Balancing conservation with millions of visitors: Banff National Park at 140

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Banff National Park's 140th birthday comes at a moment when its purpose is being tested.

What began on Nov. 25, 1885, as a place for people to use freely for pleasure has transformed into a leader in conservation management.

But huge crowds are now challenging that progress, and Parks Canada is exploring new ways to manage how people visit the park in the years ahead.

François Masse, the Parks Canada superintendent for Lake Louise, said the founders of Banff would be shocked by the scale of visitation today.

“Back in the 1880s, only a small number of people could make the trip,” particularly to Lake Louise, Masse said. “It was either a two-day horseback riding trip from the Town of Banff or a short jaunt on the rail."

Banff Avenue, sometime between 1903 and 1919, with a few tourists walking along the sidewalks. (University of Calgary Archives)

Kate Riordon, an archivist at the Whyte Museum in Banff, said the park's early focus was on people using the land, not protecting it.

“The idea of a national park was that this was a space for people to use and enjoy in a myriad of different ways,” she said. “Money-making ventures, recreation, health and wellness, logging operations, mining, hunting, trapping.”

Car at the eastern gate of Banff National Park in 1924. The sign on the entrance arch reads 'Gateway Rocky Mountains Park.' The park's name was changed to Banff National Park in 1930. (University of Calgary Archives)

In those early years, conservation was not part of the park's mandate like it is now. Bill Hunt, a retired Parks Canada conservation officer who now works for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), said attitudes were different.

Predators like wolves were killed so tourists could view elk without fear, he said, and Parks Canada even stocked lakes with non-native fish to boost sportfishing.

Conservation gains

Banff has become a leader in conservation since then, Hunt said. He points to the Trans-Canada Highway wildlife crossing structures, now copied across the world, and the bison reintroduction project in the park. 

“The amount of learning that we've had in that 140 years is tremendous,” he said. 

While the conservation picture has dramatically improved since 1885, the number of visitors has also exploded. Banff now welcomes more than four million people a year, and the pressure is particularly visible in the Lake Louise area.

Masse said traffic in Lake Louise has increased more than 70 per cent in the past decade. One hiking trail in the area, called the Lake Agnes Tea House trail, has seen a 300 per cent jump in visitors over that period.

I think everybody now realizes it's not just about having fun in the park. People value this place because it’s a wild place.- François Masse, Parks Canada superintendent for Lake Louise

Hunt said Banff is now close to its limit when it comes to visitors. 

He believes the park needs to expand tools it already uses, such as closing certain areas at set times, to give wildlife a break from people. 

He would also like to see Parks Canada introduce new tools to manage the flow of tourists, like being able to check on an app whether parking lots are already full.

Reshaping how people visit

To deal with overcrowding, Parks Canada is now looking at changes, including putting limits on visitors and changing parking capacity.

Masse said another priority is reducing the number of cars.

“One thing that is already starting to happen," he said, "but I think will have to keep on happening, is to see even more easy, convenient access to the park through mass transit."

Masse said he’s noticed a shift in how people view the park.

“I think everybody now realizes it's not just about having fun in the park. People value this place because it’s a wild place,” he said. “And I'm seeing a broad consensus on this core aspect of what we're trying to do. It’s very encouraging.”

Despite the challenges facing the park, Masse hopes that in another 140 years, Banff will look the same as it does today, because of the work being done now to protect it.