Some of Jasper鈥檚 most beloved backcountry trails will get some much needed repairs over the next few years.
The Skyline, Tonquin and Brazeau Loop trails, as well as backcountry areas on Maligne Lake, are all high on the priority list to be fix and repaired.
鈥淲e consider backcountry trails to be as important as front country trails,鈥� said Alan Fehr, Jasper National Park鈥檚 superintendent.
鈥淲e have a lot of assets in Parks Canada and a lot of them were built 40, 50, 60 years ago, maybe longer, and they are in need of repair or maintenance and in some cases replacement.鈥�
He said Parks Canada is currently in the process of drafting a trail maintenance plan. The plan will include a list of priorities for high-use trails, like the Skyline Trail, which is at the top of the list.
According to Fehr, priorities along the Skyline Trail include improving the human waste system and replacing some bridges.
Other backcountry trails that will see improvement over the coming years include Fiddle River, Jacques Lake and the Fryatt, among others.
鈥淭he Skyline is going to get the attention first and then hopefully over the next two or three years I would like to get to all of them and at least get to the critical features,鈥� said Fehr.
鈥淭here are some trails, such as the Athabasca Pass, that may not get as much attention as something like the Skyline Trail, but what we will be doing is setting a service standard for that trail so that people that are going out on it know what to expect.鈥�
He made no promises about whether Parks Canada would replace the suspension bridge across the Athabasca River that washed away during a flood in 2014.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be put in the prioritizing exercise and like I mentioned, places like the Skyline, Fryatt, Tonquin, those areas are going to get the attention first. If it turns out that area is a popular area, is a high priority for us, we would definitely replace bridges like that,鈥� said Fehr.
He said the issue isn鈥檛 the size of the bridge; it鈥檚 about whether it鈥檚 a well-used trail and if there are other concerns at play, such as ecological integrity or engineering issues.
His comments come nearly four months after the 51暗网 published a story about Jasper鈥檚 crumbling backcountry infrastructure.
鈥淚 think you have to look at western society as a whole. This is not a Parks Canada issue, this is a situation that cities, provinces and countries are all dealing with,鈥� Fehr said about the Park鈥檚 infrastructure.
He said a lot of infrastructure was built following the Second World War and is now reaching the end of its life.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 pretty evident if you look from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Ensuring that you鈥檝e got the salaries and the capital budget to maintain things, whether it鈥檚 a backcountry trail, a sewage system, a water treatment plant, is often a challenge.鈥�
鈥淧arks Canada recognized that a number of years ago and the government of Canada recognized that, that鈥檚 why we got the largest investment in Parks Canada in 100 years to deal with what they call deferred maintenance.鈥�
In 2014, the federal government announced it would invest $2.8 billion to support infrastructure improvements to heritage, tourism, waterway and highway assets located within national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas across Canada.
According to Fehr, there are no plans to reopen any of the park鈥檚 decommissioned trails.
鈥淎t this point we鈥檙e going to be focusing on the top five or 10 trails so it鈥檚 unlikely in the near future we would be bringing back those trails to operation,鈥� he said.
During the interview he said Parks Canada hasn鈥檛 made a decision yet whether it will allow volunteer groups, such as the Jasper Trail Alliance, to help maintain backcountry trails.
鈥淎s we work through the development of this trail maintenance plan that鈥檚 something we鈥檙e going to look at,鈥� said Fehr.
Loni Klettl, a volunteer leader with the Jasper Trail Alliance (JTA), urged Parks Canada to move quickly on its plans and emphasized that volunteer groups can be part of the solution.
鈥淥rganized volunteer groups such as the JTA are absolutely crucial for the survival and resurrection of backcountry trails in JNP. There has been decades of neglect, this park is huge and maintenance boxes have to start getting checked off, right now,鈥� wrote Klettl.
She said volunteer groups can help by filling in the gaps, such as sightline clearing, brushing and fixing small drainage issues, while trail crews build structures, repair rotten corduroy and operate machinery.
She added volunteer groups are a feasible solution that will compliment Parks Canada鈥檚 work while also allowing people to connect with nature.
While Parks Canada decides whether to let volunteer groups help, Fehr said Parks will continue to use private contractors when necessary.
鈥淲henever there is a project we always look at what resources are on hand and also what the project is so we try to pick the approach that鈥檚 going to be the most cost effective dollar wise and makes good use of labour, equipment and monetary resources that we have,鈥� said Fehr, pointing to the Lake Annette Trail, which was paved by contractors last summer.
鈥淲hen there is certain types of expertise that we need then we would contract that kind of thing out if we don鈥檛 have it available in house.鈥�
As for the Parks鈥� trail crew, he said he expects to have three crews this summer, the same as last year. A crew usually consists of three to five people.
鈥淗aving a trail crew that is seasoned and has some expertise can be very effective because we can move them around as we need to 鈥� when you鈥檙e working with contractors you don鈥檛 have that same level of flexibility.鈥�
With a renewed focus on the Park鈥檚 backcountry trail system Fehr urged residents to get outside and make use of the trails.
鈥淧arks Canada is not walking away from the backcountry and we鈥檙e going to ensure that we have the infrastructure that allows people to have a good experience."
Paul Clarke
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