a lt e r n at i v e +
LOCAL + independent
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thejasperlocal.com
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saturday, october 1, 2016 // ISSUE 82
LIGHTS, CAMERA, AURORA // JASPER PHOTOGRAPHY STAR VALERIE DOMAINE CAPTURED THE GOLDEN GLOW OF AURORA BOREALIS IN THE WEE HOURS OF SEPTEMBER 28. IT WAS HER FIRST TIME WITNESSING THE PHENOMENON. THE NORTHERN LIGHTS HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY ACTIVE AS SEEN FROM JASPER THIS FALL. // VALERIE DOMAINE
Parliamentarians ponder park problems Federal politicians visited Jasper recently to learn about the community’s challenges balancing nature with visitor impact. Six members of parliament’s federal environmental committee members met with local community leaders to help chart a course for improving visitor experiences without negatively impacting ecological integrity, said chair of the committee, MP Deb Schulte. “Specifically we came to understand the challenges of businesses, the municipality and Parks Canada,” Schulte said. Mayor Richard Ireland articulated some of those challenges. He reminded the committee that Jasper has a fixed footprint on which it can build, a commercial space cap, no jurisdiction on planning and development and high visitor use with no
direct access to visitor-generated revenues.
“I’m hopeful they will understand we’re not complaining about our challenges but recognize that operating in a national park comes with differences,” Ireland said. While the day’s discussions were generally broad, Schulte said that their fact-finding mission also included questions to local managers on the proposed $66 million Icefields Trail. “We wanted to ask questions such as Where did it come from? Who put it forward? What studies have been done? And Is this the best project for this area?” she said. The committee will report to parliament on its findings by November, Schulte said. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com