The Government of Alberta announced changes to the Alberta Parks System
The Government of Alberta (GOA) announced an assessment this week of all sites in the Alberta Parks system. It identified 164 of its 473 sites are underutilized and proposed their removal from the parks system. The GOA’s news release identifies there are ongoing efforts being made to determine if some facilities and areas could remain open under a public lands model. Sites removed from the parks system would have their legal park designations removed, but could remain open for alternative management approaches, which could includes potential Park Partnerships through the sale or transfer to another entity, such as a municipality, to enable continued economic and recreational benefits to local communities. RMA has connected with Alberta Environment and Parks on this item, who clarified that the Parks Partnership is a voluntary option for municipalities.
The GOA announcement also identified additional changes, including closing or partially closing 20 sites this year and increasing campground fees to cover increased service costs related to water, power, sewer, and showers. Services fees in Alberta’s campgrounds have not increased since 2016.
On social media, Minister Nixon stated that this is “not about the selling of Crown land, and Albertans can still visit these areas, but no services will be provided to them”. The government hopes that by redirecting the money used to service underutilized areas to more utilized parks it will improve the experience for Albertans and enhance tourism.
The list of impacted parks is available here.
For enquiries, please contact:
Alex Mochid
Policy Advisor
alex@RMAlberta.com
Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com