Efforts by the St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino to integrate the Ktunaxa language and culture with its operations has attracted the attention of the prestigious American Audubon Society.

A two page article on the local resort appears in the winter issue of “Stewardship News,” a publication of Audubon International.

The article traces the efforts of the resort operators to enhance the appeal of the resort by giving every hole on the course a Ktunaxa name and posting the names with an English translation on signs adjacent to the tee box markers.

It also quotes Ktunaxa member Dorothy Alpine, one of the last of the Ktunaxa speakers. “If we don’t do what we can to preserve what we know and hopefully pass it on to the younger generation, this language is going to be extinct.”

The Ktunaxa language doesn’t have a word for extinct and that’s one of the reasons why naming the holes with Ktunaxa words seems so appropriate, says Graeme Douglas CGSA, Manager of Golf and Hotel Facilities at the aboriginal-operated resort.

Douglas mentions the lengths the resort has gone to protect and preserve the numerous birds and wildlife that live on and near to the 18-hole championship course that nestles below the clay banks above the lower St. Mary River.

“We were really impressed to see an article like this in such an important publication,” said “And we were especially impressed to see it on the front page.”

From the day the course opened in May 2000, it has sought to emphasize its aboriginal roots and build on the virtual treasure trove of wildlife that abounds all around the golf course and the resort itself, Douglas says. Resort personnel have made presentations at local schools and area students have toured the resort.

Concern for the environment is always the underlying theme of the presentations and students never fail to ask the toughest questions, Graeme says. “Sometimes they’re so tough we have to go away and think about them for a while.”

In the case of the Audubon Society, it was the sheer number of birds that live on or near the Les Furber-designed course that attracted their attention. So far, 186 species have been identified and of these there are approximately 120 nesting pairs.

Some of the most unique birds at the site include five pairs of Great Blue Heron which have a rookery near to the river. Other rare species include the Western Tanager, Black-Headed Grosbeak, Golden Eagle, Turkey Vulture, American Pipit and dozens more.

There’s also a colony of extremely rare Long-eared Townsend’s Bats located in the belfry of the main resort building that are now being regularly monitored by international experts concerned about the species’ survival.

The course is also rich in wildlife including Wapiti (elk), White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Columbian Ground Squirrels, Flying Squirrels, frogs, toads voles, garter snakes, lizards and others including rare species such as Western Painted Turtles and Western Badgers.

St. Eugene participates in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program and is aiming to achieve designation as a Gold Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The resort works continuously at making its guests and the community at large familiar with its rich wildlife heritage and every week throughout the summer features a “Bird of the Week” and posts pictures of it so guests and customers can try to identify it for themselves.

This also impressed the Audubon society.

“The outreach and education component is often the most difficult for members to complete,” says Joellen Lampman, Program Manager for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf course. “The efforts of St. Eugene to tap into the local culture is a great example of how this can be done.”