29 September 2006
Bear Killed on Tracks
Field British Columbia - One black bear was killed and
another reported struck by a train in the national parks on Monday (25 Sep 2006).
Janet Klock, spokesperson for the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay Field Unit, confirmed that just after noon a bear was reported hit near
Field, B.C. Wardens found the bear's body on Tuesday (26 Sep 2006).
At about 6 p.m. on Monday, another bear was reported struck near Baker Creek.
"It came out after three or four rail cars passed by, then ran away. Wardens checked, but didn't find an animal in the area.
"As of yesterday (Tuesday)," Klock said, "there were no reports of grain in the immediate area."
Ed Greenberg, media spokesperson for CP Rail, also confirmed the death of one bear. Both incidents were reported by train crews, he said.
The reports are made to CPR management and Transport Canada anywhere incidents happen, he said, but in the case of the mountain parks,
specific voluntary reports are also made to Parks Canada.
Greenberg said there have now been three bear deaths in the parks involving trains this year, and six other bear deaths from other
sources. Wardens investigate all incidents, he said, as do CPR staff, he said.
One of the dangers for wildlife is that railway tracks provide easy travel, he noted.
"Unfortunately," said Greenberg, "as long as there's increased human activity and rapid development, wildlife will use
our tracks as a transportation corridor, similar to hiking trails and other pathways.
"We recognize our role as a stakeholder in wildlife management with Parks Canada and we are working with Parks to address these
important matters."
Meanwhile, a grain spill on the CPR tracks at the Gap Lake Siding east of Canmore last week has Defenders of Wildlife Canada concerned
with the national railway's commitment to cleaning up the problem.
Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders, said a grain spill had been sitting in the middle of the tracks at the siding for more than
a week, contrary to a CPR commitment to use a vacuum truck to sweep tracks clear of bear-attracting grain.
"It's been there for a week (19-25 Sep 2006)," he said Wednesday (27 Sep 2006). "With 30 trains
a day, that's 200 trains have passed that spill. It's not clear whether it's been reported, and the lid of the Gap Lake grain bin has
been left open again."
The grain bin was constructed to hold grain swept from the tracks by the CPR vacuum unit. However, Pissot said the bin is only effective
if the door is kept closed so as to not attract bears.
The present spill "is less than a kilometre away from the dumpster where they store the grain. To their credit, CP Rail did put in
a dumpster with a lid - the question is, are staff willing to close the lid? Bears have been spotted there and have been habituated to
the place."
Pissot said that the problem is that, while CPR has committed to keeping the tracks clear of grain, "they're totally ambiguous on
everything regarding grain. If you ask about the vacuum truck, they say it's out all the time. Ask about its effectiveness, they say it
picks up a lot of grain. Ask about timing, they say they pick up grain as soon as they can.
"But they won't submit to measurement of grain swept or specify on their performance at all. We tried to get baseline information.
We've asked if they've ever measured grain before and after a vacuum truck has passed over it, but..."
At press time, Greenberg couldn't comment on the length of time grain may have been in the Gap Lake area, but he said a vacuum truck was
in the area on Monday to clear up any spills. "Any time we get a report of product on the tracks, we get out there and clear
it."
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