Last month I had the honour to set foot in one of the most pristine wildernesses on the planet. The Sacred Headwaters, where the Nass, Skeena and Stikine Rivers begin, is teaming with life far beyond that of the civilized world.

Long before humans came to this land to drill gas wells and chip away at mountains in the hopes of acquiring riches from their minerals, great creatures such as Caribou, Elk, Eagles, Moose, Wolves, Salmon and Grizzly roamed the alpine meadows of this wondrous bowl of life. Keepers of their own domain.

In most recent years much of that has changed. Although the Tahltan have had some success resisting the onslaught of industry, protecting their land with blockades and territorial encampments, old well heads and mining roads still remain as scared of a troubled past, present and future.

We drove in on a road that had been laid for BC Rail forty years ago that now stands as the only corridor to this Sacred territory. We went in search of Grizzly, but what we found was a silent land. Very few animals, which told a tale of uncertainty.

Even deep into the frontier where scores of wildlife have been know to exist for several millennia, human interaction has left a mark not easily removed.