The Kootenay and the Blackfoot were early inhabitants of this region in the southwest corner of Alberta, represented by Waterton Lakes National Park. They battled over the dwindling herds of buffalo that roamed the plains, though most were gone by the time The Boundary Commission mapped out the 49th parallel between 1858 and 1874.

An area of 140 sq. km. was designated the Kootenay Lakes Forest Reserve in 1895, becoming the 525 square kilometre Waterton Lakes National Park in 1911. John George ‘Kootenai’ Brown was the first superintendent, presiding over a protected wilderness that included development of a Waterton Lakes town site and an oil exploration venture.

Park geology includes unusual features such as the Lewis Overthrust and Red Rock Canyon, and explains why in this landscape, the prairies meet the mountains, bringing together flora and fauna from the alpine, sub-alpine, montane and grasslands.

Studies of the Bull Trout, a native Rocky Mountain fish, are revealing disturbing trends in our conquest of the wilderness.

Few people have experienced the magic of Waterton Lakes like Andy Russell, a celebrated author and filmmaker, who has made his home on a mountain and his peace with the wild country.