Backcountry enthusiast says he won't give up fight to restore historic trail Jasper National Park’s superintendent is standing firm on his refusal to replace a bridge to Athabasca Pass Historical Site. A letter from JNP superintendent Alan Fehr's office told backcountry enthusiast and professional e...

Jasper National Park confirmed at least 34 caribou in the Tonquin Valley but did not spot any members of the Brazeau herd during aerial surveys in the fall.  Biologists collecting caribou scat // Parks Canada Biologists did, however, find tracks and scat of the Brazeau animals; remote wildlife camer...

I was driving on a snowy Maligne Road a number of years ago—one of those crisp winter days that make you glad you live in Jasper—when I spied a set of wolf tracks crossing the road. I stopped for a better look, and I had just crouched down to look at the tracks when I heard howling nearby. In my min...

For those of you who enjoy wishing on a star, October is a double-header for meteor showers, which means twice as much fun for meteorite lovers in Jasper Dark Sky Preserve this Fall. While you can see a few solid streaks of light in the skies above Jasper throughout the year, the prime wish-making e...

Four hikers are happy to be home after a wind storm knocked over several trees in their campsite in the Jasper National Park backcountry and injured two sleeping campers. On July 1, Jasperites Jeff Baker and Megan Posein, along with their hiking partners from Calgary (who asked that their names not ...

What a difference a week makes! Jasperites are used to changing weather, but last Monday, June 19 was one for the books! With more than 100 mm of rain and up to a metre of snow in high elevations, Mother Nature had residents scrambling to salvage their gardens and visitors reimagining their vacation...

The Alberta Energy Regulatory (AER) is reporting wastewater spills from coal mines in Hinton and Grande Cache. Heavy rains have causing flooding and excessive surface runoff into mine wastewater ponds, resulting in wastewater being discharged into the environment above approved limits, the AER annou...

Road closures have stranded visitors and staff in Jasper National Park’s subalpine. Guests of the Miette Bungalows operation in Jasper National Park have been stuck at the Miette Hotsprings area—without access to the hotsprings facility—for more than 24 hours after heavy snow and rain washed out the...

Stranded tour buses, frozen campers, fallen trees and slick highways: All part of a chaotic day in Jasper National Park after a summer rain and snow event dumped more than 81 mm (and counting) of precipitation on Jasper in less than 24 hours. More than a metre of fresh snow between Medicine and Mali...

Jasper National Park is issuing a fire ban. The ban is effective Thursday, May 11. Parks Canada announced the fire ban in partnership with the Municipality of Jasper. “The fire ban will help firefighting resources be more readily available where they are needed most and reduce the likelihood of any ...

May 4 is an auspicious day for Star Wars fans, but it also has special meaning for local bird watchers: it’s approximately when hummingbirds start to arrive in Jasper. In many ways, hummingbirds are like Jedi Masters. They’re fierce warriors, extremely powerful for their size, and can fly in ways th...

Funding from the province will help Jasper get its poop in a group. On Thursday, April 27, Mayor Richard Ireland announced the Municipality of Jasper is receiving $1.5 million to help upgrade the town’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). “Serving our residents and millions of visitors each year, our...

On April 25, Chris and Julie Ramsey’s Nissan crossover was plugged into the electric vehicle charging station on Connaught Drive. Their car, a 2022 Nissan Ariya, stands out: besides the BF Goodrich 39-inch fat tires and the Iridium “sat-comms” dome atop their roof, stickered on the rig’s copper side...

“Hold on!” the pilot yelled. We had been surveying arctic caribou from a Dehavilland Beaver (often referred to as the best bush plane ever built). This particular aircraft’s “tundra tires” allowed its pilot to land just about anywhere, but our makeshift landing strip would be a real test. The ridget...

A helicopter transporting Natural Resources Canada glacier surveyors had a hard landing on an icefield in Banff National Park April 14. The accident left a Bell 407 helicopter in pieces, 3,000 metres above sea level, 3 km from the Saskatchewan Glacier.  A helicopter sustained substantial damage afte...

Jasper National Park wildlife officials have destroyed a black bear after the animal attacked and killed a visitor’s dog. The animal demonstrated predatory behaviour and showed little regard for being in close proximity to humans, Parks Canada officials said—factors which led to the decision to euth...

Hopping from rock to rock, our laden backpacks jostling uncomfortably, the trail finally disappeared in a backwater channel of Jasper National Park’s Whirlpool River.  We gave up trying to keep our feet dry and simply waded in. On the Athabasca Pass Trail in Jasper National Park. // Tania Millen Sud...

Photos by Patrick Barker for The Jasper Local An elk that fell through a partly frozen lake in Jasper National Park was given a new lease on life by Parks Canada staff. An elk fell through spring ice on Lac Beauvert April 17. // Patrick Barker On April 17 at approximately 5 p.m., a bull elk fell thr...

Parks Canada is planning to close the Icefields Parkway on April 14 (Friday) at 12 p.m. Warm temperatures will precipitate higher avalanche hazards in Jasper and Banff National Parks. To mitigate danger to the travelling public, Parks Canada will conduct avalanche control work tomorrow afternoon. “A...

This story originally appeared in The Rocky Mountain Goat Indigenous groups whose territories encompass The Raush Valley near McBride, B.C., have declared the near-pristine watershed an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.  The status comes after decades of lobbying by local conservations and re...