By Files from Taylor Chartrand and Government of Alberta

Creating a Bighorn Country for all Albertans

Nov 24, 2018 | 1:36 PM

EDMONTON — Alberta is consulting on a proposal for Bighorn Country that would conserve natural landscapes while boosting economic development, tourism and recreation.

Located between Banff and Jasper national parks, Bighorn Country includes the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River that provide clean drinking water to more than one-million Albertans. Its rugged terrain, scenic vistas and array of rare plants and wildlife make it a popular recreation and tourism destination.

In the spirit of Kananaskis Country, the province is proposing a mix of parks and public lands that would preserve natural landscapes while supporting a wide range of world-class tourism and recreation opportunities. 

“Forty years ago, Premier Peter Lougheed created Kananaskis Country due to increased pressures on the eastern slopes,” said Premier Rachel Notley in a press-release.  “Now, Kananaskis provides amazing experiences and opportunities, showing that investments in Alberta today mean our children and grandchildren will have wild spaces to enjoy in the future. We are asking all Albertans to help us create a place for everyone.”

To ensure the right balance of Indigenous, economic, environmental and social values and goals, all interested parties can provide input on the future of the Bighorn Country through an online survey available from Nov. 23, 2018 to Jan. 31, 2019.

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“This mix of parks, recreation areas and public land-use zones has the potential to be the greatest tourism development opportunity the area has ever seen,” said Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks in the same press-release. “We know how much Albertans value nature and time spent outdoors. This proposal will create new jobs, enhance mountain recreation and preserve the wilds of the Bighorn back-country for generations to come.”

New land designations in Bighorn Country would better protect headwaters and biodiversity, support continued traditional land-use by Indigenous Peoples, and provide high-quality outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism opportunities.

Key proposals include:

— A proposed investment of $40 million over five years in operations and capital infrastructure.
— Establishing the Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park to conserve nature and allow low-impact backcountry recreation experiences provided by both the public and private sector.
— Creating three new provincial parks – The David Thompson Provincial Park, The North Saskatchewan River Provincial Park, and the Ya Ha Tinda Provincial Park – to offer front-country experiences that come with infrastructure investments such as campgrounds and staging areas for recreation activities like hiking, paddling, horseback riding, and more.
— Establishing three Provincial Recreation areas – Snow Creek, Bighorn Dam and Hummingbird – to accommodate future demand for commercial development while offering staging areas for off-highway vehicle (ATV and snowmobile) access to designated trails.
— Expanding and designating Shunda Provincial Recreation Area to offer a range of public and private-sector nature-based tourism and recreation development and investment opportunities.
— Amending the Kiska/Willson Public Land Use Zone and establishing a new West Country Public Land Use Zone east of the Bighorn that would continue to permit industrial development such as forestry and energy uses while supporting new and existing designated trails. Management planning in the new zone would be done with stakeholders over two years.
— The refurbishment of 240 existing campsites and the construction of more than 150 new campsites. This would also include investment in parking lots, trails and staging areas.
—  Direct consultation on extending tourism leases beyond 25 years to bolster private investment in tourism infrastructure, providing greater certainty on long-term investment opportunities.
— Direct consultation with local off-highway vehicle organizations to engage on the investment model for sustainable trail development.

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