After a century of wildfire suppression, the forest in Banff National Park has grown into an ideal fuel source for wildfires. The evergreen trees are all an even age, undisturbed by fire, and have become so dense they choked out other species. It’s one of the big drivers behind why Parks Canada says it needs to return fire to the landscape, and strategically take away that fuel. In a controlled way, fire can be the nexus for biodiversity, and in southern Alberta, cutting down that fuel load is essential to keeping those living in the Bow Valley safe from catastrophic wildfires. …”There’s a lot of modelling … to understand what we need to do to make the valley more resilient, both in terms of reducing the impact to communities but also maintaining a more resilient ecosystem,” fire and vegetation specialist Charlie McLellan said. “Certainly we need to keep doing this proactively.”