These issues are ultimately about people so let’s talk about my friend and neighbour, Maurice. He was a farmer, passionate Canadian, and community leader who recently passed away. Who was he and why is he important? Maurice’s life revolved around raising his family, farming, and enjoying God’s bounty. His small farm was located by RMNP and his family enjoyed a blessedly simple life, based on God, the land and family. They used the Earth’s resources but returned more, farming only a portion of their land, leaving the rest for wildlife.

Maurice was baffled about the attacks by activists. Where we live, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. He would ask me, as a city-bred newcomer to the area, "Bob, why are they doing this to us?" I tried to explain the activist mindset but it made no sense to him, or to me for that matter. He would say, "Bob, why don’t they just come out and see how we live?" Of course, they never did. In his last years Maurice dedicated himself wholly to the Riding Mountain Landowners Association, defending our way of life.

Most of the land on the private farms around RMNP is wildlife habitat and we local people bitterly resent the accusations that our activities are destructive to wildlife. Many wildlife species, such as Canada geese, white-tailed, and black bears are more abundant outside the park due to good management and sound science.

Sound resource management is part of our psyche. Use it yes, but over use it, no. The spring bear hunt has controlled bear numbers and behaviour of the bears so that the population, while sustainable, is not a problem for local farmers. And the bear hunt has provided some much-needed income in this time of crisis. These are good things.

My neighbours are both hardened by the vagaries of markets for farm products, weather, and machinery and softened by the beautiful landscapes and gentle community. This winter was especially difficult. The snow came early and many bales were left in the fields. Hay is valuable so why would a practical farmer even want to waste hay on wild elk? But activists see bales in the field, left there because of an unpredictable snowstorm, and conclude that we are luring elk out of the park to be slaughtered. What nonsense!

Remote from the real world of rural resource communities, these activists flit from place to place doing their best to put rural communities out of business. But rural communities are waking up. The days when remote communities were disadvantaged by their lack of information are over. With rural Britain showing us the way through the Countryside Alliance and their rallying cry, "Liberty and Livelihood," rural people are starting to fight back. So, in a funny way, I’d like to thank the activists. They make sure that we will be ever vigilant. And to you Maurice, "Rest easy, old friend, the torch has been passed."