541
 The snow seemed to pile a bit higher
 as soon as I crossed that line.
 
 00:20:30.541 --> 00:20:32.250
 The snowbanks seemed to double.
 
 00:20:32.250 --> 00:20:37.958
 And I\'ve been following that road ever
 since, until eventually it led me to Jumbo.
 
 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:44.291
 - November, 1995.
 
 00:21:44.291 --> 00:21:50.666
 Oberti is back with a hired avalanche
 expert and a top American ski guide in tow.
 
 00:21:50.666 --> 00:21:54.500
 In two days, he\'ll face a
 government panel with the power
 
 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:56.833
 to make or break his project.
 
 00:21:56.833 --> 00:21:59.750
 It\'s a three-hour drive
 to the Columbia Valley,
 
 00:21:59.750 --> 00:22:02.583
 into the interior of British Columbia.
 
 00:23:05.708 --> 00:23:12.666
 - The ski resort, or a lift experience,
 you\'re getting swooped into these places
 
 00:23:12.666 --> 00:23:15.625
 and you\'re at the top magically.
 
 00:23:15.625 --> 00:23:19.541
 You kind of miss out on
 this silent endeavor.
 
 00:23:19.541 --> 00:23:22.083
 It\'s not the same journey.
 
 00:23:31.166 --> 00:23:35.791
 My name is Leah Evans,ú and I\'m from Rossland, BC.
 
 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:41.208
 I\'ve grown up with Jumbo
 being close to my backyard.
 
 00:23:41.208 --> 00:23:45.458
 When I was around 14, my
 parents took me up to Jumbo.
 
 00:23:45.458 --> 00:23:50.958
 I just remember looking across
 this lake, and my dad telling me,
 
 00:23:50.958 --> 00:23:55.375
 \"You have to protect this place someday.\"
 
 00:23:56.416 --> 00:23:58.625
 Back-country skiing, it\'s this process.
 
 00:23:58.625 --> 00:24:01.708
 Going through this emotion of
 propelling yourself with your own power,
 
 00:24:01.708 --> 00:24:08.958
 and then you\'re constantly navigating this
 blank canvas to choose your own adventure.
 
 00:24:09.708 --> 00:24:16.833
 I think when you\'re at Jumbo and you\'re ski
 touring, when you tune into that silence,
 
 00:24:16.833 --> 00:24:19.583
 you become part of the landscape.
 
 00:24:22.666 --> 00:24:28.958
 And you hear the wind blow the trees,
 and you hear the cracks in the snow.
 
 00:24:31.708 --> 00:24:35.208
 It\'s a really good time
 to connect with yourself.
 
 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:48.500
 - Our land is pretty rich in the wilderness.
 
 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:52.375
 And on this program, our
 guest is going to show us just
 
 00:24:52.375 --> 00:24:57.583
 what can be had free at
 hand from the wilderness.
 
 00:27:12.416 --> 00:27:17.583
 - I think what we saw in Europe was the
 conquest of the mountains took place
 
 00:27:17.583 --> 00:27:23.458
 in this kind of golden age of engineering,
 of progress, of human expansion.
 
 00:27:23.458 --> 00:27:27.708
 @ Europeans have essentiallyú tamed all their great ranges.
 
 00:27:27.708 --> 00:27:31.583
 @ I mean they have built soú heavily and logged so heavily,
 
 00:27:31.583 --> 00:27:37.041
 both in the foothills and all the way to the
 summits of all their major mountain ranges.
 
 00:27:37.041 --> 00:27:40.416
 You look at the Alps, and you
 go to a place like Chamonix,
 
 00:27:40.416 --> 00:27:44.125
 and these extraordinary
 engineering feats have
 
 00:27:44.125 --> 00:27:47.791
 built the gondolas, and
 the funicular railways,
 
 00:27:47.791 --> 00:27:48.958
 and all the things they have there.
 
 00:27:48.958 --> 00:27:55.041
 But in the process they\'ve lost something
 very essential in those mountains, which
 
 00:27:55.041 --> 00:27:58.000
 is the wild nature of them.
 
