The recent opinion piece published in The Jasper Local raises concerns about the ethics, effectiveness, and motivations behind Alberta’s decision to permit hound-assisted black bear hunting in Caribou Conservation Areas (CCAs).  While the author’s passion for wildlife is commendable, the article unf...

It was with a feeling of trepidation that we approached Jasper this year. We have been regular visitors since 2001 and it’s become a kind of home away from home for us, full of happy memories and newfound friends. To say it was a tearful approach would not be an exaggeration—seeing the devastation t...

Re: Alberta's cougar harvest policy doesn't track (Jasper Local, February 14, 2025). February 19, 2025 Dear Editor: As a retired community newspaper publisher, taking a compliment on a good piece or editorial is something that I used to shy away from. That said, Bradley and Covey deserve a tip-of-th...

Dear Mr. Bradley, I read your response ( Wildlife responders program a poorly camouflaged grizzly hunt? ) to the announcement of the grizzly cull recently announced by Minister Loewen.  I live in a small village in huge Alberta and hunted for 30 years. Most of my hunting was in the local area but so...

Dear Premier Smith, MLA Long, the Hinton Medical Clinic, and fellow Albertans: I am reaching out through this open letter to shed light on the urgent healthcare issues affecting our community in Hinton, Alberta. Over the past two years, I have personally tried eight times to schedule a doctor’s appo...

Dear Editor Thank you for the article highlighting the effort of Jasper school children taking care of and decorating the grave stones of those that gave their lives to allow us the freedoms we enjoy. ( Students honour veterans with No Stone Left Alone, November 11, 2024) My home town was liberated ...

Re: Save the hot air: Decades of wildfire preparation was a success, not a failure (Editorial, July 29, 2024) Dear Bob, Hang in there and don’t let the gasbags get you down. The same thing happens in the American West after a major wildfire. The Monday morning quarterbacks distort and over-simplify....

As I just arrived today for my two-day stay here I'd be happy to pay for parking, IF I could pay. The self-pay machine does not work, and I refuse to enter any credit card or other financial info and appsinto my cellphone. That leaves me completely unable to pay parking. I left a note on my motorcyc...

Dear Editor, Jasper National Park management has closed large parts of formerly prime backcountry ski terrain as part of a larger program to protect and restore caribou populations that have sharply declined over the past century. JNP offers the hypothesis that ski tracks facilitate wolf movements a...

To: Alan Fehr Superintendent, Jasper National Park Dear Mr. Fehr, I read in the Jasper Local that you have again refused the offer of a fully funded bridge over Simon Creek on the Athabasca Pass Trail. Oneexplanation for the refusal was to "ensure that the ecological integrity of the area will be ma...

Dear Editor, This year, our school children are riding a white bus that is not following provincially legislated school bus rules, because it is, according to the Municipality of Jasper, a public transit bus providing select ridership for a special school route. This new town school route and servic...

On Remembrance Day, look at the old veterans gathered at your local cenotaph, standing proudly, or seated with a warm blanket on their lap. Try to imagine what they experienced many decades ago when they were young, and the world was at war. The great invasion to kick the Nazis out of France took pl...

Dear Editor, I’m an ex-Jasperite/Hintonite. I grew up in the area in the 70s and 80s, and of course Jasper has a special place in my heart. Two years ago I moved back to Alberta to be closer to the grandkids and have settled in Cochrane. I am a longtime photographer, and whenever I can, I pay a visi...

Dear Editor: A number of decisions in Jasper National Park, including not replacing the Simon Creek Bridge, make one wonder if senior management has lost sight of what a park is for. Environmental quality matters, of course. But so does public safety and public enjoyment of a park's natural beauty. ...

Re: Bear destroyed after dog mauling incident (April 24, 2023) Irresponsible dog owners responsible for deaths of bear and their own dog …..might have been a more accurate headline for this story about the bear killed after an off lead dog encounter. I don’t believe in dogs in the parks but a strong...

I love living in Alberta and having the Canadian Rockies in my backyard. I am fortunate to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and within hours be surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the mountains. As an Albertan, my go to has always been Jasper, where its rustic charm and small...

Dear Editor, The world is made up of ordinary people yet we seldom see them on the big stage. But for once, for four days, we did. They came to say goodbye to an extraordinary lady: Her Majesty The Queen. They came in their thousands. They waited for ten, twelve, fifteen hours or more. Every colour ...

Dear Editor I’ve heard of the amendments that were being proposed to how Private Home Accommodations (PHAs) are regulated. Over the last 40 years, I’ve stayed in likely 15 different PHAs in Jasper. None of the places we stayed in were hazardous. They were clean, contained fire alarms and featured la...

NOT EVERYONE IS UPSET THE FIREWORKS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED This letter is from our February 1, 2017 edition ______________________________________________________________________________ Dear Jasper, Jane here. You know, Jane Doe, a deer (a female deer). Hey how about this weather? It’s so weird! I was...