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. ...

On June 21, Jasper National Park celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day. Hosting the 2023 celebration were the Secwépemc (Simpcw people), or People of the River. Simpcw are part of the Shuswap Nation and have deep ancestral and contemporary connections to the land now known as Jasper National Pa...

As grizzly bears are peeking, visitors' excitement for a wildlife encounter is peaking. But so are wildlife warnings in Jasper National Park.  It's spring. Grizzly bears and black bears are out of hibernation and gorging themselves on Jasper National Park greenery. Because that nutritious vegetation...

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...

Parkway closures to start at 3 p.m., April 9 The Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93N) and the Maligne Lake Road are anticipated to close tomorrow (Sunday, April 9) afternoon, Parks Canada is advising. Jasper National Park forecasters are expecting a spring storm to hit Jasper and Banff. The storm will affect...

Jasper’s top official got a warm welcome in the gallery of Canada’s Upper House last month.  Mayor Richard Ireland was part of a Rocky Mountain delegation in Ottawa on November 22 when he was introduced in the Canadian Senate as a longterm colleague and dear friend of former Banff mayor, now-Canadia...

Three backcountry users in Jasper National Park were given hefty fines for entering areas closed for caribou conservation. On November 24 Jasper Provincial Court heard that last spring, three individuals were charged by Parks Canada law enforcement officers for trespassing in delayed-access areas. A...

Two grizzly bears that had been habituated to using the Jasper townsite have been captured and relocated to a remote part of Jasper National Park. The three-year-old siblings, which were “skinny and food-stressed,” according to Parks Canada human-wildlife conflict specialist Steve Malcolm, were capt...

The Razorback Prescribed Burn on the Pyramid Bench has been delayed. Conditions did not come into prescription. From Jasper National Park May 25, 2022 Fires are important for our forests. Prescribed fires are planned burns that are managed by our fire specialists. They help improve the health of the...

Parks Canada is undertaking prescribed fire activities. If prescribed weather and burning conditions are met, Jasper National Park’s fire management specialists will burn approximately 300 hectares of forested and grasslands areas around the Henry House historical site, between Highway 16 and the Sn...

Look who’s up. Bears are being spotted in Jasper a bit earlier than usual this year. Prints have been spotted on the Pyramid Bench. But how do bears know when it’s time to wake up from their long winter’s nap? Unlike teenage humans, it’s not the smell of bacon and eggs that gets those big boys and g...

Jasper National Park is holding its annual year-in-review.  On April 27, Parks Canada staff will present highlights of the past year and explain coming priorities at the Jasper National Park Annual Public Forum. The evening starts at 6:30 p.m. with Jasper Field Unit Superintendent Alan Fehr’s addres...

Photos by Simone Heinrich , Jasper Local wildlife photographer Although it may seem like this pair of bald eagles are pushing the season, showing up to their Medicine Lake home while we are still snowshoeing to Watchtower Canyon and skate skiing down the snow-covered mudflats below their sizeable ne...

National Truth and Reconciliation Day event an opportunity for learning together On National Truth and Reconciliation Day Jasper will have the opportunity to learn the Truth about what transpired a century ago when the Indigenous People practicing a traditional lifestyle here were evicted from the a...

Two climbers are dead after an avalanche on Mount Andromeda on Sunday, May 30. Parks Canada confirmed the deaths today (Sunday, May 30). Spokesperson Steve Young said EMS ambulances, STARS air ambulance and Alpine helicopters responded to an accident at around 8:30 a.m. Two strike teams from Jasper ...

Walking into the Maligne Canyon on a frigid winter day feels like stepping into another world. As the canyon’s walls rear up above you, pale blue ice pours back down, a cascade of water quite literally frozen in time. This beguiling paradox lends the place an otherworldly allure: gargantuan ice stru...

From the June 15, 2016 Jasper Local Larry Nelles calls instructions during a 2016 course in Jasper. // Bob Covey “Go around there again, put a little lope motion in your body. You might have to over-and-under like that, but see if she can drop her head and pick up that canter.” Larry Nelles is calli...

A former Olympian is helping local skiers improve their technique while raising money for two organizations that are close to his heart. As a dentist in Jasper, Dr. David Leoni is known for improving his patients’ smiles, but on two separate weekends last month it was Leoni’s passion for skiing that...

Organizers and athletes involved with Marmot Basin’s upcoming Ski Mountaineering event want Jasper residents and visitors to ski more Ski Mo. Alex Stieda has provided the main momentum for Marmot’s Revenge 2019, taking place this Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, March 16 and 17. Transition zones are bus...

This ain’t no April Fools joke, folks! It seems as though the feds finally figured out that Jasper’s east entrance is in dire need of improvements. The major boon, of course, will be the added through-lane. As it’s currently configured, the east gate is a painful pinch point. For the last umpteen ye...