The oldest and most famous park in Canada is in dire need of an environmental tune-up

BACKGROUND The majestic Bow River Valley was chosen in 1885 for Canada's first national park. Today, five million people visit annually spending $750 million. CHALLENGE Establish management and land-use strategies to ensure a viable social, cultural, economic and environmental future. STUDY Government appointed task force will make 500 recommendations. Impact - Report is a blueprint for managing Canada's national parks. "I expect there will be some controversy . . . you can't do this kind of a comprehensive plan without some people feeling that their particular interests have been transgressed." Bob Page chairman Banff Bow Valley Task Force

Canadian Press BANFF - Tourism is causing environmental havoc at Banff and the jewel of Canada's national park system must be quickly protected, a government report said Monday. Banff National Park, the oldest and most famous of Canada's national parks, needs immediate protection from the five million tourists that visit each year, said Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps. "If we don't get our act together, this park may not exist in 50 years," said Copps, who also holds the heritage portfolio. "Banff can become the model for ecotourism into the 21st century," Copps said as she released a report she ordered 27 months ago. It contained 500 recommendations for preserving the 111-year-old park. Copps said she would act immediately on some of the recommendations for the park in the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary: No new land will be made available for commercial use. The Banff airfield and a military cadet camp will be closed. The townsite's population will be limited to 10,000. Bob Page, chairman of the Banff-Bow Valley Task Force, said the current trend indicates as many as 19 million people could visit the park annually by the year 2020. Page said limiting development in the park doesn't mean it will become a playground for the affluent and less accessible to other Canadians, a concern raised to the task force. "There are a number of specific recommendations to try to make sure that all Canadians - and I emphasize all Canadians, whatever their level of income and background - have the opportunity of access to the park." The report also recommended fencing off the townsite to limit confrontations between humans and wildlife. Elk and other animals regularly march down main streets in Banff as tourists look on. The report also suggested limits on visitor access to certain areas of the park to protect wildlife, and eventual elimination of fishing. CP Hotels said it has agreed to withdraw an application to expand its golf course at the Banff Springs Hotel. "At the end of the day it's the ecology of the Bow Valley that's the winner," said hotel general manager Ted Kissane. The report's recommendations are more than a vision for Banff and the Bow River Valley watershed. They are destined to become the model for managing all four of the majestic mountain parks along the Alberta-British Columbia boundary and Parks Canada properties in general. Banff became Canada's first national park in 1885. Canadian, American, European and Asian tourists inject about $750 million a year into the Alberta economy during visits to the scenic area, and sustain a bustling townsite of 7,600 people. But elk, big horn sheep, mountain goats, deer, bears, wolves and other species depend on the rivers, forests and alpine meadows to survive. Environmental activists insisted there must be limits on development. However a lobby group for people who use Banff's three downhill ski areas, the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment, argued that Banff can sustain the current level of development. End of Journal Article