May 30, 2013 – The Rocky Mountain Outlook, Cathy Ellis. Elk numbers in Banff may be slightly down this spring based on the latest count. But wildlife officials say it is entirely possible they missed about 30 adults in the annual spring count, noting winter was not particularly harsh and it’s highly doubtful cougars and  [ Read More ]

May 20 2013 – Bruce Kirkby. Special to The Globe and Mail. A rink-size slab of limestone gently slopes into the waves of Sluice Box Rapids, atop Virginia Falls in the Northwest Territories. If you scramble down nearby gravel cliffs, following a faint trail through scrappy stands of black spruce and soapberry, you can tiptoe  [ Read More ]

  May 20 2013 ­– Brue Kirkby. Special to The Globe and Mail. DAY ONE Ralph Gravelle’s pickup grinds to a halt on the Phillips Creek logging road. We have travelled only a few kilometres, but already deep snow and ice make it impossible to continue. The Ktunaxa (pronounced “k-too-nah-ha”) elder from Tobacco Plains stands  [ Read More ]

May 15, 2013 – Banff National Park, Alberta. Two original artworks now adorn the outside of the Parks Canada Banff Visitor Centre. Once a well-known auditorium in the 1930s for the Banff School of Fine Arts and today a heritage building, it will once again contribute to the promotion of art education in the park.  [ Read More ]

May 16 2013 – The Jasper Local The first conference of its kind in Jasper brought more than 100 yoga practioners to get Grounded in the Rockies. The event, which took place at various Mountain Park Lodges properties as well as various outdoor locations in the community, was for beginners and advanced yogis alike. “I  [ Read More ]

May 09, 2013 Rocky Mountain Outlook – By Dave Whitfield. It was all hands on deck last week as Parks Canada, provincial and municipal firefighters gathered to manage a pair of prescribed burns in the Carrot Creek area of Banff National Park. On Monday (May 6), about 40 firefighters from all departments took part in  [ Read More ]

Wednesday, May. 1 2013 – Banff Crag & Canyon. Google has mapped our streets, but now they’re about to map our trails. In partnership with Parks Canada, the search engine giant will be mapping iconic Canadian landscapes and landmarks. Banff is one of the first places on their list, and they’ll be mapping everything from  [ Read More ]

April 25 2013 – Globe and Mail, Written by Bruce Kirkby. We pulled into the Glen Rouge parking lot, in the shadow of Highway 401 and Port Union Road, on a grey, balmy Toronto winter day. Warm weather had turned recent snowfalls to slush, and last autumn’s leaves stained the icy puddles brown. Two city  [ Read More ]

CBC The Nature of Things — By David Suzuki. March 21st 2013 This video takes a deeper look into the bigger issue threatening the conservation of Canada’s woodland caribou. David Suzuki shows how oil, gas and timber harvesting companies are occupying 90% of the caribou habitat in Northern Alberta. Very little is being done to  [ Read More ]

Penning wild caribou in the oilsands region is a recovery option for the species that should be considered, says a federal document that echoes a recent industry-funded study. The federal caribou strategy released last week says “indirect predator management (e.g. penning of boreal caribou)” should be given high priority to prevent the highly endangered herds  [ Read More ]

By Cathy Ellis, Rocky Mountain Outlook – Jan. 3, 2013. Parks Canada’s enforcement of a ban on parking in potentially dangerous avalanche terrain along the access road to Sunshine Village ski resort has been upheld by the courts. A federal court decision against granting an injunction comes at the same time Sunshine had a busy  [ Read More ]

Banff Crag & Canyon – December 11, 2012 – Story by Larissa Barlow: After 36 years in a green uniform, Bill Fisher has decided to call it a career. Parks Canada’s vice-president of operations for western and northern Canada (formerly called the director general of western and northern Canada), Fisher has retired from the federal  [ Read More ]

