The grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, so familiar to Cranbrook, Kimberley and Fernie residents, will be the subject of a 12-minutes "mini-documentary" on KSPS TV at 10pm on September 28 after Part 2 of legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' six-part series on the US National Park system.
Entitled "Crown of the Continent: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park," the short documentary celebrates the Canadian and American commitment to preserve wild nature at the narrow belt-buckle of the Rockies, where British Columbia, Alberta and Montana meet.
It was in these locations that small town Rotary Clubs on both sides of the border convinced the US Congress and the Canadian Parliament to jointly protect one of the most beautiful and spectacular landscapes on earth with alpine meadows, vast prairies, lush forests, jagged mountain peaks, glacial lakes and alpine tundra.
The Crown of the Continent will also be shown on Sunday, October 4 at 6:20pm and as part of the KSPS program Northwest Profiles on Thursday, October 29 at 8pm. Two of the people interviewed in the film are Canadians, former Fernie Mayor Randal Macnair and Liz Gravelle.
Macnair, who is now running a small publishing house in Fernie, said it was a typically beautiful day in the Elk Valley when he was interviewed by the KSPS producers. "I talked about the importance of why I live here and why I chose to raise my family here and the importance the landscape has to our identity in this part of the world."
KSPS producer Bill Fitzner interviewd park officials as well as community, business, conservation and tribal leaders in BC, Alberta and Montana to tell a unique story about trans-boundary cooperation to preserve a wild place despite the different borders crossing it. The film was produced in partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), MOntana Office of Tourism and the Alberta Southwest Regional Alliance.
"Nearly 80 years ago, our two nations took an unprecedented step to recognize that nature knows no boundaries," said NPCA spokesman Steve Thompson. "Our rivers and lakes, the mountains and the wildlife and our own human history transcend the US/Canadian border. Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park represents an historic commitment to peace and good will between our nations."
"We're pleased to join with the National Parks Conservation Association and our partners in the Crown of the Continent to tell this special story about national parks joined across an international border," said Claude Kistler, KSPS general manager. "The program provides a regional, two-nation component to the Ken Burns film. It's a nice fit."
The partners that helped produce Crown of the Continent recently joined with the National Geographic Society to develop a community-based, geo-tourism map of the region surrounding Waterton-Glacier including Cranbrook, Kimberley and Fernie.
Geo-tourism is tourism primarily based on attractions of a geographic nature along with social and cultural activities that enhance the character of an area, such as festivals, concerts, outdoor activities, cuisine and sports.
