Areas opening for use include:
The Cavell Road
The Tonquin Valley (Astoria) Trail
The Eremite/Wates-Gibson Trail
Access to areas above the hostel and the Astoria Trail parking lot remain closed pending results of geotechnical assessment.
Background
In Jasper National Park, the Cavell Road, Astoria Trail and surrounding area are important winter habitat for woodland caribou. In winter, woodland caribou are found at high elevation in areas of open slopes and deep powder. Caribou are well adapted to life in deep snow giving them a distinct advantage over their predators, who find it more difficult to travel through deep snow. Packed trails can lead wolves into these otherwise inaccessible areas. A seasonal closure has been implemented on the Cavell Road, Astoria Trail and the Tonquin Valley areas to prevent packed trails from giving wolf populations access to this important winter caribou habitat during periods of deep snow.
Results of wolf movements related to this year’s Cavell Road closure is still being compiled, but earlier work on this closure has shown that wolves travel faster on packed trails and ploughed roads, wolves choose to travel on packed trails and roads when possible, and wolves appeared to select Cavell trail more when the road was ploughed in comparison to when it was not. The area reopens mid February, as by that time the snow is usually naturally compact and packed trails will have less of a significant impact on predator movement.
Parks Canada continues to work on advancing actions in support of caribou conservation in Jasper National Park, and there will be opportunities to participate in public information and consultation sessions. To find out about upcoming events or to receive caribou conservation updates from Parks Canada, please email [email protected].
