I Smell a Rat! Let’s get one thing out of the way right now – muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are not rats. Muskrats and rats are both rodents, but muskrats are actually more closely related to the meadow voles you can see scampering about in Jasper’s wet meadows... Muskrats are in the family Cricetid...

Beware the ‘Fawn of the Dead’: a herd of skeletal, pock-marked deer limp menacingly towards their target, moaning, intent on a gory brain feast…grraaahhh !!! OK, not really; there are no zombie deer eating anyone’s brains. So why is the disease known as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) also known as zo...

Seven caribou calves born in first year of breeding program The Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre has begun achieving tangible results with the birth of seven healthy calves in its first year of operation. Jean-Francois Bisaillon, program manager of the Jasper Caribou Recovery Program for Jasper ...

Two new reports shed light on how the 2024 Jasper wildfire spread so quickly. The reports, which were commissioned by Parks Canada, also reaffirm the importance of FireSmart principles. The Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) report focuses on the fire’s behaviour outside the townsite and its rapid gro...

“We’re all one day away from a life we don’t recognize.” An intimate story about grief and the healing power of art following the devastating 2024 Jasper Wildfire is making its debut on the world’s largest mountain arts stage. Embers , a new film directed by Kimberley-based filmmaker Trixie Pacis an...

“Break out the burlap and bed sheets, it’s rodeo weekend.”  No, we weren’t hosting barrel racers, my guy's annual giddy-up referred to the sudden, brisk overnights to come. Each year the late August chill that would put a damper on lake activities also put me into a frost-fearing frenzy. Frost Warni...

Visitors to the Columbia Icefields have a new way to step into the world of glaciers. An interactive art installation featuring landscape photography, exhibiting at the Discovery Centre’s Glacier Gallery , raises awareness about climate change and helps inspires individuals into personal action. "Tu...

A gardener and a publisher walk into a Farmers’ Market I sow seeds in potting soil. When we were chatting at the market, Jasper Local publisher Andrea Ziegler sowed a seed in my ear, “You should put your gardening tips in writing.” That seed has sprouted. I love growing and foraging for food. And I ...

Mark Hall’s reaction to my article on the newly legalized practice of hunting bears with dogs started with the statement that it ‘relies on emotional rhetoric, selective science, and mischaracterizations that deserve clarification’. I would like to address each of his criticisms in turn. Mark Hall: ...

Make room for mushrooms this September 26-28 in B.C.’s fertile Robson Valley. The Robson Valley Mushroom Festival , spore-headed by longtime Jasperite and recent Robson Valley transplant, Terry Winkler, is returning to Dunster to showcase the magical world of mushrooms. Fun guy Terry Winkler spreadi...

In July, Todd Loewen, the Minister for Alberta’s Forestry and Parks, quietly updated provincial regulations to allow the use of dogs while hunting black bears. His rationale? To help protect endangered woodland caribou populations, because black bears prey on newborn caribou calves. Hunter gatherer ...

Part 3: Seeing the forest floor through the trees In  Part 1 of our Walking Through Fire series , we discussed how post-fire vegetation bounces back. In Part 2 we looked at animals' attraction to fire . But what did the fire uncover about the landscape itself? The Jasper 2024 fire exposed an epic st...

Even though the summer sun was sweltering, the mother grizzly kept up the search. Eventually, she poked her nose into the ground and started digging. Within minutes, her head and shoulders had vanished underground, and before long she re-emerged with a wriggling prize in her jaws: a Columbian ground...

Permitting is steadily moving forward in Jasper, according to the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC). At the August 5 regular council meeting, Directory of Recovery Michael Fark updated Jasper Municipal Council on the most recent activity facilitated through the JRCC’s offices. Fark said tha...

Too restrictive regulations? Or insincere insurance companies? The Jasper Local digs into one of the complex elements of rebuilding in a national park Editor's note (Aug 11 5:30 p.m.): This story has been updated to include comment from the Insurance Bureau of Canada When compared to how quickly it ...

Two people who illegally harvested morel mushrooms in Jasper National Park have been charged with multiple offences. On May 28, 2025, Parks Canada law enforcement officials responded to reports of illegal mushroom harvesting near Lake Edith. Lake Edith is a tranquil oasis that begs to be explored. B...

When normal forestry practices don’t cut it: With a light-on-the-land touch, specialized arborists are cleaning up Jasper’s burn debris It’s a widely-accepted mystery: whether or not a tree that falls in the forest makes a sound. But what about the riddle that Jasper National Park officials were fac...

Part 2: Home is where the hearth is In Part 1 of our Walking Through Fire series , we discussed how post-fire vegetation bounces back. But what about animals' attraction to fire? There is a small stampede of wild things drawn to fire’s heat and the blackened forests it leaves behind. Some pyro-lovin...

Dry grass crunched underfoot as the old grizzly searched for food. Her nostrils flared and her nose twitched as she tested her surroundings for anything out of the ordinary.  It was hot and dry. It was July, 2024. Bear 222, JNP's most thoroughly-documented grizzly. // Mark Bradley - Boreal Nature Ph...

The Rockies hiking community is mourning the loss of two of its members today. Calgary's Jutta Hinrichs, 70 years old, a member of the hiking group Slow and Steady Hikers, was killed after a rockfall event rained down from the alpine near Bow Lake, in Banff National Park. “Jutta was a kind, compassi...