Willmore Wilderness Foundation Update

Willmore Wilderness Foundation

With Respect to the Alberta Outdoors Coalition, our meeting with the Ministers went very well. It was upbeat and we received support from Hon. Ted Morton and Hon. Hector Goudreau. Minister Ray Danyluk came in just prior to the meeting to give us words of encouragement and direction. And we did get Premier Stelmach to drop in for a few minutes, where we were able to give him a quick intro and why we were there. We were well received by the Premier. There were nine groups represented and it was pointed out to the Ministers the deficiencies in the process, especially with the creation of new parks, without any meaningful consultation with stakeholders. The Alberta Outdoors Coalition intends to ask for a date for a further meeting with these two government Ministers.

Our Executive Director, Brian Bildson will be summarizing this meeting in his column in the Alberta Outdoorsman magazine. During our debriefing after the meeting with the Ministers, we agreed to create a catalogue of issues, i.e.: Rock Lake Provincial Park, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Caribou Mountain, recreation corridors, Willmore/Kakwa Inter-provincial Park and the necessity of effective and meaningful consultation.

The Grande Prairie Rendezvous and the Grande Cache Gala were very successful. We are gearing up for the 4th Willmore Wilderness Annual Rendezvous. Tickets are going quite well, however we encourage you to phone, to make sure you get a table in advance. Information is as follows:

4th Willmore Wilderness Annual Rendezvous - Edmonton

April 28, 2007

The 4th Willmore Wilderness Annual Rendezvous will be held at the Coast Terrace Inn in Edmonton on April 28, 2007. The event will be held in the Ball Room. Dinner tickets are $60.00 per person. Cocktails will be at 5 pm and dinner at 6:30 pm. This event will feature a banquet, live & silent auctions, displays, Willmore Wilderness PowerPoint presentations and more. The Foundation has made a commitment to highlight mountain art, vacation packages and products at all future conventions. For more information or to obtain tickets please call toll free at 1-866-WILMORE (1 780 866-945-6673).

This year promises to be a great event. We are going to honour Ishbel (Hargreaves) Cochrane, daughter of Roy Hargreaves. Roy personally accompanied Chadwick when he bagged the world record stone sheep back in 1935. Ishbel was a trail cook for Outdoor Writer, Jack O’Connor who went with her father on a bighorn sheep hunt in Willmore Wilderness Park in 1943. Our auction this year has many unique items including a Diamond Bow, complete with sights, quiver and case, a Jack Brewster Print with a record book ram and more.

Thanks again for your support.

Bazil Leonard, President
Willmore Wilderness Foundation
www.WillmoreWilderness.com