Jasper, Alberta – February 09, 2012-  A species of shy and elusive waterfowl continues to be a source of controversy between Parks Canada and a tourism advocacy group.

For more than a decade now, the mid-Maligne River has been closed to commercial rafting and other recreational boating as a precautionary measure to protect harlequin ducks – birds which are usually more associated with the ocean than with alpine waterways.

“These are sea ducks,” biologist Beth MacCallum explained during a recent lecture on the creatures at the Foothills Research Institute in Hinton. “You don’t normally think of sea ducks in the Rockies, but that’s what they are.”

Harlequins do spend a significant amount of time away from the ocean, however, and will venture from the Pacific as far east as the foothills between Jasper and Hinton during the summertime to breed and raise their young before returning to the coast for the winter.

It’s due to these habits that Parks Canada decided to ban commercial rafting along an 18-kilometre stretch of the Maligne River in 1999. The federal agency says the move was necessary to protect the sensitive species’ habitat, but the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment (AMPPE) has long argued the rules are overly restrictive and it continues to call on Parks to re-open the route to rafts and other recreational watercraft.

“There are kayakers that would love to use that portion of the river,” said AMPPE executive director Monica Andreeff. “And this is a world-class whitewater rafting opportunity.”

Andreeff noted that Parks hasn’t even been keeping track of how many harlequin ducks frequent the mid-Maligne River since the closure. According to volunteer counts she’s seen, she said there are hardly any of the birds in the area at all.

“Since rafting was eliminated from the river the ducks have declined to the point where there’s maybe one, maybe two ducks that have been glimpsed,” she said.

But Shawn Cardiff, an integrated land use planning manager with Jasper National Park, said the number of ducks isn’t the issue; it’s the protection of habitat that’s important.

“The closure isn’t predicated on the numbers changing,” he said. “It’s a precautionary closure to make sure the habitat is secure.”

Besides, he added, harlequin ducks are notoriously difficult to count as they nest in hidden areas and are extremely shy around human beings. That’s a challenge MacCallum said researchers in other areas constantly run into when attempting to count the birds.

“Unless you’re actually looking for them, most people’s eyes will just pass right over them,” she said. “And they’ll see you before you’ll see them.”

The peculiar birds form pair bonds on the coast and then the females bring their mates back to specific breeding streams in the mountains. Individual females have been observed returning to the same nesting area up to six years in a row.

By the end of June, the males return to the coast while the females remain to raise the little harlequin ducklings, which is no easy task. The birds face larger numbers of predators in this region than they do near the ocean and so the moms and their broods must develop a series of defensive strategies in order to survive.

“They do lose weight over the summer, the moms, because it’s a big job for them,” MacCallum explained.

One of the ducks’ main strategies to avoid predators is to be extremely wary of potential threats, which is a big part of the reason for their elusive nature around human beings. MacCallum said there is no question that the persistent presence of people in places like the mid-Maligne would have an impact on the harlequin population.

“They are sensitive to disturbances on the shore or in the water,” she said. “Too much activity on the shore or in the water and they’ll be pushed away.”

Almost half of the ducks’ range is in national or provincial parks or otherwise protected areas, MacCallum noted.

Andreeff, however, pointed to a recent study which suggested another reason for the ducks’ decline in areas like the Maligne – artificial fish stocking.

“We hypothesize that the ongoing and widespread introduction of fish into historically fishless waters throughout North America may have contributed to the current low productivity and recruitment measured in populations of harlequins by reducing quality of breeding habitat,” reads the abstract of that article, published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology in 2009.

Andreeff noted that trout and char were introduced into Maligne Lake in the 1920s and the fish have since moved into the mid-Maligne where they eat the same insects that the harlequins depend on as a food source.

“The ducks have to compete for their food source and so they’ve gone to where there’s no competition,” Andreeff said.

Cardiff said he is aware of that research and while it’s an “interesting hypothesis,” the fact that the fish have been present for 80 years in the river doesn’t explain population changes that began to be observed about 18 years ago both on the Maligne and elsewhere.

“What we don’t know is why, precisely, the harlequin duck populations have appeared to decline on that reach and why they have appeared to decline quite broadly in Alberta since 1994,” he said.

Andreeff maintained that Parks should back up its closure policy with more recent population figures.

“They don’t want to spend the money. They don’t have the resources to monitor the ducks,” she said. “There’s a real reluctance to really examine this issue in a serious way.”

