Parks Canada must do a better job of supporting the three major pillars of the agency’s mandate, Jasper National Park Superintendent Ron Hooper said Monday.

Making the opening address at the day-long planning forum, Hooper spoke of the need to facilitate memorable visitor experiences and increase awareness and understanding of the National Parks among all Canadians, as well as promoting and pursuing ecological integrity within Park boundaries.

“Parks Canada did a poll this past summer and asked over 5,000 Canadians if they would miss national parks a lot if they were gone – 69 per cent said yes,” he said. “This is not good enough and we must make these nationally significant places more relevant to more Canadians.”

“This effort will involve more than simply improving visitor infrastructure for those who come to Jasper National Park,” Hooper said.

“Parks Canada is serious about fundamentally improving the way that it involves and engages Canadians and its partners”. 

Rather than the agency developing plans and solutions and then asking for public comment, Hooper wants to see interested parties involved from the very beginning. He cited the caribou recovery team as an example of how Parks planners were moving in this direction and expressed hope that a collaborative process designed for the newly-launched Jasper Trails Project would continue in that vein.

“We can’t expect everyone to agree on solutions. What we will strive for is an open and meaningful dialogue that is initiated early on,” he said.

“At the same time, physical improvements and maintenance are also key priorities for Jasper in the near future,” Hooper said.

“We are committed to reinvesting in core visitor infrastructure and the programs and services that support memorable visitor experiences” . 

More than 1.8 million visitors came to Jasper between April and September of this year, a slight increase over 2004. Attendance has been dropping throughout the National Parks system, save for the four mountain parks, Hooper said. 

A $209-million funding commitment for the agency in the 2005 budget will help Jasper address some pressing infrastructure needs, he said, but more is required.

“It’s a huge increase, but it isn’t all of what we needed.”

Beyond government funding, Hooper outlined how Jasper has used the revenue from gate fee increases, putting three-quarters of a million dollars into road improvements and $500,000 into improving day-use facilities, privies and trails.

Jill Seaton, a member of the Jasper Environmental Association who was at the forum, agreed with Hooper’s statement that Parks has to do more to engage Canadians.

“They’ve got a problem when it comes to reaching all Canadians,” she said. “We’re such a vast country.”

Seaton feels that giving people outside of Jasper a chance to have a closer look at the management process could be helpful.

“I think that Canadians care deeply about their parks,” she said.

The Jasper representative from the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment (AMPPE), meanwhile, was pleased to hear Hooper speak about the importance of visitor experiences.

“It’s nice to see the superintendent stand in front of a forum like that and say that there are three pillars in the mandate,” Mark Howe said.

 Later in the day program managers presented updates on topics ranging from national historic sites to caribou recovery, and discussion groups were formed to talk about monitoring processes and infrastructure priorities. 

With an eye to the future of the management process, Hooper discussed the next State of the Park report, due in 2007.

“2007 is a significant year to review… and assess the results of our shared stewardship – it is this park’s 100th anniversary,” he said. “We expect considered and objective reflection on the condition of the park and the regional ecosystem, and we expect, also, good reasons to celebrate our successes in protecting and presenting our natural and cultural heritage.”