Kananaskis

Spray Valley/Peter Lougheed Provincial Parks Management Plan

Spray Valley and Peter Lougheed Provincial Parks are areas of magnificent beauty, both of which are valued for their wild character.  CPAWS has had a long-standing and profound interest in Kananaskis Country.

The Draft Management Plan for Peter Lougheed/Spray Valley Provincial Parks was released in July of 2003. Although the draft was commendable in many ways, CPAWS was concerned that a few issues were not addressed adequately.  The draft plan characterized the maintenance of business opportunities, including tourism and recreation, in the area as desirable. CPAWS believes it is critical for people to have opportunities to enjoy our wilderness, but these opportunities should not conflict with the purpose of parks and protected areas, i.e., recreational activities should not be prioritized over ecological integrity or ecosystem health.  The draft failed to provide clear prioritization between the conflicting interests of protection and human use. A lack of direction in this matter could be exploited to justify anything from pristine preservation to intensive development. The draft also left the door open for the expansion of camping facilities in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, even though demand hardly warrants such an expansion.  Given the historic degradation of fish habitat in this area, a commitment to increase the amount of fish habitat would have been more fitting than an objective to have “no-net- loss” of fish habitat.

The final management plan, which was released in 2006, did not address many of the above concerns. The final plan continued to characterize certain business opportunities as desirable and continued to provide a lack of direction between the conflicting interests of human use and protection.  Failing to address our concerns, the final management plan continued to allow for the expansion of camping facilities in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, and failed to commit to an increase in fish habitat. In fact, the final plan did not include the original commitment of “no-net-loss” of fish habitat. This is CPAWS’ greatest concern with this plan and we will continue to advocate for improved fish habitat in this area.  Overall, however, the Final Management Plan was generally admirable, and is supported by CPAWS Southern Alberta.

Link to Final Management Plan

Back to Top
Return to Main menu