“Gearing up for the Season“ information from Jasper National Park, Parks Canada. Ski trail grooming is part science, part art, part magic and experience. Ski tracks can be set when conditions are an ideal mix of weather, snow level and snow condition. This initial set-up allows the trails to harden and provides a leveled base  [ Read More ]

Rocky Mountain Outlook – Story by Ciaran Thompson – November 22, 2012 A plan to reintroduce caribou, now classified as threatened under the Species at Risk Act, in Banff National Park is still in its early stages, however, key figures behind the project are conducting research in hopes of bringing back this iconic animal that  [ Read More ]

The Fitzhugh – Story by Daniel Betts – November 8, 2012 Last week, as many as 50 people attended the Jasper National Park (JNP) public forum on Nov. 1, held at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre. Attendees from such places as Edmonton, Hinton and Valemount braved winter driving conditions to join Jasperites in receiving  [ Read More ]

The Fitzhugh – Story by Sarah Makowsky – November 1, 2012 In partnership with Parks Canada, The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) has created a new sustainable trail at Pyramid Lake. The trail is a continuation of the one ending in the parking lot by the lodge. It picks up on the other side of  [ Read More ]

Banff Crag & Canyon – Story by Larissa Barlow – October 26, 2012 Banff has been awarded the Tourism Community of the Year Alto Award for the new winter festival — SnowDays — that launched last year. A collaboration between Parks Canada, the town and Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Travel Alberta awarded Banff for bringing  [ Read More ]

Rocky Mountain Outlook – Story by Justin Brisbane – October 25, 2012 Scientists who recommended Parks Canada adopt a strong ecological integrity mandate are frustrated “amusement park tourism” is growing in the national park system, allowing new ski hills, via ferrata and skywalks to pop up in previously wild areas. In 2000, a group of  [ Read More ]

Rocky Mountain Outlook – Story by Cathy Ellis – Oct 25, 2012 – Another member of the Bow Valley wolf pack has been run over and killed on the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park. On Monday (Oct. 22), a yearling male from the high profile pack was struck on the highway just west of  [ Read More ]

Story by Larrisa Barlow – Banff Crag & Canyon – October 22, 2012- It’s time to get social with your wildlife spotting. In a new initiative to help wildlife biologists track deer movements in Kootenay National Park, Parks Canada is asking keen eyed visitors to record when and where they see white tailed deer. Deer  [ Read More ]

Rocky Mountain Outlook – Story by Cathy Ellis – October 9, 2012 Only two of six wolves born to the Bow Valley pack this year have survived – but wildlife experts are confident the high profile wolf pack will bounce back next year. A five-month-old female wolf pup was killed on the train tracks near  [ Read More ]

Edmonton Journal – Story by Jamie Hall – October 15, 2012 EDMONTON – Alberta’s Charlie Russell has spent most of his life proving that bears are not dangerous animals; he plans to spend the rest of it convincing the world he’s right. Wednesday he will be making a presentation at Festival Place in Sherwood Park  [ Read More ]

Rocky Mountain Outlook – Story by Justin Brisbane – October 11, 201 A large cougar was struck and killed on the Trans-Canada Highway near Lac des Arcs, Saturday night (Oct. 6). According to Canmore RCMP, at 3:20 a.m., a Subaru Impreza was eastbound when it struck the cat. The car swerved, rolled and landed on  [ Read More ]

The Fitzhugh – Story by Nicole Veerman – October 4, 2012 “Currently, we are still in the process of assessing each area in which damage, that we are aware of, has taken place,” Alisson Ogle, communications officer for the park, said about Fifth Bridge at Maligne Canyon, bridges in the backcountry, Cavell Road, Path of  [ Read More ]

Canmore Leader – October 2, 2012 Three-time Canadian Olympian Robin Clegg is in hospital after being struck by a motorist while cycling outside Calgary Sunday, Sept. 30. Clegg was training with fellow Olympic athletes Jason Myslicki and Sean Crooks on Township Road 250 near Springbank Airport, just west of Calgary, when a vehicle came up  [ Read More ]