Feedback sought on recreational trails strategy for Canmore-area

BOW VALLEY – A long overdue assessment into the Canmore area trail network is underway and aims to have a sustainable balance between recreational experience and wildlife moving forward.

The Alberta government is encouraging public feedback until July 24, for its Canmore Area Trail Strategy (CATS), which will recommend changes, upgrades and governance to the popular trails and trail use for Crown land in the Bow Valley.

The public feedback survey can be found here.

Approximately 850 kilometres of trails are in the study area and over the next 10 to 15 years, physical changes to the trail network are expected to occur, which include updated trailheads with the building of washrooms, and the decommissioning of many user-created trails, as examples. 

Part of the study will be identifying areas that are most frequently used by wildlife to avoid when trail building.

Having been in discussions between user groups and governments for at least a decade, the trail strategy and upgrades are needed, says Laura Quelch, president of the Canmore and Area Mountain Biking Association (CAMBA).

“This really is helping inform where the government will be investing capital dollars in future years and making their strategic priorities on how funds are dispersed,” said Quelch.

The province and Ministry of Forestry and Parks will lead the strategy in partnership with the Town of Canmore, and Municipal District of Bighorn.

The study area includes Canmore, MD of Bighorn communities such as Harvie Heights, Dead Man’s Flats, Lac Des Arcs and Exshaw and parts of Kananaskis Country, including the Canmore Nordic Centre.

CAMBA, among other local groups and organizations, drafted terms of reference to guide the development and management of trails. Major areas that were highlighted are ecological conditions, cultural and historic resources, trail network conditions, visitor experience and education conditions, trail governance, management and stewardship, and community and economic conditions.

With more people recognizing Canmore and the surrounding area as Alberta’s playground for biking, cross-country skiing, paddling, hiking, climbing, and trail running, among others, Quelch thinks CATS is important for decades to follow.

“We have seen increased usage since the pandemic and more people out on the trails … so I think going through this process of developing a Canmore trail strategy is really critical for ensuring that we’re helping manage that visitor and resident experience in our area,” Quelch said.

The final CATS strategy is estimated to be released in spring 2025.

The province committed $5 million to upgrades for Kananaskis Country and building new trails and campgrounds across Alberta.

However, that’s a “drop in the bucket” for what’s needed, said Banff-Kananaskis MLA Sarah Elmeligi.

“Whatever ends up being the Canmore Area Trail Strategy on paper, how will that translate on the ground to the Canmore area network – and that is expensive,” said Elmeligi.

“So where is that going to be funded? There is nothing in the budget that talks specifically about implementing a CATS so I will definitely be looking for  a line item to that in budget 2025.”
 

Tourism-based community woes

An undeniable force in tourism, the Bow Valley and Kananaskis see approximately four million visitors pass through annually, which generates billions of dollars for the provincial economy.

However, residents feel the crunch of more visitors year after year, but there is still not much progress on Canmore being designated as a tourism community.

Essentially, government funds would be given to a municipality if an amenity on its land benefits all Albertans, such as for the construction of a trailhead with a parking lot and washrooms.

When asked if he would be supporting Canmore and Banff being tourism-based communities in light of CATS, Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said: “That’s something I think the municipal affairs minister has been contemplating. There’s been a little bit of lobbying on the part of those communities, and so far, there hasn’t been any movement on that, but I don’t know what’s in the future for that situation when it comes to those communities.”

This past spring, Elemeligi brought forward a motion to the legislature floor around tourism-based economies to define the criteria of one and to help identify potential funding sources.

“There’s never a bad time to talk about that,” said Elmeligi. 

“Trails are a perfect example of this … I think this trail strategy is going to highlight, again, the potential expense to the municipality to host a resource for all Albertans to enjoy.”