Highlights from the Jasper National Park Annual Public Forum

Parks Canada hosted its Annual Public Forum for Jasper National Park in-person on March 12, 2024 and virtually on March 13, 2024. Presented for more than 20 years, the Annual Public Forum provides an opportunity for Parks Canada to report on progress towards park goals and objectives outlined in the Jasper National Park Management Plan, and to hear from members of the public about the priorities for Jasper National Park in the year ahead.

To learn more about highlights of work in the park in 2023, review Jasper’s 2023 Annual Report.

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Highlights of feedback shared by forum attendees

Bears in the Jasper Townsite

How can Parks Canada, residents, and visitors work together to minimize conflict with bears and other wildlife in Jasper National Park?

• Educational programs for youth in schools
• Hazing bears with loud noises
• Relocate and plant native shrubs like soapberry/buffalo berry in montane areas to attract bears and provide alternative food source to in-town fruit trees

What do you think Parks Canada, the Municipality, residents, and local businesses should do to reduce wildlife attractants like fruit trees, garbage or bird feeders in the townsite.

• Organize a volunteer-based fruit picking program
• After a reasonable number of warnings, consider financially penalizing residents for not removing bear attractants
• Make information on attractants more accessible
• Fence the town

Parks Canda response: The high level of community engagement on this issue and the strong response to the replacement fruit tree program is encouraging. Parks Canada saw a positive reception to the fruit tree replacement program with 8 sign-ups at the in-person event, and approximately 40 inquires at time of publishing. Parks Canada is working towards delivering management plan commitments to implement new and existing strategies and tools to reduce wildlife habituation in the Jasper townsite by encouraging and facilitating the removal of wildlife attractants from residential and commercial properties. Parks Canada will continue to work with the Municipality of Jasper and local residents on our shared responsibility to ensure human and wildlife safety.

Trails

How effective do you find the current trail markers and informational signage?

• Lack of consistency on signage
• Improve legibility of signage
• Provide clarity on closure areas
• Opportunity for signage about the Chetamon wildfire at Jasper Lake

What improvements would you like to see in the trail system within Jasper National Park?

• Additional roofed accommodation and shelters in the backcountry
• Bike packing routes
• No more new trails, keep network at net zero growth
• Some priority given to lower-use trails
• Share information on the trail priority matrix
• More trail maintenance; specifically on the North Boundary and South Boundary trails
• Don’t rebuild bridges too fast. Some valleys need time alone for a few years
• Maintain backcountry trail networks, including bridges like at Simon Creek
• Designated trails for horse use
• Wildland trail consistency on maps
• Consider use of digital wayfinding tools
• Missing plaques at Jasper House and on the Discovery Trail

Parks Canada response: Parks Canada conducts an annual operational review to ensure trail and bridge matrices accurately reflect trail priorities to ensure park visitor offer is well defined and well communicated, and that available resources are efficiently allocated. Under the Canada National Parks Act, maintaining or restoring ecological integrity is the first priority in park management. In Jasper, large areas of the park are managed as wilderness, and minimal facilities and low levels of human use contribute to providing the habitat requirements for wildlife.

Thank you for bringing the missing plaques to our attention!

Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species

What do you value about lakes and rivers in the park?

• Ecosystem services, recreation opportunities, wildlife habitat, intrinsic value
• Diversity of ecosystems
• The clean, clear water. Lack of motor noise pollution.
• Riparian areas that provide stability to rivers with rapidly changing flow routes
• Their accessibility
• Suggestion to allow managed storage of canoes and paddleboards at Edith and Pyramid

How do you use lakes and rivers in the park?

• Fishing, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, ice walking
• Ice skating
• Peace of mind

Parks Canada response: The range of ecological and experiential values expressed about lakes and rivers in the park is useful feedback. Parks Canada is implementing additional measures to actively prevent and minimize threats from aquatic invasive species and diseases in lakes and rivers in the park.

Indigenous Relations and Cultural Heritage

How can Parks Canada, residents, and visitors work together to put reconciliation into action with Indigenous partners in Jasper National Park?

• More education opportunities for locals and visitors like workshops or informative signs
• More special events
• Workshops for guided businesses to learn more
• Signage with Indigenous languages
• Parks Canada staff weave Indigenous knowledge into monitoring and management

Parks Canada response: Parks Canada notes participants strong desire to further learn about Indigenous communities connected to Jasper National Park and to strengthen Indigenous knowledge in park monitoring and management. Parks Canada and the Jasper Indigenous Forum will continue to work together to cultivate a better understanding of Indigenous people’s perspectives, cultures and traditions, and to collaborate on park projects and operational issues.

Dogs in Jasper National Park

Do you think the rules around dogs in Jasper National Park are well-communicated to dog owners? What could be improved?

