Banff National Park of Canada

Proposed Human Use Management Strategy for the Lands Adjacent to the Town of Banff May 2006

• Introduction
• An Overview of the LATB Planning Process
• Existing Conditions
• The Proposals
• Proposed Human Use Management Strategy
• Summary of Public Comment
• What Happens Next?
• External Advisory Group
• Lands Adjacent to the Town of Banff, Maps
• Printable version (PDF, 83 kb)

Introduction

The management plan for Banff National Park was approved in 1997. The plan was amended in 2004 to include an expanded Human Use Management Strategy for the park, with the exception of the Lands Adjacent to the Town of Banff (LATB). Following are the proposals for the LATB area. The attached map shows the LATB area.

A public advisory group worked with Parks Canada to develop recommendations for the LATB area. The group's recommendations (May 2005) provide important input for this proposed Human Use Management Strategy. Strategic items in the group's recommendations are the basis of the following proposals. After public review, the proposals will be revised as necessary and submitted to the Minister for consideration as an amendment to the Management Plan.

The advisory group comprised representatives of:

• Town of Banff
• Banff Light Horse Association
• Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance
• Bow Valley Naturalists (local environmental interests)
• Banff-Lake Louise Tourism
• National Parks Ski Areas Association
• Under the Sleeping Buffalo Research (national environmental interests)
• Banff-Lake Louise Hotel/Motel Association
• Province of Alberta
• Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment
• Residents of the Town of Banff

An Overview of the LATB Planning Process

1997 Park Management Plan

2004 Human Use Management Strategy
incorporated in amended MP

External Advisory Group
recommendations for LATB area

Parks Canada review of recommendations

Parks Canada's proposed amendments
to the Management Plan
(this document)

Public review of proposals

Proposals revised as necessary

Human Use Management Strategy for LATB
submitted for Minister's consideration as MP amendment

The Park Management Plan reflects legislation in the Canada National Parks Act.

Section 4(1):
“ The national parks of Canada are hereby dedicated to the people of Canada for their benefit, education and enjoyment….and the parks shall be maintained and made use of so as to leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. ”

Section 8(2):
“ Maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity, through the protection of natural resources and natural processes, shall be the first priority of the Minister when considering all aspects of the management of parks. ”

In the Management Plan, human use management is defined as “ the direction and guidance of people, their numbers, their behaviour, permissible activities and the necessary infrastructure. The objective of human use management is to allow people to enjoy a national park without damaging its ecological integrity. ” (Banff Park Management Plan 2004, p.42)

The advisory group followed this direction and developed recommendations to protect ecological conditions and to enhance visitor experiences for the 8 200 residents and 3.14 million annual visitors. As the most intense use of the LATB area occurs in the summer months, the proposals focus on summer use.

Parks Canada's mandate consists of three “pillars” – protecting ecological integrity, facilitating memorable visitor experiences and providing public education. All three are addressed in the following proposed Human Use Management Strategy for the LATB area.

Existing Conditions
The Park Management Plan provides some broad management direction for lands in the LATB area, such as restoring ecological integrity in the Cascade wildlife corridor and improving popular day use destinations. The purpose of this proposed human use management strategy is to provide more details within the plan framework.

The LATB area is the most visited part of Banff National Park, with a wide variety of public and commercial facilities for the enjoyment of visitors e.g. the Upper Hot Springs, Cave and Basin, Mt. Norquay ski area, Sulphur Mountain gondola, Banff Springs golf course, Tunnel Mountain campgrounds, numerous day use areas and many kilometres of trails, especially in the Tunnel Mountain area. Millions of visitors annually enjoy the wide variety of visitor experiences which are available throughout the LATB area.

Recreational opportunities include an extensive network of trails, which are used by hikers, horse riders, bike riders and cross country skiers. More than 400km of trails exist, of which approximately one third is recognized as formal trails designated, maintained and publicized by Parks Canada. About 70,000 trail user days per month are recorded during summer. There is also canoeing at Vermilion Lakes and on the Bow River; downhill skiing at Mt. Norquay; nature viewing at the Cave and Basin Marsh, Vermilion Lakes and Johnson Lake; and ice climbing at the Cascade waterfall.

Excellent opportunities are available to enrich visitor experiences by modernizing existing public facilities, providing an interconnected system of good quality trails and offering comprehensive information and interpretation. The LATB area can be a showcase for the enjoyment and appreciation of a national park.

The national transportation corridors of the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) bisect the area. Other developments include powerlines, gas pipelines, dams, sewage treatment facilities, a hydro generating facility and hotels. Dominating the LATB is the Town of Banff, an international tourism destination with a permanent population of more than 8 000 residents. These permanent features of the landscape have influenced the proposals.

