Hope for a Future - Limited Collectors' Edition

Banff National Park, Alberta 

2025 Release: Limited Collectors’ Edition (40 pigment archival paper prints)

White grizzlies are very rare. To date, Nakoda was the first genetic case of a white grizzly in Canada’s national parks. Her name means “friend” or “ally” in the language of the Stoney Nakoda, who who were removed from Banff National Park after its creation.

During her lifetime, Nakoda was one of only 65 grizzly bears in the park. As a young adult navigating the world on her own, she lived a precarious and problematic lifestyle due to human infrastructure and activity. Indeed, Nakoda’s mother and sibling were both killed in highway strikes.

Reaching sexual maturity, Nakoda was key to preservation of genetic diversity in her species. Parks Canada worked tirelessly to ensure her protection and safety, but to no avail. In 2024, Nakoda emerged from hibernation with two cubs in tow. Everyone was ecstatic, and the news spread quickly. Soon after, though, her cubs were struck and killed on the highway. Driven by her instinct as a mother, Nakoda returned to the site the next day, where she was also struck. Radio signals show that she survived for 24 hours before the signal indicated mortality. I have been told she lies at rest in a very peaceful and quiet place in the wild.

While a white grizzly like Nakoda is valued for her unique beauty, we must consider the true value of each and every grizzly bear within this at-risk population.

During the summer of 2025, four more grizzlies were killed in Banff National Park: two breeding age females and one male on the rail tracks, and one male on the Trans Canada highway. These fatalities happen every year. With only 65 grizzlies remaining in Banff National Park, it is time for change.

My hope is that this image will kindle awareness of a situation that has plagued Banff National Park and other prized wilderness areas for decades. Wildlife overpasses, underpasses and fencing in our National Parks save many birds and animals, but the numbers of deaths due to humans is not reported. It is time to stop the slaughter.

Reduced speed limits with strict enforcement in our National Parks might have saved the lives of Nakoda and other bears. As for rail strikes, Canadian Pacific Kansas City – with nearly $3 billion in profits annually for shareholders – has the financial capacity to update its operations to safeguard wildlife.

Grizzly bears are now listed as a threatened species in Alberta, and that will not change overnight. These bears have one of the lowest reproductive rates among North American mammals. Females typically reproduce for the first time between five and eight years of age. They have litters of one to three cubs every three to five years. Only one third of grizzly cubs survive to adulthood. Bears that do survive can live 20 to 30 years in the wild. We need more bears in Banff National Park. And now, more than ever, they need us.

All in the Wild's Limited Collectors' Edition Prints made with:

• Museum grade fine art cotton paper pigment print
• Conservation mounting,
• 99% UV protection glass,
• Modern/contemporary deep-profile black frame as standard

Open Edition 5x7: Matted Only

Limited Collectors' Edition 20x30 and larger to 40