By The Canadian Press

Cuts to parks

Alberta releases list of parks to be closed or partially closed

Mar 3, 2020 | 10:18 AM

EDMONTON – Alberta has released a list of cuts it is making to the parks system, including 20 full or partial closures.

The public will be barred from 11 of those parks, while nine will be accessible but without any services.

Another 164 parks are to be handed over to third parties to manage.

The changes are throughout the province from campsites at Dinosaur Provincial Park in the south to the complete closure of Kehiwin Provincial Park in the north.

The total amount of land involved is about 16,000 hectares.

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The government says the land makes up less than one per cent of the province’s parks system, but doesn’t specify if that includes the national parks located in Alberta.

The United Conservative government says the changes, which it calls Optimizing Alberta’s Parks, will save $5 million.

A government spokeswoman has said the cuts will allow the province to focus on what it calls high-value areas.

Five full closures are for spots in the Peace Country.

That includes the Stoney Lake Provincial Recreation Area north of Fairview, Running Lake Provincial Recreation Area near Worsley, Greene Valley Provincial Park, and the Sulphur Lake Provincial Recreation Area. Green Valley and Sulpher Lake are both near Peace River, along with the Twin Lakes Provincial Recreation Area located between Hawk Hills and Keg River.

There are also partial campground closures at Notikiwin Provincial Park northeast of Manning and the Smoky River South Provincial Recreation Area. It is close to the Willmore Wilderness Area near Grande Cache.

The province did not specify when the closures would take effect or how many campsites are impacted by the partial closures.