Please join us on a virtual tour through Alberta’s Bighorn  to discover and learn about this magnificent natural treasure. We hope that the information provided on this web-site will not only be informative but also will inspire you to head out, experience and enjoy this spectacular lands for yourself.

Wilderness  is vanishing fast from Alberta. Natural resource development including oil & gas, clearcut logging and the vast network of damaging access roads that accompany them,  agricultural expansion and urban and resort sprawl, is degrading much of our wilderness. The social and economic benefits as well as the intrinsic values Albertans enjoy from intact wilderness are often disregarded when decisions are made on the future of wilderness lands.
The Bighorn  remains one of Alberta’s last substantial but unprotected Eastern Slopes wilderness areas. It is not too late to come to the aid of the Bighorn! Concerned  local and provincial citizens, outfitters, equestrians, hikers and backpackers, hunters, anglers, eco-tourism businesses, conservation and recreation groups have joined to form the Bighorn Country Wildlands Coalition. Together we have designed a proposal for  “Bighorn Country”, to be modeled on the Kananaskis Country concept.. This proposal not only ensures protection for the natural environment of the Bighorn but  it also provides a alternative economic strategy for the region. 
 

With your help we can create political will to establish Bighorn Country.

“ Do we care enough about these wild lands to protect them? What, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice? Can we modify our concept of progress in just a few places so that our children can come into this country, and know what wilderness is?”
Stephen Legault, Alberta writer, photographer and naturalist

All of the diversity of the alpine, subalpine, upper and lower foothills and boreal natural regions is encompassed within the Bighorn. Grizzly bear, black bear, cougar, wolverine, wolves, bobcat, lynx, moose, mountain goat, elk and bighorn sheep call this place home. Until very recently, the woodland caribou ranged into parts of the Bighorn. Occasionally a tell-tale track is still found. Extensive grasslands lying between the open slopes of the Rockies and the sheltering forests of the foothills make the Bighorn some of Alberta’s richest wildlife habitat. Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Brook Trout and Mountain Whitefish  depend on this region’s high quality rivers and streams. Wildflower displays are among the richest in the province and boast such rarities as Lapland Rosebay and Northern Bladderpod. The lands and forests drained by area rivers are a significant source of clean water for the western central region of Alberta and for users right across the prairies.

Here amongst natures’ abundance, aboriginal peoples traveled, camped and hunted as far back as the last ice age. Limited archeological investigation indicates a the possibility of a rich historical legacy. The area experienced early economic exploitation based upon the fur trade, and between 1799 and 1865, a succession of trading posts in the Rocky Mountain House area were the center of trading activity that included the Bighorn region. 19th century explorer David Thompson knew this region well. The Kootenay Plains was a hub of activity for First Nations peoples, early explorers and early traders.

Today the area remains essentially wild. It is being increasingly sought after by those wanting a wilderness adventure. Eco-tourism is a fast-growing industry relying on the natural state of the Bighorn for its future.