News Release: “Optimizing” Parks… What Happened to the List? “Sadly, it confirms the image the current leadership of Alberta Environment and Parks seems to be comfortable in promoting. I also question why the PRA’s that are most definitely not “under utilized” are on the chopping block under the Optimizing Parks proposal.
Dr. Ian Urquhart, Conservation Director, iurquhart@abwild.ca. Be asked to contact decision-makers to make sure that your voice is heard. The trailhead parking lots that Parks seeks to abandon are needed to absorb the spread of users onto public land trails. https://cpaws-southernalberta.org/rescinding-the-alberta-coal-policy-opens-headwaters-in-the-eastern-slopes-of-the-rockies-to-open-pit-coal-mining/. All This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Camping fees are to increase and services, such as setting cross-country ski trails in popular areas west of Calgary, are to be reduced or eliminated. The poorly thought-out initiative by Alberta Parks that would fully or partially close 20 sites and remove 164 “very small and under-utilized” Provincial Recreation Areas from the parks system has resulted in considerable opposition from the outdoor community. None of this has anything to do with the Forestry and Agriculture Ministry. There is more information on their website. “Sites removed from the parks system would have their legal park designations removed and could be open for alternative management,” said a government news release. Some great comments here for sure but one thing is very clear, the people sat in offices do not see the mental and physical health benefits of having a great parks and trail system, we dont need to be cutting back on these things. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution And just remaining within Alberta Parks is no guarantee that they would remain as active parking lot areas. “The government has provided virtually no information on how these sites will be managed under the new parks partnership regime, how to engage this decision, or how these sites will provide accessible recreation opportunities and protect local ecology as they did under the parks system.”.
Receive up-to-date information and action alerts on wilderness issues in Alberta. Mist Creek is becoming popular with trail runners and mountain bikers, Pinetop in the Jumpingpound is heavily used by hikers and bikers on Jumpingpound Loop. It appears that Parks wants Agriculture and Forestry (who administer public lands) to pick up the tab for maintaining these areas.
Republication or distribution of this content is News Release: “Optimizing” Parks… What Happened to the List? The useful map below produced by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) shows the sites in K Country that Parks wants to get rid of. It’s unthinkable that these facilities would be closed, or even worse, removed as has happened in some of the six sites that were closed several years ago. Grace Wark, Conservation Specialist, gwark@abwild.ca
The United Conservative government says the changes, which it calls optimizing Alberta’s parks, will save $5 million in the 2020-21 budget. The view from Mesa Butte looking west, one of 164 sites slated to be removed from the Alberta Parks system. To order copies of Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. The total amount of land involved is about 16,000 hectares. This would likely get rid of many overhead costs. The New West Meadow horse, snowshoe and winter walking trail, New Boundary Horse, snowshoe and winter walking route, https://cpaws-southernalberta.org/rescinding-the-alberta-coal-policy-opens-headwaters-in-the-eastern-slopes-of-the-rockies-to-open-pit-coal-mining/. The GBCTA was disappointed to learn that plans are underway to eliminate groomed cross country ski track setting in the Kananaskis Region at Peter Lougheed Park, Mt.
Complete lack of overall vision and direction for Alberta’s parks, public lands, preservation and use of them. Conversely I have also seen winter walkers and runners, trying to run on narrow snowshoe tracks, step off into knee-deep powder.
Go past it any day of the week, summer and winter and you will see cars there. Several of the areas being closed are located in the Peace Region.
Previous: The new best route to Aura Creek Sand dunes, Next: Plans Afoot to Log West Bragg Creek — Again. A government spokeswoman has said the changes will allow the province to focus on what it calls high-value areas. Over the past few winters I have often seen snowshoers clanking over rocks and roots on icy foothills trails. Currently you have JavaScript disabled.
A proposal by Minister of Environment Jason Nixon to “Optimize” Alberta Parks as a cost saving measure makes no sense. Hope.
To order So, if these trailhead “Provincial Recreation Areas” are transferred to Public Lands, it does not necessarily mean that they will cease to exist as parking lots and trailheads. rights reserved. Usage of these trailheads has been steadily increasing over the past few years as people try to get away from the overcrowded areas in other parts of K Country. It seems like senior administrators in Alberta Parks are out-of touch with what is going on in Kananaskis Country. Blame the elected officials who are blindly following an ideology that knows the costs of everything and the value of nothing, and who don’t respect and trust Albertans to conduct meaningful consultation on the changes. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about
The grey area is Public Lands. There are 12 of them, all on Public Lands — the majority along Highway 68 in the Sibbald area and in the Highwood. The wilderness is one of the permanent homes of the human spirit. Toilets and garbage disposal are essential for maintaining a healthy and safe environment. Seems like simple math to me…increased popularity of outdoor activities (especially with the pandemic) and increase in population….compared with decreasing designated lands and facilities. They’re doing what they’re told to. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. In the 2020 Optimizing Alberta Parks plan, it states that the: Sites removed from the parks system would have their legal park designations removed, and could be … That image is one where little importance is given to informing and consulting with Albertans about the future of their public parks.”.
Just to add another dimension to all this I see that the kenny government have rescinded the coal policy which now means that open pit coal mines are again allowed in the highwood area including the 2 pre existing coal claims on the disputed burns land area. The United Conservative government says the changes, which it calls optimizing Alberta’s parks, will save $5 million in the 2020-21 budget. “To date, the ‘Optimizing Parks’ process has been completely void of transparency,” added Wark. He rejected their advice.
It seeks to shift costs from Parks to …
Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. |, https://albertawilderness.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20200303_list_aep_164_park_sites_removed.pdf, https://albertawilderness.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20200617_map_parks_closures.png.
people are very capable of taking their garbage home with them and helping keep the trail system open and usable by all people for all time that was Clarence and peters vision , and it should be upheld. Some of the sites could stay open under a public lands management model or revert back to vacant public land.”. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto © 1965 - 2020, Alberta Wilderness Association. “Removing this list isn’t going to silence the thousands of Albertans who are upset by this decision,” said Grace Wark, Conservation Specialist. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star good news indeed. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. That list has vanished from the government’s website.
and I suspect the year after that and so on. By removing the list AWA believes the government makes it more difficult for Albertans to know if the provincial park or recreation area they will visit this weekend will still be part of the provincial parks system when they plan their next visit. In fact, a number of them were already shut down and decommissioned by Alberta Parks over the past 15 years. right down through the 940 highway route.