But...Banff National Park is also bisected by the Trans-Canada Highway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Bow Valley Parkway, the Icefields Parkway, and the Banff- Radium Highway. There are three resorts, one golf course, a major resort town (Banff), a resort hamlet (Lake Louise), over 3,600 hotel rooms, over 2,500 campsites, 125 restaurants and 220 retail outlets. Some 8,000 people reside permanently within the park's boundaries. A large transient population provide services to more than four million people that visit the park. The tourism industry is estimated to be worth more than a half-billion dollar a year. And there is continued pressure for further development.

Most of the human activities occur within a narrow strip of land: the Bow River Valley, a relatively narrow valley that runs through the heart of the Park.. Below the 1,815 m elevation, the Bow River Valley extends over 874 km sq. The Montane Ecoregion accounts for only 147 km.sq. This Ecoregion, due to frequent chinook winds, low snow accumulation, and warm winter temperatures, presents unique ecological features, and supports a rich and diverse vegetation. It provides important migration corridors for large carnivores, ungulates and songbirds. The microclimate and vegetation diversity account for the presence of a high diversity of birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammal species.

33% of the Montane Ecoregion in Banff National Park is fully developed.

This development, and the previously described level of human activities, are bound to impact wildlife.