In 1901, naturalist George Bird Grinnell took note of an extensive network of mountains, ridges, valleys, lakes and rivers on both sides of the Continental Divide from northern Montana into southern British Columbia and Alberta . Disregarding political boundaries, he named it “The Crown of the Continent.” Grinnell was obviously inspired by the region’s majestic landscape and the wildlife it sustained. He also recognized the need to conserve it. But while “Crown of the Continent” speaks eloquently of the region’s beauty with more than a passing nod to European monarchy and history, the Blackfeet name carries a more vital and universal meaning: ‘Mo’kakiikin’, the ‘backbone of the world.’ At the heart of this complex landscape lies the Castle Wilderness.

Robert Kershaw is a freelance communications consultant, writer and photographer. After graduating from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Communications Studies, Rob moved to Pincher Creek where he worked as a ranch hand and co-owned a small communications company that published the Waterton-Glacier Views, a weekly newspaper concerned with community development, conservation and environmental issues.

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