This location is a must stop and view these spectacular vistas of "Where the Mountains meet the Prairies". At this location you will find information about the UNESCO Waterton Biosphere Reserve. (
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This area is best described by the sign boards transcribed as follows:
Waterton Biosphere Reserve
The Waterton Biosphere Reserve was designated in 1979 by UNESCO as a place where people work together to balance conservation with sustainable use of the land. The Reserve includes Waterton Lakes National Park as a protected core area. An adjacent buffer zone primarily consists of ranchlands within the Nature Conservancy of Canada's Waterton Park Front Project, which surrounds this viewpoint. Beyond is an area of cooperation that supports many people in a variety of economic activities. The Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association supports the community as they work together as good stewards of this land, a legacy for future generations.
Wind, Water and Wilderness
It's an unusual day if you're standing here on Pine Ridge and not feeling the wind in your face. Winter chinooks can howl over 100 km/hour and move the temperature from -15°C to +15°C in thirty minutes! From here, rolling fescue ranchlands, nearly unchanged since bison roamed here, sweep up the lower slopes of the mountains in Waterton Lakes National Park. Beyond, are the peaks of Glacier National Park, Montana. This is a dynamic international ecosystem - wild and diverse. Human boundaries have no meaning to the wind, waters, wildflowers and wildlife of this landscape. Your enjoyment of this place represents only an instant in the millions of years it has been in the making.
Cooperation and Conservation
This is a place where people, provinces and countries meet. Aboriginal people have lived here for more than 11,000 years. Today, many people live or visit here, and ranching, forestry, recreation and the energy industry are significant activities. Maintaining varied uses of the land, while conserving the ecosystem, is a challenge. Fortunately, a tradition of stewardship supports this landscape. The neighbouring national parks joined in 1932 to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, dedicated to peace and cooperation. The concept inspired close working relationships. Successful collaborations between individuals and groups such as land trusts, watershed groups, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Crown Managers Partnership, Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association and Waterton Natural History Association continue to sustain this landscape.
Additional information:
Established in 1895 as the fourth member of Canada’s fledgling national-park system, Waterton occupies a unique geographical chokepoint on the Canada–U.S. border, where the Rockies face off against the prairies. In summer, swaths of yellow canola spread across foothills already green with timothy hay over what is referred to as the Waterton Biosphere Reserve’s front range. From a highway viewpoint at Pine Ridge, the tableau is so arresting that park-bound visitors often come to a halt. For West Coasters who treasure Fraser Valley farm fields, the sheer scale of Alberta’s rural rangeland elevates such appreciation to another dimension.
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