Adjacent to the LATB area and the south boundary of Banff National Park is the town of Canmore, with a current population of 12 000 that is expected to grow to 25 000 in 10 years. Just over an hour's travel to the east is the rapidly growing City of Calgary, with a population of approximately one million.

The LATB area contains the Cave and Basin National Historic Site and many archaeological and cultural heritage features such as the remains of the coal mining community of Bankhead. The advisory group recognized the need to improve interpretation and appreciation of cultural heritage.

The LATB contains important ecological characteristics. Four major valleys – Bow, Spray, Forty Mile and Cascade – converge at the centre of the planning area. They are important wildlife corridors in the park and provide a critical link along the Rockies of North America. Over half of the park's comparatively rare montane grassland ecosystem occurs between the town and Cascade Mountain and eastwards to the Fairholme Bench. It provides significant habitat for a variety of wildlife species such as grizzly and black bears, wolves, cougars, elk and deer. The Vermilion Lakes wetland complex is the largest in the park and provides important habitat for waterfowl, amphibians, fish and some mammals. The park's hot springs are concentrated along the northern base of Sulphur Mountain and provide specialized habitat for plants, fish, amphibians, insects and the unique Banff Springs Snail. Many other individual sites throughout the LATB area are ecologically significant. All of the park's ecosystem stressors such as landscape fragmentation, loss of habitat connectivity and wildlife-human conflicts are evident in the LATB area.

From an ecological perspective, human use and infrastructure have displaced wildlife and diminished habitat. Remaining areas have become increasingly important and options for alternative wildlife habitat do not exist. The challenge is to direct human use so that visitor experiences can continue to be enjoyed and improved and wildlife habitat and movement corridors can continue to function. Numerous actions in the 1997 Management plan have been successfully implemented to restore movement corridors and habitat e.g. the removal of facilities from the Cascade corridor, the establishment of the Sulphur Mountain wildlife corridor and the Fairholme Environmentally Sensitive Site and the introduction of prescribed fire. The recommendations of the Advisory Group and the proposals in this strategy build on the past work to strengthen ecological integrity while also proposing improved visitor experiences.

The Proposals
Much of the recreational pattern of use has developed in a random fashion over the last 100 years. For example, there are many kilometres of trail but

• they are sometimes located in ecologically sensitive areas
• some are in wet, muddy areas
• there are limited connections amongst trails, especially those which originate in town
• the TCH and CPR are effective barriers as no formal trail crossings have been provided

The proliferation of informal trails indicates that the formal network fails to meet the needs of some users. An enlarged network of attractive, convenient and properly constructed formal trails should help to overcome many of the problems and improve visitor experiences, while also permitting the decommissioning of informal trails in order to improve ecological integrity. The Key Actions in this proposed strategy would result in an expansion of the formal trail system from approximately 130 km to approximately 200 km and the decommissioning of up to 250 km of informal trails. Dedicated trail crossings of the TCH and CPR will provide alternatives to the wildlife underpasses, thereby allowing the underpasses to serve their primary function. Attractive trails that connect to popular destinations should also reduce the need for visitors and residents to drive their vehicles, thereby reducing greenhouse gases, as well as parking pressures at some locations.

Great opportunities also exist to improve visitor experiences by providing comprehensive interpretive, directional and appropriate use/behaviour information to enhance visitors' enjoyment and appreciation of the surroundings. The concentration of residents and visitors, many of them repeat visitors, offers an exceptional opportunity to reach many with enhanced heritage presentations.

The proposals also would improve sightseeing drives to Vermilion Lakes and Lake Minnewanka and would modernize visitor facilities at the many popular day use locations within the LATB area.

The proposals support continued co-operation between Parks Canada and the Town of Banff e.g. to create a ring trail around the town, and encourage greater liaison with adjacent provincial parks e.g. to investigate common trail standards.

The Advisory Group presented a wide variety of recommendations to Parks Canada in their May 2005 report. Strategic items are the basis of this proposed Human Use Management Strategy. Other recommendations from the group are more operational and involve improvements to management procedures. They have already been forwarded to park staff as they do not require the Minister's endorsement. Examples of such recommendations include the extension of public transit routes and the resolution of trail user conflicts. Implementation of some of the operational recommendations is already progressing e.g. winter washrooms at Lake Minnewanka, trail upgrades on the Marsh Loop and centralized trail information at Bow Falls.

