Jasper National Park of Canada

2006/07

Better With Age

Centennial Celebrations Committee meeting © Parks Canada

What do fine wine, good cheese and Jasper National Park have in common? They all get better with age.

Next year Jasper National Park celebrates its one-hundredth birthday, and the helping hands are getting on board to organize the celebration of the century. On Thursday July 13, forty one enthusiastic Jasperites attended the first Centennial Celebrations Committee meeting armed with ideas and great suggestions. This multi-partnered event is shaping up to be a cornucopia of fun, education, and celebration.

The idea is that to celebrate our 100th birthday we have 100 days of celebrations. There will be a soft launch of the year’s festivities during Jasper in January, followed by an official launch event in February, the celebrations will continue throughout the summer followed by the ‘Big Event’ on September 14, 2007, which is the actual anniversary date of the park’s establishment. Some of the proposed events that might take place during the year include; a museum exhibit, 100 km run, Place Names of Jasper Book, Festival of Banners, map project, gala, Jasper’s Citizen of the Century, ‘I Remember When’ Story series, amongst others. The hope is that everything that goes on in the park next year has a ‘centennial seasoning’ sprinkled on top, and is somewhat co-ordinated with the branding of this year long celebration. Another goal we want to achieve is the creation of legacy projects – leaving behind legacies that would tie together the past, present and future generations of people who enjoy this wonderful Canadian park.

Coming up in the next few Centennial Celebrations Committee meetings you can expect a group discussion to define the committee’s mission and specific roles, identifying key volunteers, brainstorming session on main events, and everyone’s favorite – a ‘Brand’ discussion.

The Committee meetings will be held at 7pm every 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at the Emergency Services Building, and everyone is welcome. If you have some great ideas, but can’t attend please contact one of the two Parks Canada coordinators: Sherrrill Meropoulis 852-6154 or Caroline Longtin 852-1896.

The Wapiti Trail- Phase One of Jasper’s Easy Trail System

Map © Parks Canada

Developing trails to Wapiti and Whistlers Campgrounds from the townsite have long been identified within the community as a critical need for both visitors and residents. In a 1978 report titled “Jasper Trails Study Cross-Country Skiing, Bicycling and Snowshoeing” (Heine Johnson Sustronk Weinstein & Associates Ltd.) an easy trail system from these locations is identified as a high priority. It states, “The overall system must provide for easy access to and from the townsite. Improvements of trails going to Whistlers, and Wapiti campgrounds and the Jasper Park Lodge are vital”. Additionally, the Jasper Community Land Use Plan states as a strategic direction, “Linkages such as public transportation and bicycle paths between the community and surrounding facilities will be pursued. ” More recently, the Easy Trail system was identified as a priority by the Trail Stewards.

Presently, pedestrians use the highways and roadways to get to the outlying campgrounds, Old Fort Point, Japer Park Lodge and the town of Jasper. The current situation raises public safety issues and does not enhance a positive visitor experience. The Easy Trails System would address this situation by providing a safe, signed and pleasant trail to connect outlying areas with the town of Jasper. In addition the Easy Trails System would:

• concentrate human use away from “hot spot” wildlife corridor areas
• provide a level of trail currently missing in our trail system – easy, close to civilization, flat, wide and mostly hardened for strollers, etc.
• promote more “out of car” visitation of the area surrounding the town of Jasper
• provide a new service to park and campground visitors
• create new interpretive opportunities
• promote community involvement and cooperation

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