Parks Canada stands by its policy, however, and Cardiff said the agency will consider any new scientific evidence that is brought forward which challenges its basis for the river closure.

“If people want to advance a proposal, we’ll give it serious consideration,” he said.

Ottawa, Ontario, February 9, 2012 – Today, the Honourable Peter Kent, Canada‟s Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced the decision to move forward with negotiations with Brewster Travel Canada‟s proposal for a Glacier Discovery Walk project on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. The Glacier Discovery Walk project will be subject to mitigation measures identified through the environmental assessment process.

“The Glacier Discovery Walk represents an innovative and accessible way for visitors of all ages and abilities to have a state-of the-art experience, „a view from the edge‟ of the landscape,” said Minister Kent. “Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the geography, geology, glaciology, the environment and Aboriginal history of the area. I am pleased to announce the approval of this exciting new project.”

Parks Canada‟s determination was made following a robust review process which included open houses and an extensive public and aboriginal engagement program, as well as close examination of potential environmental effects and careful consideration of public comment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The project will now proceed to the next steps in the development review process, including lease negotiations and construction agreement.

“I am happy to report to my constituents in Yellowhead, and all Canadians that following an extensive environmental impact assessment, the Glacier Discovery Walk in Jasper National Park has been approved,” said the Honourable Rob Merrifield, Member of Parliament for Yellowhead, Alberta. “We are proud of this new exciting way for visitors from across Canada and around the world to experience the amazing vistas and learn about our unique ecological and cultural heritage while promoting economic activity and jobs in Jasper and the surrounding areas.”

The Brewster Travel Canada Glacier Discovery Walk Proposal meets the goals identified in the strategic concept for the Icefields Parkway, respects the approved management plans for Banff and Jasper national parks and addresses associated environmental and visitor experience issues.

The Icefields Parkway opened in 1940 as a scenic road for the use and pleasure of national park visitors. The Glacier Discovery Walk will be constructed on a previously disturbed, existing right-of-way for the Icefields Parkway and represents a unique and permissible development in a front country area of the park. As a world leader in conservation, Parks Canada would not approve this project if it were to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

“Our mountain parks draw people from all around the globe to enjoy the unparalleled beauty of our province of Alberta. And it is enhanced opportunities for visitor experiences, such as the Glacier Discovery Walk, that will help to keep them coming back again and again,” said Blake Richards, Member of Parliament for Wild Rose, Alberta, which includes Banff National Park. “As the chairman of Parliament’s Tourism Caucus, I am excited by the opportunities for expanded tourism and a better knowledge of the natural history of our national parks that this project represents.”

“A major challenge in Canada‟s national parks is to manage development in order to protect the area for future generations, while offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy and understand the national parks,” Minister Kent added. “During the public consultation process, we heard from many Canadians representing many perspectives. We recognize and appreciate the passion all Canadians feel for our national parks.”

Minister Kent thanked Brewster Travel Canada for their work in developing this proposal for consideration. For over 120 years, Brewster has been a valued partner in presenting outstanding visitor experiences and learning opportunities in Canada‟s mountain national parks to Canadians and visitors from around the world.

This decision also supports the Government‟s Federal Tourism Strategy, which helps encourage the development of exceptional tourism experiences and inspire the world to explore Canada.

The Icefields Parkway in Banff and Jasper national parks is an iconic feature and part of one of the finest and most extensive systems of protected natural areas in the world. Parks Canada is committed to ensuring Canada‟s special places are presented and protected for the enjoyment, education and appreciation of all Canadians, today and in the future. For a detailed backgrounder on the project click here:

00097e Glacier Discovery Walk_Bkg

Parks Canada remains dedicated to its Ecological Integrity mandate in the Rocky Mountain Parks, click here to read a conservation backgrounder:  00097e Glacier Discovery Walk Mountain Parks Achievements CEO Backgrounder_

To Listen to the CBC Current Radio Show “Whither National Parks”  that discusses the Glacier Discovery Walk, Click Here:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/01/27/wither-national-parks/

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/01/27/wither-national-parks/

Calgary, Alberta – February 1, 2012 – Parks Canada has delayed making a decision on a controversial multi-million dollar tourist attraction proposed for Jasper National Park in order to digest the flood of public comments it has received.

The Rocky Mountain park’s superintendent, Greg Fenton, was originally set to announce on Tuesday whether Glacier Discovery Walk, an interpretative trail with a suspended glass walkway, would be given the green light, turned down or sent back to the proponent for more information.

