Caribou, rock scaling and luxury camping highlighted a $6 million announcement by Parks Canada on Thursday, Sept. 24.

While some of the announcements may sound familiar to local residents, it accounts for $6 million in spending dedicated to visitor experience in the Canadian Rockies. The majority of the funds come from Jasper National Parks operating funds.

The largest portion of the funds goes to caribou recovery. Parks Canada is spending $4.5 million to continue research of woodland caribou in the mountain parks, including Jasper, Banff, Glacier and Revelstoke. According to Jasper National Park superintendent Greg Fenton, caribou have been identified as a priority in Jasper National Park (JNP), and the funding will allow current research to continue. 

“Caribou are seen as a priority. It allows us to retain staff and expand upon research partnerships,” Fenton said.

Parks Canada, along with its partners, is studying predatory/prey dynamics of caribou and have taken action to protect the species. They have recently wrapped up a five year study of the species, and the funding will allow for another five-year phase to be completed, Fenton said.

About $2.76 million of caribou funding will be spent in Jasper. The caribou funding comes from ecological integrity funds, and is matched with dollars out of the parks operating budget. Fenton said the funding won’t affect other programs at JNP, and some of the money will be used to discuss proper management strategies with the public. 

Another million dollars was also announced for rock scaling projects in the park. Crews have just about finished all of the rock scaling for the year, which is used to increase safety by removing dangerous rock near the highway.

About $80,000 was also announced for a cottage tent program at the Whistlers campground. The program sets up large canvas tents and provides visitors with all the essentials for a comfortable camping experience, including heaters, cutlery and basic cooking gear. The tents are a pilot program, and targets Canadians who are new to camping in national parks.

On top of the Parks Canada money, funding was announced for work completed by the Foothills Research Institute (FRI), which received $490,000. That money will go to the research institute’s grizzly bear program, the natural disturbance program and the aboriginal involvement program.

The grizzly bear work is the FRI’s highest profile work, which has included monitoring health and DNA data of the bears. The institute is about to embark upon a partnership with Scandanavian brown bear researchers. Brown bears are similar to grizzly bears.

The natural disturbance program will study events such as wildfires in the area, and will create a database to help study their affects

“We’re looking at fire patterns, insect patterns and disease patterns and using them to develop management plans,” said Tom Archibald, general manager of FRI. “It will help with prescribed fire plans and gives an idea about what happens naturally.”

This work will be completed in partnership with Parks Canada, Fenton said.

The aboriginal program will create a centralized location where communities and businesses can come for aboriginal consultation. The process will help spread information about traditional usage of land by aboriginals in the Yellowhead region.

“This will take traditional land use studies, gather them and put them into a central database,” Archibald said, noting that forestry companies often have a difficult time discovering what aboriginal issues are connected to different pieces of land.

While no new money from the federal government was tied to the announcement, Junior cabinet minister and local MP Rob Merrifield was still on hand for the event. Merrifield praised the work done by the Foothills Research Institute, calling them a credit to the region. 

“Caribou is a concern in the mountain parks, there’s not anyone arguing that point,” Merrifield said, noting that work must be done if we are to continue to have caribou in the Rockies. Merrifield told Parks Canada and FRI representatives to ‘spend the money wisely’ and hinted he may soon return with another announcement.

Speculation that a federal election is imminent continues to circulate.