 00:28:09.666 --> 00:28:12.625
 And so in many ways I think
 Europeans look to Canada,
 
 00:28:12.625 --> 00:28:20.666
 look to the West for that frontier, because
 they\'ve driven it out of their continent.
 
 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:58.000
 - The Ktunaxa people, we
 were not monument builders.
 
 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:02.500
 That was not a part of who we
 were in any way, shape or form.
 
 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:08.208
 I actually heard about a
 quote from Mr. Oberti himself.
 
 00:31:08.208 --> 00:31:10.833
 Apparently, he said something
 along the lines of that
 
 00:31:10.833 --> 00:31:14.375
 he feels like Jumbo will be his cathedral.
 
 00:31:14.375 --> 00:31:17.833
 It will be his masterpiece.
 
 00:31:17.833 --> 00:31:22.000
 So he\'s come here to build
 his monument to himself.
 
 00:31:23.041 --> 00:31:28.916
 Talk about being offensive to a
 worldview that for 400 generations
 
 00:31:28.916 --> 00:31:31.500
 has never even considered that.
 
 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:33.333
 It\'s hard to take.
 
 00:31:36.541 --> 00:31:41.083
 We\'ve never said that we own this territory.
 
 00:31:41.083 --> 00:31:47.583
 This little piece of the world was
 given to us to use and to look after.
 
 00:31:49.875 --> 00:31:52.375
 We are kind of compelled to share.
 
 00:31:52.375 --> 00:31:54.500
 You should go up there.
 
 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:55.333
 Take a look.
 
 00:31:55.333 --> 00:31:56.041
 See it.
 
 00:31:56.041 --> 00:31:59.166
 I\'m not telling people to
 stay out of there forever.
 
 00:31:59.166 --> 00:32:02.208
 But again, it comes back
 down to that understanding
 
 00:32:02.208 --> 00:32:05.041
 of \"sacred\" and \"sacred place.\"
 
 00:32:05.041 --> 00:32:06.875
 It is sacred.
 
 00:32:38.625 --> 00:32:42.833
 - We\'re the ones that have to
 prove our rights to the land.
 
 00:32:42.833 --> 00:32:44.791
 It\'s ridiculous, right?
 
 00:32:44.791 --> 00:32:47.166
 If we say that a space
 is sacred, or a place is
 
 00:32:47.166 --> 00:32:54.291
 scared within the boundaries of our
 territory, then just accept that.
 
 00:32:56.250 --> 00:32:59.083
 400 generations of
 existence here, and you\'re
 
 00:32:59.083 --> 00:33:03.166
 going to question me about
 the sacredness of a place?
 
 00:33:03.166 --> 00:33:10.291
 We should be able to say \"No\",
 and our \"No\" should be heard.
 
 00:34:01.041 --> 00:34:06.375
 (CROWD SINGING) Oh when the
 bears / come marching in...
 
 00:34:06.375 --> 00:34:11.541
 - It started to appear that
 the local environmentalists,
 
 00:34:11.541 --> 00:34:17.541
 they were part of a larger philosophy
 -- or an ecology, or a religion --
 
 00:34:17.541 --> 00:34:22.250
 that if you look deep
 into it, is anti-human.
 
 00:34:22.250 --> 00:34:26.541
 I couldn\'t understand why
 there was so much fear.
 
 00:34:26.541 --> 00:34:33.041
 They don\'t believe that humans should
 be allowed to change the environment.
 
 00:34:33.041 --> 00:34:36.000
 I believe that we better the
 environment when we change it.
 
 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:42.666
 I mean, look at what we do -- the
 beautiful creations that we create.
 
 00:34:42.666 --> 00:34:49.000
 But after a while, it became more
 important to win than to achieve the dream.
 
 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:56.416
 The opposition kind of inspired
 me to not lose at any cost.
 
 00:34:56.416 --> 00:35:02.333
 Because I don\'t want to lose to these
 people, is really what it comes down to.
 
 00:35:02.333 --> 00:35:03.833
 - Come September...
 
 00:35:03.833 --> 00:35:04.375
 - Yes.
 
 00:35:04.375 --> 00:35:07.916
 - If the opposition is so
 strong against this project,
 
 00:35:07.916 --> 00:35:10.291
 are you still going to forge ahead?
 
