BANFF, ALBERTA, December 8, 2011 – Parks Canada has announced a suite of enhanced environmental protection, visitor experience and educational actions along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. Once implemented, these actions will ensure that the ecologically and culturally rich Bow Valley Parkway area is a productive environment for wildlife and a world-class setting for people to learn about and experience the park.
Click on this link to see Parks Canada presentation: BVP Action Plan-Presentation-Nov 2011
Parks Canada’s actions to improve ecological integrity, visitor experience and learning opportunities were developed with input from the Bow Valley Advisory Group and wildlife and visitor experience specialists, and were guided by the Banff National Park Management Plan, best practices, scientific research and the unique character of this special area.
The actions will be elaborated in a Bow Valley action plan scheduled for completion in the spring of 2012. The action plan will include improved communication and promotion, signage and interpretation programs, special events, and new environmental stewardship initiatives. The advisory group’s vision provides the framework for this plan and actions are largely based on the group’s recommendations. Parks Canada will work collaboratively on plan implementation with its partners in the tourism industry and conservation sector.
Various measures to provide more secure habitat for wildlife will also be implemented, including a mandatory seasonal evening travel restriction on the 17‑kilometre, east end of the 48-kilometre parkway. The restriction will be in effect between 8pm and 8am from March 1 to June 25 each year, beginning in 2013.
The mandatory seasonal evening travel restriction will reduce the impacts of human use on wildlife during critical times and seasons, thereby ensuring wildlife populations remain healthy for future generations of visitors to observe and enjoy. These changes seek to improve the home and the lives of the wild animals that visitors from around the world come to Banff National Park and to the Bow Valley Parkway to see.
Commercial accommodations and campgrounds which operate year-round or seasonally along the Parkway are not located in the restricted area and will remain accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway at Castle Junction during the hours of the travel restriction.
To ensure effective implementation, Parks Canada has planned for a full year to develop and launch communications and promotional initiatives, to inform and engage visitors, and to enhance their experience on the Bow Valley Parkway.
