Canmore conservationist Karsten Heuer, who was a biologist, park ranger, author and activist, has died.

He just turned 56 and was diagnosed with multiple system atrophy. He died peacefully with AMM (Medical Assistance in Death).

Born and raised in Calgary, Heuer spent every weekend with his family hiking and fishing in the mountains, which inspired him to fall in love with the outdoors. He studied ecology at the University of Calgary, then moved to Canmore and worked for 30 years as a wildlife biologist for Parks Canada.

One of those tasks was working as a reintroduction manager, monitoring the return of bison to Banff.

“It’s a tremendous privilege,” Heuer said in an interview with CTV News in 2021. “I think it’s a wildlife biologist’s dream come true to work on behalf of all Canadians to bring back what is Canada’s largest mammal in Canada’s first national park.”

The experience gave rise to a book of essays, Buffaloedwhich will be published by Greystone Press in fall 2025.

From Yellowstone to Yukon

In 1998-99, Heuer traveled 3,400 kilometers from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon to promote the need for wildlife corridors.

Yellowstone Initiative in Yukon

In 2002, Heuer and his partner Leanne Allison tracked a herd of 150,000 caribou across the Yukon and Alaska to highlight the threat posed by oil development.

In 2008, with their two-and-a-half-year-old son Zev, Heuer and Allison canoed down the Bow River across the country through the settings of author FarleyMowat’s stories until they reached his home in Nova Scotia. They met Mowat, and it all turned into a film. Looking for Farley, which won the Grand Prize at the 2009 Banff Film Festival.

In 2020, Zev, then 15, canoed 2,100 kilometers from Canmore to his summer job in north-central Saskatchewan in response to the boredom of being forced to study in online at the start of the pandemic.

Karsten followed Zev’s trip that summer and even joined him to help him navigate some difficult parts of the route.

Zev Heuer traveled thousands of kilometers from Canmore to rural Saskatchewan to get to his summer job

“It’s transitioning from childhood to adulthood, so I think it’s really important to know yourself during this critical life transition,” Karsten said.

“Great momentum for this (original Looking for Farley) trip was about getting out with our son and allowing him to feel the rhythms of four months spent outside, camping, on the water,” Karsten said. “We really wanted it to be something that was written into his brain connections.”

Heuer has received numerous awards for his conservation advocacy and writing. He donated some of these awards to Get involved in the Bow Valleya group that campaigns for responsible development in the mountain community.

The group has been at the center of a fight against a massive development project called Three Sisters Mountain Village.

“An inspiring leader”

On Thursday, on the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative Facebook page, a tribute to Heuer was posted.

“Karsten Heuer was a biologist, wildlife and landscape conservationist, storyteller, author, husband, father, son and friend and will be sadly missed by many.

“Karsen passed away peacefully on November 5, just as he lived his life – on his own terms. All of us at the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative are saddened to lose an inspiring leader and mentor, a champion of our cause and a great friend.

To make a donation in Heuer’s memory, send an e-transfer to [email protected].

A memorial service to celebrate Heuer’s life will be held on November 16 at CreekSide Hall in downtown Canmore.

With files from CTV’s Timm Bruch, Kevin Fleming and Bill Macfarlane