 00:35:22.833 --> 00:35:29.250
 - I see you\'re still up to your same
 stuff -- lots of propaganda, right?
 
 00:35:29.250 --> 00:35:30.875
 - I\'ve talked to all of your people.
 
 00:35:30.875 --> 00:35:32.625
 I\'ve looked at all your stuff.
 
 00:35:32.625 --> 00:35:37.958
 You and your crew, I could put what you
 know about Jumbo in a bloody thimble
 
 00:35:37.958 --> 00:35:39.083
 compared to what I know about it.
 
 00:35:39.083 --> 00:35:45.250
 I\'ve been going in there since
 1949, when I was a 15-year-old kid.
 
 00:35:45.791 --> 00:35:48.375
 ú - No, I want to talk to you.
 
 00:35:48.375 --> 00:35:50.458
 Don\'t back away from me, Oberto.
 
 00:35:51.375 --> 00:35:54.916
 I\'ve got my full life in there.
 
 00:35:54.916 --> 00:35:56.333
 Go away, then.
 
 00:36:08.375 --> 00:36:14.625
 @ My idea of life is make sureú my family\'s good and healthy,
 
 00:36:14.625 --> 00:36:16.541
 ú and walk on the right trail.
 
 00:36:16.541 --> 00:36:20.541
 And if my neighbor needs
 help, I\'m there to help.
 
 00:36:20.541 --> 00:36:22.500
 And that\'s the only way to look at it.
 
 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:25.791
 And I don\'t need to go to
 church to feel that way,
 
 00:36:25.791 --> 00:36:28.750
 because I can\'t get down
 on my knees anymore.
 
 00:36:31.291 --> 00:36:32.625
 I\'m kind of stuck.
 
 00:36:34.541 --> 00:36:35.416
 My church is up there.
 
 00:36:35.416 --> 00:36:41.250
 It\'s when you get to the top, you can\'t
 get any closer to God than there, can you?
 
 00:36:44.125 --> 00:36:49.250
 And we moved up here in
 1946, the year after the war.
 
 00:36:49.250 --> 00:36:51.208
 Trapped all my life since I was 12.
 
 00:36:51.208 --> 00:36:56.125
 And I don\'t think there\'s anything better
 in the world than hunting, trapping
 
 00:36:56.125 --> 00:36:56.791
 and fishing.
 
 00:36:56.791 --> 00:37:02.541
 I love it -- next to a good
 drink of scotch, that is.
 
 00:37:04.583 --> 00:37:06.708
 All they want is money.
 
 00:37:06.708 --> 00:37:08.125
 It\'s all dollars.
 
 00:37:08.125 --> 00:37:13.708
 They could care less about the
 bears, the moose, the elk, the goat.
 
 00:37:13.708 --> 00:37:14.666
 They don\'t really care.
 
 00:37:14.666 --> 00:37:20.833
 I\'m a hunter and a trapper, so
 it means that I take animals.
 
 00:37:20.833 --> 00:37:23.458
 If you really need it, take it.
 
 00:37:23.458 --> 00:37:28.333
 If you don\'t really need it, it\'s
 kind of nice to sit and watch it.
 
 00:37:31.375 --> 00:37:37.791
 Ever since I was 15, I\'ve hardly
 missed a year I haven\'t been in Jumbo.
 
 00:37:39.458 --> 00:37:41.958
 They tell us there\'s no
 grizzly bears in Jumbo.
 
 00:37:41.958 --> 00:37:47.250
 And I just sit and grin, because
 I\'ve seen as high as eight.
 
 00:37:47.250 --> 00:37:51.208
 First thing I say when I see a
 grizzly is, I\'m in his country.
 
 00:37:51.208 --> 00:37:51.958
 Respect him.
 
 00:37:51.958 --> 00:37:53.000
 He was here first.
 
 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:57.083
 And people have said, \"Well what do
 you do if you meet him on the trail?\"
 
 00:37:57.083 --> 00:37:58.666
 I said, \"Step off the trail.
 
 00:37:58.666 --> 00:38:00.666
 It\'s theirs.\"
 
 00:38:22.500 --> 00:38:24.458
 I\'ve seen as high as eight in there.
 