Brewster Travel Canada, which is based in Banff, Alta. and has U.S. ownership, is spearheading the concept, which if approved would be built along the icfields Parkway, near the Athabasca Glacier and could attract close to 263,000 visitors a year. But the company has run into significant opposition from local environmentalists, who have lobbied against the development and almost 180,000 people have signed an online petition posted by global activist group, Avaaz.org, which expresses concern about privatization in the national parks. Parks said it has received 2,200 formal submissions from the public.

“There was a large amount of comments and we’re just taking the time we need to comprehensively review it,” said Parks Canada spokeswoman Alisson Ogle.  The 169-page environmental assessment is also being reviewed, she said.

A decision should be made by mid-February, according to Parks.

Calgary, Alberta – January 30, 2011 - Glacier Discovery Walk is imagined as a 400-metre interpretative trail that meanders along a Rocky Mountain cliff-side leading to a glass-floored observation platform, which juts 30 metres out, and 280 metres above, the Sunwapta Valley in Jasper National Park.

The proposed multimillion-dollar tourist attraction would be built off of Alberta’s Highway 93 – the Icefields Parkway – one of the most beautiful drives in the world. The facility would also be 6.5 kilometres up the road from the Athabasca Glacier, one of the globe’s most publicly visible victims of global warming.

According to proponents of the project, it could attract nearly 263,000 visitors a year. But it is also attracting significant opposition.

The design, which was conceived by Calgary’s Sturgess Architecture, recently beat out entries from 60 nations to win a future-projects award at the prestigious World Architecture Festival in Barcelona.

Brewster Travel Canada, which is behind the project, hoped to begin construction this summer for public use next spring, but opposition is mounting against it, driven in large part by an online global activist group.

Since Jan. 5, Avaaz.org has collected more than 178,000 signatures on its “Save Jasper National Park” petition, which warns of the privatization of a national park by an American-owned company.

Parks Canada is examining the proposal as well as 2,200 formal submissions by the public (not including the petition) and is expected to make a ruling by Tuesday. Brewster could be rejected, asked for more information or be given the green light to submit detailed construction plans and start lease negotiations.

The decision rests solely with Jasper’s superintendent, Greg Fenton.

“The magnitude, the scope and the size of response is certainly something that we’re not used to,” he said.

For 80 years, there has been a parking lot that allows drivers to stop and enjoy the view of Sunwapta Canyon. But it is located at a blind corner on a steep hill with no signs, which has sometimes ended in sudden turnoffs, car accidents and collisions with wildlife. Bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer, elk, grizzly bears and wolves have been all spotted in the area.

Brewster estimates that visitation to the viewpoint would jump 219 per cent to 262,987 and of those, 180,000 would pay (the fee would range from $15 to $29) to use the discovery walk. Brewster won’t talk about the cost of building, but Parks Canada said construction would run between $8-million and $12-million.

Mr. Fenton said the public response has been “polarized.”

“There are certainly those that are in full support of it because they see that it has the potential for enhancing the visitor experience and enhancing the natural environment, and there’s others that are definitely opposed to it for some [reasons] related to potential environmental consequences and some more philosophical or policy issues around commercialization and development,” he said.

Proponents

Glacier Discovery Walk has been in the works for a few years as a potential tourist draw that would meet Parks Canada’s mandate to improve visitor experience and increase the number of tourists.

Icefields Parkway use has been declining since 1999 when it peaked at 518,301 vehicles, and according to Parks Canada’s latest available figures, slid to 431,297 in 2006. Jasper’s management plan calls for increasing visitors by 2 per cent per year – something Brewster would also like to see.

“We want people to spend more time in the Parkway rather than just driving through and looking out the window – actually get out and engage with the landscape, learn something,” said Brewster’s president, Michael Hannan.

To meet federal rules, Brewster held public consultations and hired Golder Associates of Calgary to conduct an environmental assessment.

The Golder report describes how the existing footprint of the lookout would be reconfigured, but 3,600-cubic-metres of rock would be removed from the face of the cliff. Rock blasting and drilling would be noisy. The facility would use hand sanitizers instead of piping in water, self-composting toilets and solar panels.

The report concluded that during construction, the impact would mostly be “negligible” or “low.” There would be a “moderate” impact on traffic due to more vehicles as well as a “moderate” negative impact on the mortality to sheep and goats. But once the facility is complete, collision concerns would be moderately alleviated, but there would be a “moderate” increase in vehicle emissions. It also concludes that jobs would be created and the visitor experience would become “high.”

