Banff National Park of Canada
Park Management
10.0 Park Zoning
10.1 National Park Zoning System
The zoning system is an integrated approach to the classification of land and water areas in a national park. Areas are classified according to the need to protect the ecosystem and the park's cultural resources. The capability and suitability of these areas in providing opportunities for visitors is also a consideration in making decisions about zoning. The zoning system has five categories, which are described in Parks Canada: Guiding Principles and Operational Policies (Parks Canada, 1994).
The 1988 management plan for Banff National Park included a zoning plan. Although the zoning remains primarily the same, some modifications have been made as a result of changes to recommendations and of the 1988 amendments to the National Parks Act . These amendments provide for the designation, by regulation, of wilderness areas in a park.
The process for designating wilderness areas has begun. The size of wilderness areas is based on the zoning plan for the park, natural boundaries such as rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, and the park boundary.
Large tracts of protected wilderness are becoming a scarce and valuable resource. The intent of the wilderness designation is to maintain the integrity of areas that are large enough to preserve their wilderness values. Only development required for essential services and the protection of park resources is allowed in these designated wilderness areas.
From an ecological perspective, large, relatively undisturbed areas support natural processes, and provide benchmarks of natural structure and processes. These large areas are critical to animal species with large home ranges or to migrating wildlife.
This plan also designates three Environmentally Sensitive Sites (ESS).
10.2 Zone 1 - Special Preservation
Zone 1 lands deserve special preservation because they contain or support, unique, threatened or endangered natural or cultural features, or are among the best examples of the features that represent a natural region. Preservation is the key consideration. Motorized access and circulation is not permitted. This plan identifies four - zone 1 areas that were also included in the 1988 park management plan. This zone covers approximately four per cent of the park.
Clearwater-Siffleur Zone I Area
The Clearwater-Siffleur Area contains the range of the southernmost Woodland caribou herd in Alberta and a number of physiographic and biotic resources that are rare in the park. These resources include hoodoos, permafrost, rare plant and animal species, prehistoric cultural sites, elk and bighorn sheep range, and wolf and grizzly bear habitat.
Castleguard Cave System and Meadows Zone I Area
The Castleguard Cave System is a karst system that is internationally recognized for its physical development, diversity of features, and rare and unique fauna. At more than 16 km, it is the longest cave in Canada and the second deepest cave in the country. The entire Castleguard Cave System contains a notable variety of special features including stalagmites and stalactites, precipitates of gypsum, hydromagnesite and rare cave minerals. The Castleguard area not only contains significant surficial karst features but is also an outstanding example of pristine alpine vegetation.
Cave and Basin Marsh Zone I Area
The discovery of the Cave and Basin springs on Sulphur Mountain led to the establishment of the Canadian national park system. The Cave and Basin Complex has been designated as a National Historic Site in recognition of its historic significance. The warm water of the Cave and Basin marsh supports a number of invertebrates and provides a unique habitat for reptiles and amphibians. The Cave and Basin area is the most important habitat for snakes in the park. The Vermilion Wetlands and the Cave and Basin marsh constitute the most productive bird habitat in the lower Bow Valley.
Christensen Archaeological Site Zone I Area
This deeply stratified site, located along the Bow Valley Parkway, contains archaeological evidence of at least nine separate periods of occupation dating back some 8,000 years. Protection of not only the artifacts but the entire area is important.
10.3 Zone II - Wilderness
Zone II contains extensive areas that are good representations of a natural region and that are conserved in a wilderness state. The perpetuation of ecosystems with minimal human interference is the key consideration. Zone II areas offer opportunities for visitors to experience, first hand, the park's ecosystems and require few, if any, rudimentary services and facilities. In much of Zone II, visitors have the opportunity to experience remoteness and solitude. Motorized access is not permitted.
Most of the park will be managed as Zone II. Much of this land consists of steep mountain slopes, glaciers and lakes. Zone II areas cannot support high levels of visitor use and facility development. Facilities are restricted to trails, backcountry campgrounds, alpine huts, trail shelters and warden patrol facilities. Sections of the park will continue to have no facilities.
10.4 Zone III - Natural Environment
In Zone III areas, visitors experience the park's natural and cultural heritage through outdoor recreational activities that require minimal services and facilities of a rustic nature. Zone III covers approximately one per cent of the park; it applies to areas where visitor use requires facilities that exceed the acceptable standards for Zone II. No motorized access is permitted, except for snowmobiles used to set tracks and service backcountry facilities and off-season servicing by helicopters. Access routes and land associated with backcountry commercial lodges are in Zone III.
10.5 Zone IV - Outdoor Recreation
Zone IV covers approximately one per cent of the park and accommodates a broad range of opportunities for understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the park's heritage. Direct access by motorized vehicles is permitted. In Banff, Zone IV includes frontcountry facilities and the rights-of-way along park roads. Zone IV nodes occur at Lake Minnewanka, and the three ski areas.
10.6 Zone V - Park Services
The Town of Banff and Hamlet of Lake Louise are the Zone V areas; they cover less than one per cent of the park.
10.7 Environmentally Sensitive Sites
This designation applies to areas with significant and sensitive features that require special protection. The 1988 Banff National Park Management Plan identified two Environmentally Sensitive Sites - the Vermilion Lakes Wetlands and the Middle Springs. The Fairholme Area has been added as a third ESS (see Section 3.13).
Vermilion Lakes Wetlands ESS
The Vermilion Lakes Wetlands support a diversity of vegetation and many rare and significant plant species. These communities are important habitat for a variety of birds and mammals. The area is also important for wildlife movement and contains many special features: lakes, ponds, springs, rare birds, moose winter range, elk calving areas and ungulate mineral licks. The alluvial landforms on the north and east shores of the lakes and adjacent wetlands are also rich in significant archaeological resources from at least 10,700 years ago. An area plan will be prepared for the Vermilion Lakes Wetlands (see Section 3.14).
The Middle Springs ESS
The upper and lower Middle Springs remain the only relatively undisturbed hot springs on Sulphur Mountain. The warm mineral waters create a unique habitat for rare plants and invertebrates. This area is located in the wildlife corridor established in conjunction with the residential housing development on the shoulder of Sulphur Mountain.
The Fairholme-Carrot Creek Benchlands ESS
The Fairholme range area from the East Gate to Johnson Lake is the largest remaining intact block of secure montane wildlife habitat in the park. Human use of this area, particularly during the summer, can restrict wildlife movement (see Section 3.13). Off-road bicycling will not be permitted and trails will not be maintained in this area.
10.8 The Montane Ecoregion
The park is comprised of four ecoregions: montane, lower subalpine, upper subalpine and alpine. The montane ecoregion occurs below the lower subalpine zone on the lower slopes and bottoms of large valleys. Less than 4% of the park area is within the montane zone.
The montane ecoregion has a moderate temperature and precipitation compared with other ecoregions in the Central Rockies Ecosystem. Winters are warmer and drier than other zones and the snowpack is relatively light.
The montane ecoregion is critical to wildlife. These lower elevation areas are important wildlife corridors especially during the fall, winter and spring. Many animals move to this area in winter due to the shallower snowpack.
This zone however is extensively impacted by human development and use. The Town of Banff, TransCanada Highway and the CP railway are all within the montane ecoregion. Due to the historical extent of development within the montane, it is not possible to put the montane ecoregion within a single zone for protection purposes. The extent of the montane area however has been shown on the Zoning Map to draw attention to the limited amount of montane land that remains undeveloped, and to ensure decisions take into account the limited nature of this important ecoregion.