 00:38:24.458 --> 00:38:26.291
 I see bear in there all the time.
 
 00:38:26.291 --> 00:38:27.875
 There\'s lots of bear.
 
 00:38:27.875 --> 00:38:30.583
 What\'s going to happen to these bears?
 
 00:38:30.583 --> 00:38:31.416
 We\'ve got ski hills.
 
 00:38:31.416 --> 00:38:36.375
 We\'ve got golf courses coming
 out our ears in this valley.
 
 00:38:36.375 --> 00:38:38.375
 How many do we need?
 
 00:38:38.375 --> 00:38:39.208
 How many do we need?
 
 00:38:39.208 --> 00:38:40.458
 Do we need Europe all over again?
 
 00:38:40.458 --> 00:38:46.791
 The Europeans come here to see the
 pristine valleys, and the mountains,
 
 00:38:46.791 --> 00:38:48.250
 and stuff like that.
 
 00:38:48.250 --> 00:38:49.625
 We\'ve got everything.
 
 00:38:49.625 --> 00:38:51.541
 They haven\'t got it anymore.
 
 00:38:51.541 --> 00:38:54.458
 Theirs is gone.
 
 00:38:54.458 --> 00:38:55.333
 I\'m coming up for 81.
 
 00:38:55.333 --> 00:38:57.250
 I ain\'t going to be around
 here that much longer.
 
 00:38:57.250 --> 00:39:02.208
 And I want my kids, your
 kids, everybody\'s kids
 
 00:39:02.208 --> 00:39:05.500
 to experience some of the
 things I\'ve experienced.
 
 00:39:16.583 --> 00:39:19.666
 And the way it\'s going, they\'re
 never going to have this.
 
 00:39:19.666 --> 00:39:22.708
 I mean, you just keep building,
 and building, and building,
 
 00:39:22.708 --> 00:39:25.416
 and pretty soon, what have you got?
 
 00:39:25.416 --> 00:39:28.708
 And you get damn sore
 feet walking on concrete.
 
 00:39:37.750 --> 00:39:40.833
 - Oberto, Oberto, where
 will all the bears go?
 
 00:39:40.833 --> 00:39:45.833
 Oberto, Oberto, where will all the bears go?
 
 00:40:08.375 --> 00:40:13.666
 - When we\'re catching bears out here,
 it\'s almost a seemingly impossible task.
 
 00:40:13.666 --> 00:40:16.291
 A male grizzly bear has a home
 range of 2,000 square kilometers.
 
 00:40:16.291 --> 00:40:20.541
 A female of maybe two to 500 square
 kilometers over this huge mountain range.
 
 00:40:20.541 --> 00:40:25.875
 And we have to sucker or trick that bear
 into putting his foot in a one-foot circle.
 
 00:40:25.875 --> 00:40:32.458
 And so we use our secret sauce, which
 is year-old blood and road kill.
 
 00:40:32.458 --> 00:40:34.125
 We use deer and elk.
 
 00:40:34.125 --> 00:40:38.083
 And that scent lures bears in quite readily.
 
 00:40:39.250 --> 00:40:41.791
 - I\'m Michael Proctor, I\'m an
 independent research scientist.
 
 00:40:41.791 --> 00:40:45.416
 I\'ve been studying grizzly bears
 for 20 years in the Kootenays,
 
 00:40:45.416 --> 00:40:47.791
 particularly the
 Selkirk-Purcell Mountain Range.
 
 00:40:47.791 --> 00:40:51.875
 I\'m studying grizzly bear ecology,
 fragmentation, connectivity.
 
 00:40:53.791 --> 00:40:55.000
 And what that means is I\'m data-driven.
 
 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.958
 I try to be evidence-based --
 go out and collect the data,
 
 00:40:57.958 --> 00:41:01.125
 spend 10 years collecting
 the data to find the answer,
 
 00:41:01.125 --> 00:41:05.166
 and let that answer guide my
 perspectives and inferences.
 
 00:41:05.958 --> 00:41:10.750
 You put a radio collar on a couple of
 bears and you follow them for two years,
 
 00:41:10.750 --> 00:41:11.791
 you get a lot of information.
 
