Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada

Park Management

People, Planning and Protection

Managing what makes Waterton Lakes National Park special - a meeting place of plants, animals, climate, waterways, landforms and people - requires a unique balance of planning and partnerships.

Bear Jam © Parks Canada / Jeff Yee, 2001

People

With over 400,000 park visitors per year; a townsite with about 100 permanent residents which can grow seasonally to over 300 residents; a vital and viable mix of neighbouring ranches and rural communities; various resource industries close by; and recreational users frequenting the area's surrounding provincial and crown lands, the partnerships need to be far reaching.

Coexisting with wildlife is key to the park's efforts to integrate people, planning and protection. We can talk about living with wildlife, but can wildlife, such as cougars and bears, really coexist with people? They can because we can all do many things to make it happen. To find out how, go to Keep the Wild In Wildlife.

Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada Park Management Plan © Parks Canada

Planning

As outlined in the Canada National Parks Act and Parks Canada Guiding Principles and Operational Policies, planning is part of the active commitment of management to ensure our national parks remain places for nature and people, now, and for future generations.

The Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada Park Management Plan sets out to:

• Protect Waterton's unique and diverse physical, biological and cultural resources.
• Participate with international, national and regional agencies responsible for resource management and tourism.
• Be a model of regional cooperation and wise resource management.
• Preserve Waterton's protected status to serve as an important ecological benchmark.
• Provide high quality and educational opportunities and accessibility to wilderness.

The Waterton Community Plan sets out a comprehensive program of land-use policies and other planning and design proposals to help determine and guide the future of the Waterton community. If you would like to see a copy, please contact the park.

The Ecosystem Conservation Plan outlines detailed objectives and actions to be undertaken to protect or restore ecological integrity in the park. The first step was to collaboratively develop a benchmark statement of ecological integrity. This benchmark forms the basis for evaluating the success of park management in maintaining the park's ecology. Next, specific programs designed to resolve or manage related problems, issues and concerns will be implemented.

A draft Human Use Management Strategy was recently created, with the assistance of representatives of various associations and councils, to address the need for detailed guidance related to some recreational activities in the park. The challenge facing the group was to develop recommendations which retain the park's special character and meet the recreational interests of visitors, without diminishing the park’s ecological health.

The recommendations ensure that the existing range of recreational opportunities will remain available, with some adjustments to improve public safety, visitor opportunities or ecological conditions. We are now seeking your feedback.

National Historic Sites of the Mountain Parks Management Planning Newsletter

Salamander researcher © Parks Canada / Jeff Yee, 2001

Protection

Maintaining the ecological integrity of the park is our highest priority.

Researching, recording and monitoring ecological indicators contributes to the long-term understanding and protection of the park and surrounding ecosystems.

Research and Collection Permit System

A variety of initiatives are aimed at reducing our impact on the park's natural environment. These include reducing the park's inventory of buildings and related infrastructure. We have already removed several buildings and houses from the government compound area, and have reduced the size of the Administration Office. Additional projects are underway.

Park staff are also actively engaged in restoring sites disturbed by human activity and the creation of demonstration gardens to promote use of native plants.

The park collaborates on a number of initiatives with Glacier National Park, the Blood Tribe, provincial agencies and with the faculty and students of numerous university departments. Two key ongoing networks that the park participates in are the Crown Managers Forum and the Prairie Conservation Forum.

Currently, there are plants and animals in the park which are considered to be 'Species At Risk'. All are listed in the 'special concern' category. Research and monitoring will help us improve our understanding of these species. Strategies will then be developed to protect or restore them.