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BEGINS JUNE 19

Provincial government requests public feedback on parks plan

Jun 19, 2024 | 4:23 PM

The Government of Alberta will be conducting a two-phase public engagement process to gather feedback from Albertans, park visitors, Indigenous communities and community organizations to inform the development of a new Plan for Parks. Public engagement begins June 19 and runs for 60 days.

The Plan for Parks engagement provides an opportunity for Albertans to share their thoughts on topics such as understanding new and emerging trends in recreation and camping, ensuring environmental responsibility, advancing reconciliation and continuing to deliver great visitor experiences for current and future generations.

“Our parks provide truly spectacular outdoor experiences, and we need to make sure their unique beauty is preserved for our children and our children’s children. We want Albertans to share their vision with us, as we create a renewed and modern plan to bring Alberta’s parks into the future,” says Todd Loewen, Minster of Forestry and Parks.

As more visitors explore Alberta’s provincial parks, the government says creating more recreation opportunities will be a top priority of the new plan. This updated vision expects to help Albertans enjoy the great outdoors by creating additional campsites and improving access to activities like kayaking and canoeing.

Feedback will be collected through an online survey, and all feedback will be analyzed and used to create a new draft plan. Officials say this draft will be shared with Albertans publicly with the goal of ensuring that it reflects the diverse input received and to support making any required changes to the plan before it is finalized.

Alberta’s Provincial Parks Act is described as one of the oldest pieces of parks legislation in Canada, first established in 1930 and most recently amended in 2000. The government says the current value of Alberta’s parks to the provincial economy is close to $1 billion in GDP, $400 million in labour income and nearly 9,000 jobs per year.

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