 00:41:11.791 --> 00:41:13.666
 You put radio collars on 60
 bears for a couple of years,
 
 00:41:13.666 --> 00:41:16.666
 and you really start to see in
 color what the bears are doing.
 
 00:41:16.666 --> 00:41:23.166
 So it\'s been an amazing look into
 the inner workings of a bear society.
 
 00:41:51.791 --> 00:41:54.833
 Grizzly bears have an uneasy
 relationship with humans.
 
 00:41:54.833 --> 00:41:57.125
 They\'re very sensitive to human disturbance.
 
 00:41:57.125 --> 00:42:00.875
 It\'s that sensitivity that makes
 them a good canary in the coal mine.
 
 00:42:00.875 --> 00:42:02.833
 They\'re easy to remove from the landscape.
 
 00:42:02.833 --> 00:42:04.333
 You can kill too many
 and you won\'t have them.
 
 00:42:04.333 --> 00:42:08.541
 So that sensitivity means they\'re
 almost one of the first species to go.
 
 00:42:08.541 --> 00:42:11.583
 So if they\'re here, like they
 are in our larger region,
 
 00:42:11.583 --> 00:42:13.791
 we\'ve got a pretty healthy region.
 
 00:42:34.500 --> 00:42:39.041
 In the old days they came into a
 valley, and they would pretty much
 
 00:42:39.041 --> 00:42:40.291
 eradicate the bears in the area.
 
 00:42:40.291 --> 00:42:41.500
 You can read books about the history.
 
 00:42:41.500 --> 00:42:44.375
 And they just came in and shot
 bears over and over and over again.
 
 00:42:44.375 --> 00:42:46.708
 And it was the way they did business.
 
 00:42:46.708 --> 00:42:49.041
 That was their culture at the time.
 
 00:42:53.416 --> 00:42:58.041
 In 1920, there was 35 small
 populations scattered across the US.
 
 00:42:58.041 --> 00:43:00.500
 By 1970, they were all gone.
 
 00:43:02.458 --> 00:43:06.500
 And then in the 1970s, there was a
 paradigm shift in Western culture.
 
 00:43:06.500 --> 00:43:11.083
 @ And we began appreciating,ú and understanding and wanting
 
 00:43:11.083 --> 00:43:13.583
 to save our large, dangerous carnivores.
 
 00:43:13.583 --> 00:43:17.083
 And we started managing to co-existence.
 
 00:43:42.291 --> 00:43:45.833
 - The eyes are really...
 down, and her mouth...
 
 00:43:45.833 --> 00:43:47.916
 incisors got a little tooth decay.
 
 00:43:47.916 --> 00:43:49.583
 - The DNA data has been particularly useful.
 
 00:43:49.583 --> 00:43:53.041
 We use it to count bears and to
 assess their population structure,
 
 00:43:53.041 --> 00:43:58.125
 and put together a large-scale picture
 over a million square kilometers --
 
 00:43:58.125 --> 00:44:02.083
 from Yellowstone National Park all
 the way up through to the Arctic.
 
 00:44:02.083 --> 00:44:08.833
 And the major highways and settlement
 corridors have fragmented the populations.
 
 00:44:08.833 --> 00:44:14.000
 Most populations of large
 mammals who get that small
 
 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:15.791
 don\'t necessarily last over time.
 
 00:44:15.791 --> 00:44:21.791
 So really, our only hope for the
 larger regional metapopulation
 
 00:44:21.791 --> 00:44:23.208
 is to sew it back together.
 
 00:44:23.208 --> 00:44:25.625
 Small populations,
 particularly of grizzly bears,
 
 00:44:25.625 --> 00:44:28.958
 are at risk because they only
 have so many adult females.
 
 00:44:28.958 --> 00:44:30.791
 If a population is going
 to grow from within,
 
 00:44:30.791 --> 00:44:33.541
 @ and it\'s lost some females
 through death, it needs
 
 00:44:33.541 --> 00:44:35.416
 to be replenished from
 an adjacent population.
 
 00:44:35.416 --> 00:44:42.458
 Thankfully, there\'s three or four
 really large populations in the mix.
 
 00:44:42.458 --> 00:44:43.291
 Yellowstone is one.
 
