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This is a list of protected areas of Alberta. Protected areas are managed by the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
or 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—i ...
. The provincial government owns 60% of Alberta's landmass but most of this has not been formally protected. The total protected area throughout Alberta including federal and provincial protected areas is approximately . __TOC__


International recognition

Six of Canada's 14
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s are entirely or partially located in
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
: *
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site is located in the Canadian Rockies. It consists of seven contiguous parks including four National Parks of Canada, national parks: *Banff National Park, Banff *Jasper Nat ...
(shared with
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
) *
Dinosaur Provincial Park Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated a two hour drive east of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; or , about a half-hour drive northeast of Brooks. The park is situated in the Red Deer River valley, which is noted for its strik ...
*
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a buffalo jump located where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains begin to rise from the prairie 18 km (11.2 mi) west of Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada on highway 785. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site an ...
*
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the union of Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and Glacier National Park in the United States. Both parks are declared Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO and their union as a World Heritage Site. H ...
(shared with
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
) *
Wood Buffalo National Park Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada at . It is located in northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories. Larger in area than Switzerland, it is the second-largest national park ...
(shared with
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
) *
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is located about southeast of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, or east of the community of Milk River, and straddles the Milk River itself. It is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in the Alberta park sy ...
Alberta also contains the following UNESCO Biosphere Reserves *
Waterton Biosphere Reserve Waterton Biosphere Reserve (established 1979) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve encompassing Waterton Lakes National Park in the extreme south-west of the Province of Alberta, Canada. The reserve includes a section of the east slopes of the Rocky Mou ...
(since 1979) * Beaver Hills Biosphere Reserve (since 2016)


Federally protected areas

Five National Parks of Canada ( Banff, Elk Island,
Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...
, Waterton Lakes and Wood Buffalo), managed by
Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
are located in the province. Several former national parks (such
Buffalo National Park Buffalo National Park was created near the town of Wainwright in east central Alberta on . It was closed in and delisted in 1947 when the land was transferred to the Department of National Defence. The park land was developed for use by Canadi ...
,
Wawaskesy National Park __NOTOC__ Wawaskesy National Park was created north and west of the South Saskatchewan River, north of the city of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Medicine Hat in southeastern Alberta, Canada, on May 31, 1922. It was closed on June 24, 1938, and delisted in ...
, and
Nemiskam National Park Nemiskam National Park was created north of the community of Nemiscam, Alberta, Nemiskam (today a ghost town) in south central Alberta, Canada, in 1922. The park was closed and delisted in 1947. The first Park Superintendent was Edgar McHugh. Nem ...
) formerly existed in
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, but were delisted in 1947. There are several
National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
in Alberta, but only two are operated by Parks Canada:
Rocky Mountain House Rocky Mountain House is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately west of Red Deer at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David Th ...
, which features an indoor interpretation centre and year-round in-person interpretation, and
Frog Lake Frog Lake may refer to: * Frog Lake, Alberta, a Cree community in Canada, site of the ** Frog Lake Massacre * Frog Lake (Colchester), a lake of Colchester County, in Nova Scotia, Canada * Frog Lake (Guysborough), a lake of Guysborough District, i ...
which has only outdoor interpretive panels to mark the site. Alberta is also home to
Suffield National Wildlife Area Suffield National Wildlife Area (SNWA) is a National Wildlife Area located within the boundaries of CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada. SNWA was formally created on the 19th of June, 2003 when it was officially gazetted under Canada Wildlife Act R ...
, a protected area within the military reserve at
CFB Suffield Canadian Forces Base Suffield (also CFB Suffield) is a Canadian Forces base, host to the largest military training area in Canada. It is located in southeastern Alberta, north-northwest of Suffield, northwest of the city of Medicine Hat and sou ...
.


Provincially protected areas

There are several different departments and agencies that deal with land use in Alberta, however Alberta's provincial parks are managed by
Alberta Parks Alberta Parks is an agency of the Government of Alberta 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 ...
, which since 2022 is part of the
Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
whose mandate is to protect the province's natural landscapes in
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, as well as the
Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
. Seven categories of protection exist, provincial parks being one. These categories are:
Ecological reserves

Wilderness areas

Wildland provincial parks

Provincial parks

Natural areas

Heritage rangelands

Provincial recreation areas
, the province of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
managed 76 provincial parks, 32 wildland provincial parks, 208 provincial recreation areas, 15 ecological reserves, 3 wilderness areas, 139 natural areas and 2 heritage rangeland. Although these areas are the responsibility of the
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
government, private companies have been contracted to handle various aspects of the operation of many parks (e.g. maintenance and campground operation).


