Fencing has been erected at the fringe of the forest in Kananaskis, Alta., where G7 security planners are on the lookout for grizzly bears and other wildlife.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Of all the security measures cloaked in secrecy by those charged with keeping world leaders safe in the Canadian Rockies, one stands out: the exact dimensions of the fence erected to keep the bears at bay.
Just how much bear fence has been installed for the G7 summit is, police say, information too sensitive to disclose.
The summit location in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country offers obvious defensive advantages for the military planners and personal protective details whose job it is to foresee potential threats. In the coming days, prime ministers and presidents will be ensconced by the grandeur of a mountain landscape that any potential attacker would find difficult to penetrate. A single highway bisects much of Kananaskis Country, making it simple to block the arrival of anyone unwanted or potentially dangerous.
The grizzlies, though, are not so easily obstructed.
An estimated 65 grizzly bears live in Kananaskis. More roam the wooded slopes of nearby Banff National Park. Their ability to slip across natural barriers that would thwart a human has made them one of the risks that are top of mind for the G7.
Enter the fence.
For security reasons, the RCMP will not disclose how much fencing surrounds the grounds where G7 leaders will meet.Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail
As part of what Alberta’s Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services calls a “comprehensive wildlife mitigation strategy,” provincial staff have erected barriers around places where G7 leaders will meet. They feature ”a minimum height of eight feet to limit wildlife access,” said ministry spokesperson Sheena Campbell. Electric fences have gone up around places “where attractants are present,” she said.
But RCMP have barred any discussion of just how much fence now surrounds the lodges and meeting rooms where Prime Minister Mark Carney will seek to coax consensus from U.S. President Donald Trump and the other leaders of major global democracies in attendance. It’s “for security reasons,” Ms. Campbell said.
Even so, a veritable arsenal has been assembled in case that fencing – however long it is – fails to do its job: Thermal-imaging cameras and specially trained bear dogs will keep watch over the trees. In the skies, RCMP drones will ”monitor wildlife activity in real time,” Ms. Campbell said.
To those keeping vigil, there are no shortage of critters in Kananaskis capable of leaving an unwanted mark on a visiting head of state.
”To date, our team has responded to occurrences involving grizzly bears, black bears, cougars, moose, bighorn sheep and deer,” Ms. Campbell said.
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But grizzly bears – which can weigh more than 700 pounds and reach running speeds of 55 kilometres an hour – are the most serious concern. Local officials have in the past few weeks already closed parts of Kananaskis Country after reports of bluff charges by one grizzly with two cubs.
That type of behaviour is particularly frightening, because the recommended human response is to stand your ground.
“If you run, it triggers the instinctual prey response,” said Benjamin Brunen, a wildlife biologist with Black Fly Environmental, an Alberta-based consulting company.
And “a grizzly bear, when it’s angry – it means business.”
In May, Alberta Parks also warned that multiple grizzly and black bears were frequenting the Kananaskis Country Golf Course. That advisory remains in effect.
Golfers encounter bears so regularly at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course that the course allows a 'bear par.'TODD KOROL/The Globe and Mail
Golfers encounter bears so regularly there that the course encourages a “bear par” to those who need to move on to the next hole for ursine reasons.
The links, in fact, may be the most dangerous place for any leader at the G7 – including Mr. Trump, an avid golfer.
That course “directly borders mountainous coniferous forest, which is pretty prime grizzly-bear habitat,” Mr. Brunen said.
“If he were to go anywhere in K-Country, a golf course would be one of the more high-risk areas, aside from going on a backcountry hiking trail.”
For most visitors, setting eyes on any one of the area’s mega-fauna would constitute a trip highlight. Indeed, those who live and work in Kananaskis have sought to co-exist with wildlife.
The G7 has turned that on its head.
“Really, I think, the biggest risk is to the wildlife, who are probably wondering what the heck is going on,” said Sarah Elmeligi, an independent wildlife biologist from the Kananaskis area. “You’re running the risk of them being displaced from some pretty prime habitat.”
June is a delicate month for many species. Bears are in mating season. Ungulates such as elk and moose are calving.
Snow has melted in the valleys but not yet high on the slopes. That leaves most animals in the same lower elevations where the G7 meetings will take place.
Summit preparations have already brought fighter jets to scorch the skies and helicopters to chatter through the night quiet.
The noise alone may prove the greatest wildlife deterrent at the G7.
“The wildlife in Kananaskis are not used to that kind of human activity at all,” Ms. Elmeligi said. As the summit gets started, “there’s a lot of people there,” she said. “I kind of feel like they’re not going to see bears.”