Collectively, the new proposals in this Human Use Management strategy will improve experiences for park visitors and residents, as well as improving ecological conditions. The proposals are designed to:

PROPOSED HUMAN USE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Strategic Goals

• To maintain and restore ecological integrity in the montane ecoregion
• To improve visitor experiences and recreational opportunities

Objectives

• To provide safe and convenient trail crossings of the TCH and CPR
• To improve trail connections from the Town of Banff to popular locations
• To enlarge the system of formal trails
• To improve visitor experiences at popular locations
• To enhance slow-paced driving opportunities
• To expand heritage presentation opportunities
• To improve the effectiveness of wildlife crossing structures and the Cascade wildlife corridor
• To reduce the fragmentation of wildlife habitat by trails

Key Actions
1. Investigate opportunities for trail users starting from the Town of Banff to safely cross the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR):

• Investigate the feasibility of a trail crossing structure across the TCH and CPR, east of Banff Avenue and separate from the highway interchange
• Until a structure is provided, direct human use to the Cascade River underpass; two alternative approaches from town may be possible, one on each side of the horse corrals, and either would require co-operation with CPR
• Provide formal trail connections on each side of Banff Avenue from the town to the approach to the Cascade River underpass – a total of approximately 6 kms; one would cross the east side of the Indian Grounds, within the trees so as to minimize damage to the sensitive grasslands; on the east side of Banff Avenue, possible routes exist from the Pinewoods site and from Tunnel Mountain campground; these trails should eventually connect with the proposed crossing structure
• Provide a designated trail west from the Third Vermilion Lake to the Five Mile interchange and crossing under the Trans-Canada Highway to connect with the Bow Valley Parkway, a distance of approximately 2.5 kms; locate the trail inside the highway fence in order to eliminate human disturbance at the wildlife underpasses

2. In partnership with the Town of Banff, provide a multi-use family oriented “ring” trail around the town by linking existing trails and by providing new links where needed and ecologically feasible; include a connector to Tunnel Mountain campgrounds
3. Explore the feasibility of a trail between Banff and adjacent communities to the east that avoids the paved shoulder of the Trans-Canada Highway; this would form part of a regional trail through the Bow Valley
4. East of the Cascade River underpass:

• provide a continuous trail between Cascade River underpass and the Lake Minnewanka Day Use Area. The preferred route is to connect the existing Cascade Ponds - Lower Bankhead trail to Lake Minnewanka via Upper Bankhead, the first part of the Cascade trail and a short connection to Lake Minnewanka
• provide a trail connection from Two Jack campground to the Lake Minnewanka trail
• provide a trail connection from the underpass to Johnson Lake via the “Watertower trail”
• monitor trail use and wildlife movements between Cascade River underpass and L. Minnewanka; make adjustments as necessary (e.g. relocate trail segments) if any concerns become apparent

5. Investigate the feasibility of providing a designated trail between the Brewster Creek trailhead and the Five Mile TCH crossing, inside the TCH fence; this would complete a loop trail around the Vermilion wetlands
6. Formalize a network of primary and secondary trails on the Tunnel Mountain bench

• a primary trail encircling Tunnel Mountain Campground, with connections to the Town of Banff and Cascade underpass
• secondary trails north and east of the campground and south and east of the Hoodoos viewpoint
• primary trails are hard surfaced (not paved) and suitable for a wide variety of users; some will accommodate strollers and wheelchairs. Primary trails will be well signed (including distance and difficulty) and well maintained. Most use will be directed to primary trails. Total length is approximately 8 kms
• secondary trails are single track, with varying grades and surface conditions and lower construction and maintenance standards. Total length is approximately 20 kms
• all trails will be multi-use, except for some closures to specific uses if necessary for safety or environmental reasons.
• the network will utilize some currently informal trails as well as existing formal trails
• remaining informal trails will be de-commissioned
• loop trails will be provided where possible
• trail development will avoid sensitive areas such as wildlife corridors and valley bottoms
• the most southerly section of trail, closest to the confluence of the Bow and Cascade Rivers, will be monitored for trail use and for wildlife movements in the area as it is close to the important Duthill wildlife underpass; if disturbance of predators is detected, adaptive measures, up to and including trail closure, will be implemented
• Parks Canada will work with trail user groups and others to implement these actions, including identifying appropriate trails, decommissioning unwanted trails, providing ongoing maintenance of the trail network, monitoring trail use and wildlife movements, discouraging off-trail travel and determining adaptive measures as necessary

7. Designate two trails on the east side of Tunnel Mountain (total length approximately 2 kms) for use as technical mountain bike trails, subject to the following conditions:

