Alberta Parks is an agency of the
Government of Alberta
The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—is ...
which is responsible for managing Alberta's
provincial parks and protected areas.
History
Alberta's system of provincial parks began with the striking of a committee on parks by then Premier
J. E. Brownlee in 1929. This led to the passage of the ''Provincial Parks and Protected Areas Act'' in 1930 and the formation of the Provincial Board of Management to oversee the system. The first provincial parks were
Aspen Beach Provincial Park
Aspen Beach Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada, located 17 km west of Lacombe on Highway 12, a short drive off Highway 2.
Established in 1932, Aspen Beach Provincial Park was the first provincial park in Alberta. The ...
, established in 1932, followed by
Gooseberry Lake,
Park Lake
Park Lake is a neighborhood of the city of Crestwood in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 537 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a separate city. Crestwood annexed Park Lake on May 1, 2006.
Geography
Park Lake is ...
,
Sylvan Lake and
Saskatoon Island later that same year. However further development of the system was halted during the
Great Depression and during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Major changes began in 1950 with the passage of a new ''Parks Act'', the transferring of responsibilities for parks to the
Department of Lands and Forests, and the creation of a new three-person Parks Board. A major budget increase in 1952-53 saw the hiring of the first full-time parks staff. The parks system expanded rapidly with 46 new parks established between 1951 and 1971, focused mostly on recreational campgrounds near lakes. As well in 1959 the Provincial Parks Branch was established, headed by a Provincial Parks Commissioner, who reported to the parks board. Also in 1950 the Parks Branch began to establish provincial historic sites.
In addition to new provincial parks proper, other park-like areas were established by other government departments: the
Department of Highways and Transport had network of roadside campgrounds for the new wave of automotive tourists and the
Alberta Forest Service had a network of recreation areas in forested regions to divert backcountry camping into fewer site, so they could be well monitored and regulated, and environmental impacts localized to just a few places. After the late 1950s the focus of Alberta's parks policy began to shift from recreation to wilderness preservation.
Willmore Wilderness Park
Willmore Wilderness Park, located in Alberta, Canada, is a wilderness area adjacent to Jasper National Park. It is lesser known and less visited than Jasper National Park. There are no public roads, bridges or buildings. There are, however, seve ...
was created in 1959 outside of the parks system under separate legislation to preserve it as a hunting and trapping ground and protect it from industrial development. The ''Parks Act'' was amended in 1964 to allow for the creation of
wilderness area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
s and
natural areas as well as parks, and this was reinforced by the ''Wilderness Areas Act'' of 1971.
A major report on parks was tabled in the legislature in 1973 by
the Honourable Allan Warrack, Minister of Lands and Forests, which concluded that the park system was inadequate, more park lands were needed, existing parks were badly in need of upgrading, there were serious resource development conflicts in some parks, and Albertans in metropolitan centres (in particular seniors and disadvantaged Albertans) lacked opportunities to visit parks. A major budget expansion followed and many new parks were created at this time. In 1975 when the Department of Lands and Forests was dissolved, responsibly for parks, was transferred to the new
Department of Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife.
In addition the
Environment Department began creating campground and picnic areas on lakes and reservoirs to limit erosion and other environmental impacts of recreation. Finally, in the early 1990s all of Alberta's parks and protected areas were consolidated under the management of Alberta Parks.
Statistics
the parks system included:
In addition 10 sites representing are controlled by Alberta Parks but are not (yet) designated as part of a park or protected area.
See also
*
BC Parks
References
{{Authority control
*
Alberta government departments and agencies
1959 establishments in Alberta
Government agencies established in 1959
Land management
Parks services