• Put advertisements in the papers to remind residents and visitors
• Make note of dog rules at the park gates
• More enforcement of off-leash dogs
• Improve the off-leash area
• Better signage at trailheads
• Provide free leashes at kiosks

Have you experienced conflict involving dogs and wildlife, or dogs and people, when walking in Jasper National Park? Where?

• Conflicts with users and dogs in municipal parks, beaches, Old Fort Point and the airfield
• The off-leash dog park should have level ground, shade and open areas for people and dogs to enjoy, as well as a division for big and small dogs
• Dogs seen chasing sheep near cliffs at Old Fort Point in the spring
• Dog waste alongside trails is common on popular trails, including Valley of the Five Lakes and the Overlander near 6th bridge
• Reported conflicts on Morro peak with dogs off leash due to the steep terrain

Parks Canada response: The cooperation of most dog owners in reducing the impacts of dogs in the park on wildlife, wildlife habitat, and reducing unsafe dog and wildlife interactions is valued. We are grateful for the suggestions of how to improve broader communication and compliance around dog management issues, as well as suggestions regarding the Municipality of Jasper’s off-leash dog exercise area. Parks Canada will pass the suggestions around the dog park along on to our colleagues at the Municipality. Parks Canada is currently conducting a review of dog management within the park and the diverse feedback collected at the annual forum will be considered in the context of this review.

Visitor Use Management

Mount Edith Cavell, Maligne Canyon, Lake Annette and Lake Edith, Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, Old Fort Point, and Valley of the Five Lakes are some of the most popular areas of the park, attracting thousands of people per day in the summer.

What makes your experience at these places special?

• Experiences viewing wildlife
• Safe opportunities for active travel
• Sounds and sights of pikas and of glaciers calving

What could make your experience at these places better?

• No expansions of parking lots
• Invest in the backcountry and promote less popular areas to spread out use
• Improve active transit access (hiking and biking) to popular destinations by providing additional bike racks and improving connector trails
• Public transit / shuttles, lakeshore boat storage and improved interpretive signage
• Concession options for food and drink at high use locations
• Permits and reservations like in the United States of America and Moraine Lake in Banff are the way forward
• Public consultation for Visitor Use Management should include local stakeholders
• The goal should be quality of experiences not mass tourism

Parks Canada response: There is a broad range of creative ideas about ensuring positive visitor experiences and maintaining ecological integrity as visitation to Jasper National Park continues to grow. Parks Canada will be launching consultation this summer on Visitor Use Management Planning for popular destinations in Jasper to further understand the views of the public, stakeholders and Indigenous partners on issues and opportunities with increasing visitation at these locations.

Wildfire Risk Reduction

How can Parks Canada best communicate with you about prescribed fires and wildfire operations?

• Emergency alert sent to cell phones for immediate risk
• Get people registered in advance
• Social media
• Email distribution list

Jasper National Park is encouraging residents and businesses to use native plants in their landscaping projects. How can Parks Canada best support Jasperites to achieve this?

• Interpretive programs on native plants, and a seedbank for locals to buy cheaper native seed
• Provide opportunities for native plant relocation efforts
• Provide trees or allow for transplantation
• Provide resources for accessing or purchasing native plants
• Provide a list of preferred plants to locals

Parks Canada response: Community concerns exist about prescribed fires and wildfire operations in the park. As part of efforts continue to enhance communications, Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper hosted a Wildfire Preparedness Information Session on April 24, 2024, to specifically address community concerns related to wildfire preparedness in the park. Parks Canada will look to continue to enhance our communications on wildfire preparedness over the long term. Parks Canada has an approved native species planting list for Jasper National Park; it and other resources will be made available online.

Information Booth

Do you like the structure of the annual forum? Do you have any suggestions for future forums?

• Have more information on climate change
• Plans for the coming year
• More content! Like challenges to these strategies. If something isn’t working, then what?

What table topics would you like to see at future forums?

• Realty and land use planning, business licensing and development review
• Climate change resilience, adaptation and mitigation
• Youth engagement

Other feedback heard:

• Phase-out the Ice-Explorer buses to reduce impacts to the Columbia Icefield
• Interest in animal mortality statistics for vehicle and train collisions
• Concern about glacial melt waters and the health and cleanliness of those ecosystems.
• Concern regarding Parks Canada involvement in mural approvals and artistic guidelines
• Concern surrounding water use and sewage treatment at out-of-town accommodations.
• Reinstating a designated Environment Stewardship and board in conjunction with the Municipality of Jasper. Issues: Transfer station, appropriate recycling.
• Rent control on Crown land
• Incentivize campground cancellations better to reduce unused campsite bookings.
• Improve recycling and waste disposal
• Involve local businesses in transit scheduling

Parks Canada response: Residents and visitors’ commitment to stewardship for Jasper National Park is clear. The wide-ranging views of attendees on a breadth of issues in the park, and the passion and dedication of attendees in making the park a better place for visitors, wildlife, and residents is encouraging.