The Miistakis Institute is a non-profit charitable organization that undertakes and supports pure and applied research respecting the ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains and surrounding regions, and assists in the development and implementation of collaborative ecosystem management.

The Institute’s mission is to bridge the gap between science, communities and decision making, supporting a transboundary ecosystem-based approach to sustainable land use management in the Crown of the Continent and surrounding regions.

Miistakis accomplishes this mission through applied research and tool development in the following areas:

• Applied Conservation Research and Design
• Mapping and Geospatial Analysis
• Conservation Planning
• Facilitation of Collaborative Initiatives
• Sustainable Land Use Support
• Web-based Tool Development

Established in 1995, Miistakis takes a strategic view to project selection and cultivates partnerships where key conservation gaps and issues can be deliberately addressed.Miistakis implements relevant research initiatives through an affiliation with the University of Calgary and in close partnership with federal, provincial/state and municipal agencies, landowners, First Nations, conservation organizations and industry.

Highway Wilding

Highway Wilding is a collaborative project between Parks Canada, the Western Transportation Institute, Miistakis Institute, Wilburforce Foundation and Woodcock Foundation with a focus of getting wildlife safely “across the road” in Banff National Park. The Trans-Canada Highway- or TCH- bisects the Park through the very heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and has long been recognized as a lethal barrier to wildlife through collisions with vehicles and by reducing animals' abilities to move through the landscape to find suitable habitat, food and mates. However, more than 25 years ago, efforts were undertaken to reduce the effects of the Trans-Canada Highway on wildlife within Banff National Park through the construction of wildlife overpasses (vegetated structures designed to allow wildlife to move over highways), underpasses (bridge structures that enable animals to pass underneath highways), and fencing designed to keep wildlife off of the highway right-of-way.

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