 00:44:43.291 --> 00:44:46.750
 The Northern Continental Divide
 ecosystem in the Rockies is another.
 
 00:44:46.750 --> 00:44:49.458
 And the other third big one,
 which is hugely important
 
 00:44:49.458 --> 00:44:54.541
 is what I saw called the
 Purcell-Selkirk Horseshoe.
 
 00:44:54.541 --> 00:44:55.958
 Jumbo Glacier\'s right in the middle of it.
 
 00:44:55.958 --> 00:45:00.583
 One of my problems with the
 resort is it has the potential
 
 00:45:00.583 --> 00:45:04.458
 to fragment that anchor
 core population that\'s
 
 00:45:04.458 --> 00:45:08.833
 going to hold the regional
 metapopulation together.
 
 00:45:13.375 --> 00:45:20.083
 Most of the fragmentation I\'ve studied has
 been caused by major highways, but mostly
 
 00:45:20.083 --> 00:45:21.375
 the associated human settlement.
 
 00:45:21.375 --> 00:45:26.291
 And the human settlement ends
 up being detrimental to bears
 
 00:45:26.291 --> 00:45:27.583
 through many attractants.
 
 00:45:27.583 --> 00:45:29.458
 Bears are attracted to human foods.
 
 00:45:29.458 --> 00:45:30.791
 They end up getting killed.
 
 00:45:30.791 --> 00:45:33.208
 And that\'s the fragmenting force.
 
 00:45:35.875 --> 00:45:40.666
 - It seems despite all of the information
 out there about leaving potential sources
 
 00:45:40.666 --> 00:45:45.291
 of food out for bears, some peopleú are not getting the message --
 
 00:45:45.291 --> 00:45:48.291
 and killing these animals with carelessness.
 
 00:45:48.291 --> 00:45:50.666
 Already this year,
 conservation officers have had
 
 00:45:50.666 --> 00:45:52.458
 to shoot two bears in this neighborhood.
 
 00:45:52.458 --> 00:45:55.875
 - This was the result -- an
 adult grizzly bear shot dead.
 
 00:45:55.875 --> 00:45:59.500
 - ...summer months, then bears
 wouldn\'t be drawn into their yards.
 
 00:45:59.500 --> 00:46:05.750
 - Bears are easily attracted to human food
 sources, and they tend to get lured in
 
 00:46:05.750 --> 00:46:06.791
 and they end up getting killed.
 
 00:46:06.791 --> 00:46:08.958
 And you just have this population
 sink around centers of mortality.
 
 00:46:08.958 --> 00:46:15.666
 We found that to be the case in every
 human-settled valley in the whole region.
 
 00:46:15.666 --> 00:46:18.041
 There are about five
 smaller populations that
 
 00:46:18.041 --> 00:46:20.750
 will not persist over the
 long haul without being
 
 00:46:20.750 --> 00:46:23.458
 connected to that large anchor population.
 
 00:46:23.458 --> 00:46:25.875
 It\'s almost as simple as that.
 
 00:46:30.750 --> 00:46:33.875
 There\'s like 15 organizations
 working to solve this problem.
 
 00:46:33.875 --> 00:46:37.375
 And it doesn\'t make sense
 societally to keep creating
 
 00:46:37.375 --> 00:46:41.000
 the problem for one more ski resort.
 
 00:46:43.041 --> 00:47:03.750
 (BEAR SNORING)
 
 00:47:03.750 --> 00:47:06.500
 - When you consider the
 Jumbo Valley in the dead
 
 00:47:06.500 --> 00:47:15.833
 of winter, when the grizzly bears are in
 the physical realm, they\'ve gone to sleep.
 
 00:47:15.833 --> 00:47:18.083
 In the spiritual realm,
 they\'re active, and moving,
 
 00:47:18.083 --> 00:47:21.916
 and going to that Jumbo Valley
 area -- the Qat\'muk area --
 
 00:47:21.916 --> 00:47:29.583
 to gather all the Clauxa spirits,
 all the grizzly bear spirits.
 
 00:47:29.583 --> 00:47:35.833
 We\'re talking about when the nights are
 the longest and the days are the shortest.
 
