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Classroom Ideas
Introduction to the Region Tell the class that they’ll be learning about a region of the United States and Canada that contains a lot of wildlife—a region that many people would like to protect so that the wildlife can have plenty of space to roam. Have students go to the following Web sites to see pictures of the region:
The Grizzlies’ Point of View Ask students to look at a road map of the United States and Canada and locate Yellowstone and Banff National Parks. Ask students to look again at the map. What do they see between these two parks? Are there any roads or towns? Explain that while people don’t live in national parks, they do live in the areas between the parks. How do the roads, fences, and towns affect the bear populations? After this discussion, have students go to the Bear Den Photo Gallery at http://adriana.7thfloormedia.com/projects/exwork/best/bearden/gallery.htm and look at grizzlies. Ask students to imagine that the bears can talk, and have them think about what the bears would say to people. Have students write and maybe perform dialogues.
Wildlife Corridors: Advantages and Controversies Have students go to the Yoho Wildlife Corridor page at http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/yoho/activ/activ15c_e.asp. Discuss the whole concept of wildlife corridors. Ask students to pretend that they’re residents living near Yoho National Park writing letters to their leaders about the new wildlife corridor. Their letters should discuss whether the corridor is good for wildlife, economic impacts, possible concerns about living so close to the corridor, and ways in which the corridor might help prevent incidents between humans and animals.
Responses to the Wildlife Corridor Have students explore the Y2Y site. Then have them go to the Sierra Club’s Critical Ecoregions Program site at http://www.sierraclub.org/ecoregions and select the Clickable Map. They should then click the Rocky Mountains Ecoregion and read about efforts to protect wildlife. Hold a class discussion about wildlife corridors in the Rockies. How many already exist? What is the Sierra Club is proposing to do? What will the Sierra Club ask from the United States government? What types of resistance will the Sierra Club meet in this endeavor? Divide students into groups to research and report on the ways in which individuals and groups might be expected to resist efforts to establish additional wildlife corridors. Who wouldn’t like this idea, and why? Do these individuals or groups have much influence with the government? What types of political battles can be anticipated? Designing a Local Wildlife Corridor Ask students to get into groups and plan wildlife corridors in their region. They should first find out the ranges and migration patterns of wildlife in your region. Students should look at a regional map to figure out whether there are any areas that currently serve as corridors for local wildlife. How much new land is needed? What type of land? Where should it be located? Students need to be realistic about their decisions. They should determine the types of opposition that they’ll receive and should think of ways to address differing views. For example, they can’t realistically tear down existing neighborhoods, but they can attempt to buy undeveloped land from a developer and turn that land into part of the wildlife corridor. To complete this learning experience, ask each group to draw a map of its proposed corridor and present it to the class as if they were participating in a town meeting. Encourage other students to ask questions and raise concerns.
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