Our Place: Changing the Nature of Alberta

by Kevin Van Tighem

Overview

Naturalist, hunter, conservation activist and recovering bureaucrat Kevin Van Tighem explores the landscapes and wildlife of one of Canada's most diverse and beautiful provinces and the ways in which Albertans have often failed — and sometimes succeeded — at the challenge of sustaining their home place.

Previously published writings are mixed with current reflections on the streams, forests, grasslands and mountains of a Canadian province whose ambivalence about the nature of place, the responsibilities of citizens and the temptations of resource-based prosperity continues to mar the landscape and raise questions about the future. Challenging, eye-opening, instructive and soul-searching, this collection nonetheless delivers an overriding message of hope and possibilities. Alberta is our place now; we can still sustain the best of it, and bring out the best in ourselves, if we choose to know it well and care for it better.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771602037
Publisher:	Heritage Group Distribution
Publication date:	05/16/2017
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kevin Van Tighem, a former superintendent of Banff National Park, has written more than 200 articles, stories, and essays on conservation and wildlife which have garnered him many awards, including Western Magazine Awards, Outdoor Writers of Canada book and magazine awards, and the Journey Award for Fiction. He is the author of Bears Without Fear, The Homeward Wolf, Heart Waters: Sources of the Bow River, Our Place: Changing the Nature of Alberta, and Wild Roses Are Worth It: Reimagining the Alberta Advantage. He lives with his wife, Gail, in Canmore, Alberta.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments i

Introduction iii

The Back Trail 1

From Wild to Weeds (1996) 2

What Happened to the Forests? (2015) 19

Our Best Stories (2015) 22

Better Conversations 27

We Need to Talk. Differently. (2015) 28

Save the Beetles? (2014) 35

It's All about Us (1994) 38

Conservation without Party Colours (2014) 47

By the Water 65

Olden Days Creek (1991) 66

Clogged Arteries (1991) 76

All Dried Out (2015) 93

A Matter of Timing (2014) 98

The Hunt 103

Hunting with the Kids (1999) 104

Witnesses in the Wild (1993) 116

Environmental Education (1995) 119

The End of the Hunt? (2006) 126

In the Woods 135

Forgotten Rainbows (1987) 136

The Smell of Jobs (1988) 153

The Flower of Fishes (1988) 162

Grey Ghosts (1991) 173

Alberta's Wolf Failures (2015) 185

Santa's Pickup (2014) 192

Our Next Forests (2016) 196

Grass and Sky 201

Whoopers (1988) 202

Quality (1994) 211

Save the Gopher! (1996) 216

Keeping It Together (2015) 224

A Prairie Proposal (2016) 229

Perhaps Protected 233

Have Our National Parks Failed Us? (1986) 234

Through a Grizzly's Eyes (1991) 242

Unicorns in the Whaleback (1995) 256

Ghost Forests (1999) 260

Silence in the Park (2013) 271

Renewing Our Vows (2015) 286

Choices and Values 291

Violence at Mountain Park (1997) 293

Licence to Abuse (1999) 296

Thanks for the Food (2014) 299

The Sacred (2015) 305

Caring People 309

Toad's Legacy (1998) 310

Hope on the Range (1999) 325

Man for the Mountains (2000) 336

Truly Good People (1999) 354

Conservation Officers (2012) 359

Coming Home 365

The Once and Future Wild (1998) 366

Recognition (1997) 379

Selected References 397

Editorial Reviews

10/02/2017
In this rich essay collection, Van Tighem, a former superintendent of Banff National Park whose writing on conservation and wildlife (Bears Without Fear, etc.) has won the Journey Prize for Fiction, tackles difficult questions of how to preserve Alberta’s wild landscapes and environment in the face of demand for its abundant natural resources, particularly oil. The book’s subtitle references the ecological changes Alberta’s wilderness has undergone since European settlers arrived, as well as the changing nature of residents’ views on conservation. Van Tighem wants Albertans to preserve and respect their province’s nature, protecting it from agriculture and resource extraction. The essays span three decades and are organized into 10 sections, each with a theme such as “Grass and Sky” and “Caring People.” Van Tighem’s prose is poetic: “June mornings were filled with birdsong and the hum of fecund life—living music; an organic symphony of place and being”). It’s a joy to read, and whether Van Tighem is discussing forest management, the role of humans as stewards of the land, or Alberta’s policies towards predator control, he is always eloquent and convincing. (May)

Publishers Weekly