• the establishment of a mountain bike stewardship group to take responsibility for the trails, prevent trail proliferation and direct use to the two trails
• the rehabilitation of unauthorized technical mountain bike trails in the Tunnel Mountain area
• upgrading and maintenance guided by the standards of the International Mountain Bike Association
• design features to ensure safety where the mountain bike trails intersect the riverside trail

8. Designate the warm springs wetland between Mountain Avenue and Valleyview as an Environmentally Sensitive Site – an area containing significant and sensitive features that require special protection:

• retain the existing Upper Bridle Trail for commercial horse use and establish a new adjacent parallel trail for other users
• retain the boardwalk trail
• formalize the trail alongside Mountain Avenue between the town and the Upper Hotsprings
• decommission informal trails in the area

9. Improve the Minnewanka Loop Road as a scenic drive by:

• formalizing vehicle pull-offs and viewpoints to reduce environmental impact, enhance visitor experiences and improve safety
• repairing the road surface and improving drainage

10. Each winter, close the western section of the Minnewanka Loop Road to vehicles, from the Johnson Lake intersection to the Minnewanka parking lot
11. Retain Vermilion Lakes road as a scenic drive and maintain motorized access to Third Lake:

• improve the road surface
• improve pull-offs at appropriate locations
• recognize the area as a high priority for providing environmental experiences close to the town
• develop and implement an interpretive plan that focuses on aquatic ecosystems in the montane ecoregion

12. Upgrade facilities to improve visitor experiences and resolve ecological concerns as necessary at day use areas: Johnson Lake, Lake Minnewanka, Mt. Norquay, Vermilion Lakes, Cave and Basin area (including Marsh Loop trail), Hoodoos viewpoint; recognize these popular locations as focal points for providing enhanced heritage presentation
13. Explore the feasibility and the environmental and social implications of an aerial tramway system from the vicinity of the Town of Banff to the Mt. Norquay ski area
14. In partnership with the Town of Banff and the Province of Alberta, investigate the feasibility of providing co-ordinated trail information, including common standards, formats, symbols and published material
15. In partnership with stakeholders

• develop and implement a comprehensive heritage presentation program for the LATB area, including both ecological and cultural heritage messages
• provide a full range of information about opportunities and conditions in the LATB area
• make the LATB area a showcase of co-operative communication partnerships that enhance the experiences of millions of national park visitors

16. In partnership with stakeholders, resolve identified trail issues at specific locations:

• Johnson Lake: reduce the number of informal trails
• Stoney Squaw: provide bike trail connections
• Banff Springs Hotel/Upper Hot Springs: provide trail connections for various user groups
• Cave and Basin/Marsh Loop: resolve user conflicts, damage, environmental impacts
• Bow Falls: provide centralized trailhead facilities
• Sulphur Mountain: provide improved trail identification
• Spray Loop / Tower 1: resolve user conflicts, damage
• decommission informal trails not endorsed in this strategy

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

• Public responses will be received until the end of July
• Responses will be analyzed by an independent consulting firm, who will prepare a summary report by the end of August
• The summary report will be shared with the Advisory Group and posted on the Parks Canada website following translation (likely in late September)
• If appropriate, the proposals will be reviewed and revised in light of public responses
• The Advisory Group will be invited to participate in the review
• A final version of the proposals will be submitted to the Minister for consideration as an amendment to the Park Management Plan
• If the amendment is approved by the Minister, it will be tabled in Parliament and will then be incorporated into the Park Management Plan
• Implementation of the proposals will then begin and will be influenced by available funds and by their priority compared to other park projects

External Advisory Group, Lands Adjacent to the Town of Banff

Parks Canada would like to thank the following organizations and individuals who have participated in the Advisory Group that developed recommendations.

Town of Banff
Mayor John Stutz
Mayor Dennis Shuler
Robert Earl, Town Manager
Randall McKay, Planning and Development
Sue Webb, Community Services

Banff Residents
Lorraine Widmer-Carson
Beth Woolley

Banff Light Horse Association
Pierre Savard

Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance
Eric Harvie
Stavros Karlos
Yannis Karlos

Bow Valley Naturalists
Peter Duck
Mike McIvor

Banff Lake Louise Tourism
Ossi Treutler Jr.
Ron Hallam
Julie Canning

National Parks Ski Areas Association
Crosbie Cotton

Under the Sleeping Buffalo Research
Ed Whittingham
Dave Campbell

Banff Lake Louise Hotel Motel Association
Gord Lozeman

Province of Alberta
Steve Donelon

Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment
Kim Endres
Wanda Bogdane