Monica Andreeff, executive director of the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment, a non-profit group that says it advocates for a balance between sustainable tourism and the environment, has written to Ottawa in support of the proposal as a “win for all sides.”

“There’s been a lot of emotional rhetoric surrounding this issue and we’re concerned about misinformation,” Ms. Andreeff said.

Mr. Hannan said those opposed to the project fail to acknowledge the reality of the park.

“There are hotels,” he pointed out, “There are ski hills. There are tramways and gondolas and guided tour companies. There are dry cleaners. There are lawyers. There are credit unions. There are banks. There are towns in the national parks. We’re a business that is providing a service within the park the way every other business is operating within the park.”

Opponents

During public consultations last year, a number of local activists, environmentalists and others voiced concerns about the proposal.

Jim Pissot, executive director of Canmore, Alta.-based WildCanada Conservation Alliance, is among those who filed his objection to the project, which he called a “monstrosity.” Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May weighed in against what she called a “theme-park like development” that sets a “damaging precedent” and places sensitive species at risk.

But it wasn’t until a local activist turned to avaaz.org for help that opposition exploded. Its online petition urged people to speak out against the proposal, which would privatize a section of Jasper by an American-owned company and kick off a slippery slope to more development.

Brewster, which was founded by two brothers in Banff, Alta. in 1892 where it is still headquartered, has had U.S.-based ownership since 1965. It has grown into a transportation, hotel and tour company that caters to about 1.5 million people a year throughout the Canadian Rockies, including a hotel near the Athabasca Glacier and an icefields bus tour. Its ownership is 100 per cent in the hands of Viad Corp., an events and tourism company based in Arizona.

Emma Ruby-Sachs, a Canadian who is the group’s campaign director based in Chicago, said it is mostly Canadians who are signing the petition. While she acknowledges that the environmental assessment is “quite favourable” to the project, the petition is actually about not allowing national parks to be turned into “cash cows.”

“Our campaign is really asking Canadians to draw a line in the sand and say if we let big corporations and their lobbyists turn our national parks into our money makers, there will be no end of it,” she said.

Ms. Ruby-Sachs expects Mr. Fenton will have no choice but to respond to the “public outcry.”

The petition gained speed through social media channels and within a day of the petition being posted, Ottawa issued a press release titled “setting the record straight.” Mr. Fenton said Ottawa wanted to correct some “misinformation” and “inaccuracies.” Ottawa still controls entry to the park where visitors can use services provided by businesses, and that economic benefits are part of what national parks offer, including those by Brewster.

Mr. Fenton knows he’s in an unenviable position. Will some people walk away unhappy at the end? “Absolutely,” he said.

The Calgary Herald               By Rob Alexander:

Calgary, Alberta – January 28, 2012 - A public consultation process as part of a plan to reintroduce plains bison to Banff National Park is to begin immediately.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent said Friday during the announcement at the Banff Park Museum National Historic Site that the consultation process will allow Parks Canada to develop a plan to return plains bison to its natural habitat in the Rocky Mountains.

“We have evidence to show that bison inhabited this region for thousands of years. We are now about to launch a process that may eventually see a wild plains bison herd returned to a natural habitat in Banff National Park,” said Kent.

“We want to fully under-stand the challenge, and we want to hear from everyone who wishes to share their views with us – about the issues and also about the solutions.”

“Over the coming months we will conduct a broad consultation to consider all of the potential impacts both in the park and on neighbouring lands, so that we can consider and address possible solutions.”

As part of the consultation process, which Banff superintendent Pam Veinotte said would begin in February, Parks Canada will work with the Alberta government, local First Nations and other key stake-holders and partners to develop a preliminary bison reintroduction plan.

Once complete, Parks Canada intends to take the preliminary plan to the public and use those discussions to finalize the Banff National Park bison restoration plan.

Rob Alexander is a reporter for the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

For further informaiton:

Bison Reintroduction Consultation News Release

Bison Reintroduction Backgrounder January 2012

Click here to watch the broadcast:

http://www.albertaprimetime.com/Archived.aspx?pd=3240

For a full schedule of events, many of them free, open this item then click on the links below.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/ne/calendrier-calender.aspx

http://www.banfflakelouise.com/Area-Events/Festivals/Winter/SnowDays?gclid=CKrVguO-2q0CFSwBQAods0w8kw/schedule/schedule