Parks Canada is inviting Canadians to speak to the year that was, and the year that will be, in Jasper National Park. On March 12 and 13, Parks Canada staff will host the 2024 Jasper National Park Annual Public Forum—in-person, and on-line, respectively. The events provide an opportunity to speak di...

Recommendation helps local professionals meet Parks Canada's eligible residency requirements To an artist, there’s nothing like a blank slate. And last week, a cadre of local creatives got the official word that their collective canvas has been primed for painting. On January 18, Jasper-based cerami...

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...

Campers, get ready to be happy. Starting next week, Parks Canada’s reservation system opens up and campers looking to enjoy the natural beauty of Jasper National Park, among other national parks and historic sites, will be able to book their trips. The reservation system for Jasper National Park fro...

The Miette Road will reopen by the end of August and Parks Canada is attempting to reopen the Miette Hot Springs by the September long weekend (September 2-4). The Miette Road has been closed since June 19, after sustaining significant damage due to a mud slide in the wake of a heavy storm which bro...

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. ...

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...

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...

“This is a really exciting opportunity, a novel undertaking in caribou conservation” A first-of-its-kind caribou breeding facility will move forward in Jasper National Park. Ottawa has given its blessing to Parks Canada’s plans to move forward on a new caribou conservation breeding program to suppor...

Parks Canada wants feedback on its proposed changes to Private Home Accommodation policy changes. The agency is reminding interested parties that they have until January 31 to provide comments. In December, Parks Canada’s planning and development office proposed new, less-restrictive rules for PHA’s...

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...

Sprinkler system surrounding community to be dismantled Firefighters are “locking in” the north and south ends of the Chetamon mountain wildfire east of the Jasper townsite in Jasper National Park. The Chetamon wildfire’s north and south perimeters are being “locked in” thanks to cool temperatures a...

As the August Long Weekend takes shape and Parks Canada reminds visitors and residents to be bear-aware, two grizzlies that were hanging out in downtown Jasper are keeping their distance far in the backcountry Two habituated bears, translocated by helicopter into the Jasper National Park backcountry...

Fire rating is at moderate in Jasper National Park, according to Parks Canada. National parks are considered to be under a permanent fire restriction Unlike other jurisdictions, where open fires on public land are sometimes permissible, Parks Canada does not allow random fires anywhere in Jasper Nat...

Parks Canada is retracting its stance on patio tents. In a letter to Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce president Justin Melnyk, Jasper National Park Field Unit Superintendent Alan Fehr confirmed that tents and canopies will be permitted for the 2022 season. “I understand that businesses require more t...

Residents say amendments to private home accommodations will shut families out of home ownership. UPDATE: 5:58 p.m., Friday May, 20 Parks Canada has issued an emailed update announcing the are WITHDRAWING the proposed PHA amendment package “Effective today, Parks Canada is withdrawing the proposed a...

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...

Right now, the face of progress in Jasper is a proposed high-density apartment complex that will push parking issues to the brink and house 144 prospective tenants in units so small that developers need special permission to build them. The Municipality of Jasper has hired contractors to tie in util...

Advancements in monitoring technology have improved markedly since caribou were first monitored by VHF (very high frequency) radio in Jasper National Park in the 1970s. Back then, large, clunky radio collars were attached to a handful of animals in a herd. Using VHF receivers, researchers would hike...

Stocked fish poisoned to protect native trout in Banff’s high alpine From the August 15, 2021 Jasper Local Hunkered down on a flat rock high above Dolomite Pass in Banff National Park, I dig through my pack and locate my cheap pair of Bushnells. Chomping a sandwich and glassing the surrounding mount...