In 2018, the sound of wild bison stampeding across a remote valley in Banff National Park became possible for the first time in over a century. In the process, Canada’s first national park’s biodiversity was enhanced and reconciliation was advanced through the landmark Buffalo Treaty – key to returning wild bison to the Rocky Mountains. Heralded as a global success story, few deserve more credit for helping bison belong in Banff than Marie-Eve Marchand, a systems-focused social innovator with a drive for not only protecting, but revitalizing nature.
Born in rural Quebec and now living in Banff, Alberta, Marie-Eve has always approached conservation differently. And so rare are true conservation success stories, we rarely get to pull back the curtain and understand, from beginning to end, the anatomy of a campaign. This is the story of Bison Belong and what happens when one person is committed to uniting different perspectives to create an idea that will endure.
What do you think?
- What lessons can we learn – should we learn – from Marie-Eve’s journey?
- Do we need more bison belongs? Should bison be returned to other parts of their former range?
- Should we be re-introducing extirpated wildlife from ecosystems like Mount Robson Provincial Park? Or should the Bison Belong initiative be a one-off, impossible or improper to reproduce?
- With fewer and fewer resources, are we better off saving what we have, rather than bringing back what we’ve already lost? Or, by bringing back wildlife we’ve already lost, do we give ourselves a better chance to save the ecosystems we’re in danger of losing?
More on Marie-Eve
Read about her work: Plains Bison are set to return to Banff National Park, Backcountry hike to see Banff bison a spiritual journey for group of Alberta women
Favourite Book: Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen
Favourite Podcasts: George Monbiot talks, articles and videos and HumaNature
Favourite Program: Nature Needs Half
Favourite Website: The Guardian