AWA Tuesday Talk: Beautiful Bighorn - Can we afford to leave it unprotected?

<div class="flexinode-body flexinode-1"><div class="flexinode-textarea-1"><div class="form-item"> <label>Description: </label> <em>With Vivian Pharis</em><p>The Bighorn&#39;s 5,000 km² contains some of the most scenic splendour in Alberta, equal or greater than that in worldrenowned Banff and Jasper Parks. Although the area had a close brush with protection in the 1980s, it remains unprotected and vulnerable to serious human impact.</p><p>Vivian will lead us on a visual and verbal journey through some of the most remote parts of the Bighorn. She will offer her thoughts on why, despite 30 years of public pressure, our government will not move to protect this splendid area. She will also discuss why Albertans cannot afford to leave the Bighorn without protection and what we can do to save this magnificent wilderness.</p><p><em>Vivian Pharis is a biologist, ex-high school teacher, and long-time conservationist. More recently, she became a grower of wine grapes in New Zealand. Vivian has worked voluntarily with AWA for more than 35 years, serving as president for seven years and on its Board of Directors for many more. With her husband, Dick, and often with friends, Labrador dogs (usually one at a time), and pack and saddle horses, she has explored Alberta&#39;s Eastern Slopes for at least 35 years, often in the Bighorn. Vivian led AWA&#39;s 10 years of voluntary cleanup of backcountry trails and campsites in the Bighorn and has maintained the historic Bighorn Trail for the last 15 years.</em></p><p><strong>Location:</strong> AWA Hillhurst Room, 455 12th St. NW<br /><strong>Time:</strong> 7:00 p.m.<br /><strong>Cost:</strong> $5 per person; $1 for children</p><p>Please call (403) 283-2025 for reservations</p><p><a href="http://www.AlbertaWilderness.ca">Alberta Wilderness Association</a><br />Box 6398, Station D, Calgary, AB T2P 2E1<br />Phone: (403) 283-2025 Fax: (403) 270-2743<br />Toll free: 1-866-313-0713<br />Email: <span class="spamspan"><span class="u">awa</span> [at] <span class="d">shaw [dot] ca</span></span><br />Website: AlbertaWilderness.ca</p> </div> </div></div>