List of wilderness areas

Wilderness areas have the strictest level of protection, no development of any kind is permitted, and travel is only permitted by foot. * Ghost River Wilderness Area * Siffleur Wilderness Area * White Goat Wilderness Area *
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 ...


List of provincial parks


Other parks

*
Birch Mountains Wildland Birch Mountains Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in Wood Buffalo, northern Alberta, Canada. It contains a free roaming wood bison herd. The area has a remarkably diverse ecosystem that supports lake trout, lake whitefish, ...
(wildland) * Caribou Mountains Wildland Park (wildland) *
Chinchaga Wildland Park Chinchaga Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in northwestern Alberta, Canada. The park is a environmentally protected tract of land within the of the greater Chinchaga wilderness area. It is a disjunct outlier of the Foothi ...
(wildland) *
Dillon River Wildland Park Dillon River Wildland Park is a wildland provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada that is in size. It is located in the northeast portion of the province within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, encompassing lands west of the Saskat ...
(wildland) *
Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Park Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Park is a wildland provincial park located in northeastern Alberta, Canada within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Summer activities include activities like back-country camping, hunting, kayaking, and fishin ...
(wildland) *
Gipsy-Gordon Wildland Park Gipsy-Gordon Wildland Park is a wildland provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada that is in size. It is located in the northeast portion of the province within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, encompassing lands south of the Clearw ...
(wildland) *
Hay-Zama Lakes Hay-Zama Lakes is a inland wetland and wildland park in northwestern Alberta, Canada. It was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 24, 1982, and is recognized as an Important Bird Area. It "constitutes one of the most ex ...
(wildland) *
Kakwa Wildlands Park Kakwa Wildland Park is a provincial park in the Rocky Mountain Foothills just east of the northern Canadian Rockies, in Alberta, Canada, immediately east of the border with British Columbia at the 120th meridian west. The park is home to Alberta's ...
(wildland) *
Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Cove ...
(not a park but a provincially run tract of land containing several parks) *
Kazan Wildland Park Kazan Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada. It was established on 14 May 2018 and is a large park with an area of . , Kazan is the largest park under Alberta provincial authority (Banff National Park, ...
(wildland) *
Richardson Wildland Park Richardson Wildland Park is a wildland provincial park in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, northern Alberta, Canada. It was established 14 May 2018 and has an area of . Two previous parks, Maybelle River Wildland Provincial Park and Ri ...
(wildland)


Other provincial lands

Approximately 60% of land in Alberta is public land owned by the Alberta government.
 For administrative purposes, the province is divided into two broad land use areas: the
Green Area Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
(forested land, almost entirely provincially owned) and the
White Area White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
(other). The
Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve The Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve is a tract of land owned by the government of Canadian province of Alberta (called "Crown land") along the eastern slopes and foothills of the Albertan section of the Canadian Rockies. It is a long strip of land ...
was created by the
Forest Reserves Act of 1964 A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
.
 There are also 32 provincial
grazing reserve In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...
s located throughout Alberta. They are administered by
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development The List of Alberta provincial ministers shows the '' succeeded'', and ''current'' members of the Executive Council of Alberta of the Alberta Legislature. Premier Deputy Premier Minister of Indigenous Relations Associate Ministers in the ...
.


Municipal parks


See also

*
List of Canadian provincial parks This is a list of all provincial/territorial parks and other provincial/territorial protected areas in Canada. Alberta Alberta's provincial parks and protected areas are managed by Alberta Parks and Alberta Government's ministry of Alberta ...
*
List of provincial parks in Alberta This is a list of provincial parks in the Canadian province of Alberta. These provincial parks are maintained by Alberta Parks. For a list of protected areas in Alberta, see the List of protected areas of Alberta. Provincial Parks Provincial pa ...
* List of National Parks of Canada *
Buffalo National Park Buffalo National Park was created near the town of Wainwright in east central Alberta on . It was closed in and delisted in 1947 when the land was transferred to the Department of National Defence. The park land was developed for use by Canadi ...
(delisted national park)


References


External links


About Alberta's ParksAlberta Parks -list of provincial parksAlberta Community Development - Parks and Protected Areas Land Reference Manual
{{Canada topic, List of protected areas of, Protected areas of Canada *
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...