8 March 2010

Large Grain Spill Attracts Wildlife

A large amount of grain was spilled onto the tracks in Banff National
Park by a CP Rail hopper car.

Banff Alberta - A large amount of grain was spilled Friday by a CPR train around 500 metres east of the Banff train station, worrying conservationists about the safety of wildlife.
 
"The pile has already attracted wildlife to the site," said WildCanada Conservation Alliance's Jim Pissot.
 
Considering the grizzly bear status report that was released by the Alberta government on 3 Mar 2010, people should do everything they can to keep grizzly bears alive, Pissot said.
 
The report estimates that only 359 mature breeding grizzly bears are found on provincial lands and within Waterton Lakes national park and portions of Banff and Jasper National Park.
 
The low amount has some conservationists calling for the grizzly to be listed as endangered.
 
Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee states that if a population has fewer than 1,000 mature adults, it should be listed as threatened. And if there are under 250 mature adults, it should be listed as endangered.
 
Bears will soon be coming out of their dens, and one black bear has already been seen wandering outside of its den, according to Alberta Parks officials. Grain spills attract all species of animals that eat grain, including grizzly bears, black bears, elk, deer, and birds of all kinds, Pissot said.
 
"It appears this car has a significant problem with one of the hopper gates," Pissot said. "Spillage was evident more than a kilometre from the major spill."
 
Pissot informed Ken Roberge at CPR about the spill, and Roberge replied that it would be cleaned up by a railway vacuum car on Monday.
 
"About five kilometres east of the spill there was still enough grain to attract and reward wildlife in the area," Pissot said. "In Canmore, a few bits of grain were visible as well."
 
Pissot has also been trying to get a dumpster to receive spilled grain from vacuum trucks put at the siding by Gap Lake for this summer. CPR has placed a dumpster for such purposes there for several years, he said.
 
But in May of 2006, the vacuum truck simply dumped large piles of grain beside the tracks. The piles quickly attracted at least a dozen black bears that began feasting on the piles of food. Although it was removed, several bears have been killed by trains near that location, including female grizzly bear 71 and her cub, who were killed by trains last year. Her other cub was captured and relocated to Fort St. John, where he was subsequently killed. Pissot said bears remember where the grain was.
 
"When they closed the dump in Yellowstone National Park," Pissot said. "Bears were still coming to the site more than a decade later, to take a look."
 
Pissot thanked the railway for their attempts at cleaning up grain, "But we repeat over and over what should be done. They should document every encounter with a bear they see on the railway and record what happens when trains intercept bears, so that we can have a better idea of what happens when bears and trains meet on the tracks."
 
Between September of 2000 and 6 Jun 2009, nine female and five male grizzly bears in the Bow Valley and Banff National Park have been killed by trains or were fatally injured.
 
Pam Doyle