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Vol. 11, No. 38, Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Elk Island National Park awarded $24 million for upgrades
MICHELLE PINON PHOTOS
On Wednesday, July 13 the federal government announced $24 million in infrastruce funding for Elk Island National Park near Lamont. Pictured from left to right are: David Britton, Parks Canada Field Unit Superintendent for EINP and Prince Albert, newly appointed EINP Superintendent Dale Kirkland, Brenda Wispinski, Executive Director of the Beaver Hills Initiative, MP Randy Boissonnault, and Strathcona County councillor Paul Smith. Michelle Pinon Editor
Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault has many fond memories of time spent in national parks, and on July 13 he returned to Elk Island National Park (EINP) to share a few of those memories and announce the federal government’s plan to inject $24 million worth of infrastructure improvements. Boissonault said it was fitting to be greeted by a bison upon arriving in the park Wednesday afternoon. “The Government of Canada is committed to protecting and preserving national
treasures which reflect the rich and varied heritage of our nation and provide an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about our country’s history. These investments will ensure safe, high quality visitor experiences, help improve the quality of life of our middle class and grow the local economies in the capital region of Alberta. He went on to say, “We want to ensure the park experience is enhanced for many generations to come.” In fact, attendance at the park is growing, and jumped from 244,000 to 317,000 visitors last year. “Investments in visitor
areas such as the Astotin Lake campground, trails, day use area, EINP visitor centre will continue
Norm Stolle explains what aspects of the park will be enhanced through these upgrades.
to provide safe access and improve the visitor experience at these unique Parks Canada sites, allowing more Canadians to experience the outdoors,” added Boissonault. Norm Stolle, head of the resource conservation unit, gave a brief overview of each of the projects that will be done as a result of this funding initiative. One of the first projects to be completed was the $3.1 million wastewater facilities rehabilitation. “The EINP wastewater facilities were constructed in 1965 and this project will upgrade the facilities to today’s standard, thereby protecting the aquatic
ecosystem.” The area water distribution facility will also be upgraded at a cost of $500,000. The next project to get underway will be the $1.5 million fence repair and replacement at the park boundary, and this week Stolle expects paving to begin on some of the access roads, which will cost an estimated $11.1 million. Those roads and areas include: the Tawayik day use area, Bison Loop and Lookout, Bison Handling Facility, administration and operations building and the wood bison day use area. The other projects will entail the rehabilitation of the Astotin Lake
Visitor Facility and the Welcome Area that is expected to cost $6.5 million and $1.3 million respectively. Stolle said they have a five year plan, with funding available to cover three of the five years. “This is a significant investment. Parks Canada has never done this before…We’re not just rebuilding what we have, we are going to reassess how our infrastructure is used.” Stolle said that will look at visitor trends and usage to ensure they are meeting the needs of visitors now and well into the future.