MEDIA RELEASE www.banffcentre.ca

May 24, 2001

Experts Debate Human Impacts in Mountain Environments
Human Use Management in Mountain Areas Conference
June 10 to 14, 2001, The Banff Centre

Mountain environments are among the most fragile on earth. They are also among the most visited. From June 10 to 14, researchers, park managers and mountain enthusiasts will gather in Banff, Alberta to consider the fragility and the popularity of mountain environments at the Human Use Management in Mountain Areas (HUMMA) Conference. The conference will examine how to measure and mitigate human impacts on mountain environments. Those impacts may as simple as a footprint or as complex as the cumulative effects of human presence in a wildlife corridor.

All over the world, mountain environments draw visitors and residents in ever-increasing numbers. In some mountain regions of the United States, population growth over the past decade was three times the national average, with similar trends evident in some Canadian mountain communities. Every year over four million people visit Canada’s Banff National Park and in the United States more than ten million visit the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and environs. Internationally, mountain areas face cultural and environmental impacts as sports-oriented mountain tourism grows in popularity.

Conference speaker Dr. Robert Manning says HUMMA will address urgent concerns facing mountain parks and environments. "How many visitors can ultimately be accommodated in our national parks and related areas before the integrity of natural and cultural resources is threatened, and the quality of the visitor experience is degraded? The HUMMA conference will be an important opportunity to explore these and related issues."

The HUMMA conference is organized by the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture (CMC) and sponsored by Parks Canada with planning assistance from the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas. Speakers from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia will focus on four primary themes: managing sustainable recreation and tourism activities, minimizing ecological impacts, minimizing cultural impacts, and optimizing sustainable access to mountain environments.

HUMMA is the first of five annual Mountain Communities Conferences to be organized by the CMC. The CMC’s Associate Director, Leslie Taylor, says the conferences are at the core of the CMC mandate. "Through the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festivals we celebrate mountain experiences and visions, through these conferences we provide a way for people to exchange ideas about some of the very real issues confronting mountain communities today."

HUMMA conference speakers include:

Dr Bob Aitken (Scotland) — research consultant and writer who has worked for nearly 20 years on the management of mountain trails in the U.K., Europe, North America and Australasia. — research consultant and writer who has worked for nearly 20 years on the management of mountain trails in the U.K., Europe, North America and Australasia.

Dr. Edwin Bernbaum (USA) — Director of the Sacred Mountains program at The Mountain Institute and a Research Associate at the University of California at Berkeley. — Director of the Sacred Mountains program at The Mountain Institute and a Research Associate at the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Ralf Buckley (Australia) — Professor and Director of the International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University and Director of Nature and Adventure Tourism for the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, Australia. — Professor and Director of the International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University and Director of Nature and Adventure Tourism for the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, Australia.

Sam Davidson (USA) — Senior Policy Analyst, the Access Fund – a U.S. organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open, and conserving the climbing environment. — Senior Policy Analyst, the Access Fund – a U.S. organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open, and conserving the climbing environment.

Tom Elliot (Canada) — Parks Canada, oversees wilderness management for the Kluane and Vuntut National Parks, and the Chilkoot, SS Klondike and Dawson City National Historic Sites. — Parks Canada, oversees wilderness management for the Kluane and Vuntut National Parks, and the Chilkoot, SS Klondike and Dawson City National Historic Sites.

Dr. Alison Gill (Canada) — Professor and Chair, Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University, where she also holds a joint appointment in the School of Resource and Environmental Management. — Professor and Chair, Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University, where she also holds a joint appointment in the School of Resource and Environmental Management.

Lyle Laverty (USA) — Associate Deputy Chief of the U.S. Forest Service responsible for the National Fire Plan, and formerly Regional Forester of the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service. — Associate Deputy Chief of the U.S. Forest Service responsible for the National Fire Plan, and formerly Regional Forester of the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service.

Pam Lichtman (USA) — Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and a Research Associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative based in Jackson, Wyoming — Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and a Research Associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative based in Jackson, Wyoming

Dr. Kenneth MacDonald (USA) — Department of Geography at the University of Iowa. Dr. MacDonald has worked in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan for 15 years and is writing a book on the relationship between local labour, development, and the adventure tourism industry. — Department of Geography at the University of Iowa. Dr. MacDonald has worked in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan for 15 years and is writing a book on the relationship between local labour, development, and the adventure tourism industry.

Dr. Edward W. (Ted) Manning (Canada) —Director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Management for Consulting and Audit Canada, Associate Director of the Centre for a Sustainable Future for the Foundation for International Training, and heads the International Task Force on Indicators for Sustainable Tourism Development for the World Tourism Organization. —Director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Management for Consulting and Audit Canada, Associate Director of the Centre for a Sustainable Future for the Foundation for International Training, and heads the International Task Force on Indicators for Sustainable Tourism Development for the World Tourism Organization.

Dr. Robert Manning (USA) — Professor at the School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. Dr. Manning has worked for the U.S. National Park Service to develop and apply systems for measuring the carrying capacity of protected areas. — Professor at the School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. Dr. Manning has worked for the U.S. National Park Service to develop and apply systems for measuring the carrying capacity of protected areas.

Jeff Marion (USA) — leads the Virginia Tech University Cooperative Park Studies Unit in Blacksburg, Virginia, a field station of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey. He has also conducted international research on ecotourism impacts to protected areas, including studies and management consultations in Canada, Peru, Belize, Costa Rica, and Chile. — leads the Virginia Tech University Cooperative Park Studies Unit in Blacksburg, Virginia, a field station of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey. He has also conducted international research on ecotourism impacts to protected areas, including studies and management consultations in Canada, Peru, Belize, Costa Rica, and Chile.

Dr. David Mattson (USA) — Research Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey. Dr Mattson has studied grizzly bears for the last 21 years, focusing on the conservation and behavioural ecology of bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. — Research Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey. Dr Mattson has studied grizzly bears for the last 21 years, focusing on the conservation and behavioural ecology of bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

Richard Paradis (USA) — Director of the University of Vermont Natural Areas Center which was established to pursue education, research, and outreach activities concerning the protection, management and restoration of natural areas and other conservation lands. — Director of the University of Vermont Natural Areas Center which was established to pursue education, research, and outreach activities concerning the protection, management and restoration of natural areas and other conservation lands.

Chris Rose (Australia) —Manager of the Alpine District with Parks Victoria, Australia and has been involved in park management in Australia for close to 20 years. —Manager of the Alpine District with Parks Victoria, Australia and has been involved in park management in Australia for close to 20 years.

Carolyn Wild (Canada) —President and owner of WILD International, a tourism consulting company with offices in Ottawa, Canada, and Adelaide, Australia. (Canada) —President and owner of WILD International, a tourism consulting company with offices in Ottawa, Canada, and Adelaide, Australia.

Neil F. Woodworth (USA) —Deputy Executive Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and Counsel to ADK and the NY-NJ Trail Conference, representing the interests of over 100,000 hikers and paddlers in New York State. —Deputy Executive Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and Counsel to ADK and the NY-NJ Trail Conference, representing the interests of over 100,000 hikers and paddlers in New York State.

Dave Zehrer (USA) — President, Triple Crown of Running/Pikes Peak Marathon Board of Directors in Colorado, an event which draws thousands of participants into one of the most heavily used areas of the Colorado Rockies. — President, Triple Crown of Running/Pikes Peak Marathon Board of Directors in Colorado, an event which draws thousands of participants into one of the most heavily used areas of the Colorado Rockies.

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