 00:47:35.833 --> 00:47:37.708
 That place, they chose
 that place because that\'s
 
 00:47:37.708 --> 00:47:46.625
 a place that human beings aren\'t going to
 be in that place at that time of the year.
 
 00:47:46.625 --> 00:47:52.958
 Qat\'muk -- Jumbo -- is a sacred place for
 the Ktunaxa people because we believe that
 
 00:47:52.958 --> 00:47:57.000
 this is where the grizzly
 bear spirit is born,
 
 00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:00.250
 and where the grizzly
 bear spirit goes to die.
 
 00:48:00.250 --> 00:48:05.291
 And in the meantime, it\'s where the
 grizzly bear spirit goes to dance.
 
 00:48:05.291 --> 00:48:10.083
 When we\'re dancing, the
 grizzly bear spirit is dancing.
 
 00:48:12.416 --> 00:48:16.416
 And we\'re able to communicate.
 
 00:48:16.416 --> 00:48:24.583
 And they are hearing our
 prayers, our asks, our songs.
 
 00:48:26.541 --> 00:48:30.958
 And our asks are answered.
 
 00:48:30.958 --> 00:48:34.416
 They dance at the same time that we dance.
 
 00:49:00.583 --> 00:49:07.166
 - We all carry our beliefs and
 values up to the mountain with us.
 
 00:49:07.166 --> 00:49:10.958
 We project our cultures on it.
 
 00:49:10.958 --> 00:49:15.375
 Beneath the voices, the
 mountain is just a mountain.
 
 00:49:18.416 --> 00:49:23.416
 How do we know what to do with a land that
 we share when we look at the mountain,
 
 00:49:23.416 --> 00:49:25.666
 but don\'t see the same mountain?
 
 00:49:50.333 --> 00:49:54.500
 (INTERPOSING VOICES ECHOING)
 
 00:50:15.041 --> 00:50:17.000
 - It\'s not a matter of ski
 resorts or no ski resorts.
 
 00:50:17.000 --> 00:50:22.375
 It\'s a matter of where and how, for
 whose benefit, and at what cost?
 
 00:50:24.416 --> 00:50:27.083
 We\'ve already paved over so much
 of the wildlife in this world.
 
 00:50:27.083 --> 00:50:32.291
 And is one more resort worth the effect it
 will have on one of the last major grizzly
 
 00:50:32.291 --> 00:50:33.458
 bear populations?
 
 00:50:35.500 --> 00:50:37.833
 And while we may not all
 share the Ktunaxa\'s culture,
 
 00:50:37.833 --> 00:50:39.750
 are we willing to take
 seriously their history
 
 00:50:39.750 --> 00:50:44.041
 and respect their rights to speak
 for the land that is their home?
 
 00:50:49.208 --> 00:50:50.000
 And what is wild?
 
 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:53.625
 Is it the tree house in our
 backyard when we\'re little?
 
 00:50:53.625 --> 00:50:58.125
 Or can it only be found in grand
 expanses many miles from town?
 
 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:08.916
 And when I\'m older -- when we\'re all older
 -- what type of that wild will be left?
 
 00:51:12.791 --> 00:51:17.416
 - Each year, both sides grow more
 convinced that what they\'re doing
 
 00:51:17.416 --> 00:51:19.041
 is absolutely right.
 
 00:51:19.041 --> 00:51:22.375
 Will you ever give up on this project?
 
 00:51:33.916 --> 00:51:37.500
 - We all believe in dreams,
 but when does a dream die?
 
 00:51:37.500 --> 00:51:42.416
 We\'re compelled to people who dream
 big, who reach for the impossible.
 
 00:51:45.083 --> 00:51:47.541
 But at what point do they consume us?
 
 00:51:59.291 --> 00:52:06.458
 - I mean, Jumbo is so emblematic of the
 larger questions facing our society.
 
 00:52:06.458 --> 00:52:12.750
 And we boil it down into all these issues
 we talk about -- the length of the road,
 
 00:52:12.750 --> 00:52:14.666
 and the size of the
 grizzly population and all.
 
 00:52:14.666 --> 00:52:19.791
 And it leaves everyone who\'s not deeply
 immersed wondering what the true story is.
 
 00:52:19.791 --> 00:52:26.666
 And the true story is that there\'s something
 intangible there -- this sense of wildness,
 
 00:52:26.666 --> 00:52:29.166
 @ this last remaining space
 that don\'t have roads.
 
 00:52:29.166 --> 00:52:35.541
 And however you try to prove that and
 articulate it, we still know it inside.
 
 00:52:41.250 --> 00:52:45.208
 - The idea of the wild is
 when you can actually walk
 
 00:52:45.208 --> 00:52:48.208
 through a landscape that\'s without roads.
 
 00:52:49.791 --> 00:52:55.750
 And the way the sky\'s not scraped
 by airplanes, but by raptors.
 
 00:52:55.750 --> 00:53:05.708
 A place where the trails are delineated by
 the footsteps of wildlife, a place where
 
 00:53:05.708 --> 00:53:08.750
 wolf and grizzly bear still exist.
 
 00:53:12.708 --> 00:53:20.666
 The wild is a place where you can
 be raw before the forces of nature.
 
 00:53:24.125 --> 00:53:31.333
 There is just that sense that we all know
 when we\'re in the presence of the wild.
 
 00:53:31.333 --> 00:53:33.333
 It\'s a feeling that\'s exhilarating.
 
 00:53:33.333 --> 00:53:36.166
 It\'s deeply satisfying.
 
 00:53:36.166 --> 00:53:36.958
 It can be ominous.
 
 00:53:36.958 --> 00:53:42.833
 It basically is a place that
 takes you out of the mundane
 
 00:53:42.833 --> 00:53:48.625
 and allows you to contemplate the mystic.
 
 00:53:51.208 --> 00:53:56.291
 - I just think it\'s incumbent on
 us as a generation, as a society,
 
 00:53:56.291 --> 00:54:02.541
 to realize that we need
 to pass those things down.
 
 00:54:02.541 --> 00:54:04.041
 We can\'t...
 
 00:54:04.041 --> 00:54:04.750
 I don\'t know.
 
 00:54:04.750 --> 00:54:09.291
 We can\'t be the ones like the
 Lorax that mows down the last tree.
 
 00:54:09.291 --> 00:54:11.791
 We\'ve got to leave something, you know?
 
 00:54:15.916 --> 00:54:19.791
 - We need to be stewards
 of what we\'ve been given.
 
 00:54:19.791 --> 00:54:23.666
 We need to think about our
 children and our grandchildren.
 
 00:54:23.666 --> 00:54:30.541
 We have to have that kind of a memory --
 that kind of a memory where we\'re thinking
 
 00:54:30.541 --> 00:54:33.666
 about those still to come.
 
 00:54:34.875 --> 00:54:40.166
 @ - At that first time that I
 stood and realized, incidentally,
 
 00:54:40.166 --> 00:54:45.333
 that I was looking down into the Jumbo
 Valley was a day where we could feel how
 
 00:54:45.333 --> 00:54:51.250
 @ old the mountains are -- howúmany seasons have come and gone,
 
 00:54:51.250 --> 00:55:01.000
 and how the decisions that we make about
 that place will deeply impact how we value
 
 00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:03.416
 all other places.
 
 00:55:03.416 --> 00:55:06.125
 - I think what we\'re seeing
 in Canada\'s west right now
 
 00:55:06.125 --> 00:55:07.875
 is that we\'ve run out of the frontier.
 
 00:55:07.875 --> 00:55:11.333
 This is the end of it, and
 this is where it stops.
 
 00:55:11.333 --> 00:55:14.791
 And now this is where we have to
 make those difficult decisions about,
 
 00:55:14.791 --> 00:55:22.416
 do we squeeze those last drops of resources,
 of opportunity, of commercial interests
 
 00:55:22.416 --> 00:55:24.833
 out of that remaining frontier
 and leave ourselves with nothing?
 
 00:55:24.833 --> 00:55:31.416
 Or do we protect that frontier because it\'s
 part of this natural world we\'ve inherited,
 
 00:55:31.416 --> 00:55:38.083
 and we owe it to more than just
 ourselves to protect that frontier?
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 60 minutes
Date: 2016
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 7 - 9, College, Adults
		Color/BW: 
		 
	
Closed Captioning: Available
Interactive Transcript: Available
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