The Jasper Trail Alliance (JTA) has some big plans for 2017.
Last week the non-profit group revealed its 2017 work plan, which includes 25 projects throughout the three-valley confluence.
To date only 13 of the projects have been approved by Parks Canada, however Loni Klettl, leader of the JTA, is confident Parks will approve the rest of them soon.
鈥淲e want to have some different projects that will hopefully appeal to different people,鈥� said Klettl.
鈥淏efore this year we we鈥檙e only allowed to work in the valley bottom and we were always hoping to move out because that鈥檚 been our dream from the beginning, but you have to first prove yourself in the valley bottom.鈥�
Parks Canada recently introduced a priority matrix using a scale from one to five to prioritize trails and day use areas, with one being the highest priority.
After meeting with Parks Canada earlier this year, Klettl said the JTA put together a work plan that included trails outside of the valley bottom and were of lower priority for Parks.
Some of those trails include Saturday Night Lake Loop, the east end of the Overlander trail towards Morro Peak and trail 8.
鈥淲hen we include items on our work plan these are from suggestions from a lot of different users,鈥� said Klettl.
To speed up the process, she said the trail alliance also picked projects that wouldn鈥檛 require an environmental assessment, such as a drainage fix or tread realignment.
The trail alliance also has plans to continue working on trails it already has approval for , including trails 15, 2, 2j and 3a. The alliance also has plans to improve the drainage at the junction of trail 1 and trail 7a, which will require fill to be dumped by Parks Canada鈥檚 trail crew.
Star Wars and Razerback, two of the park鈥檚 most popular mountain bike routes, will also get more attention this year, according to the JTA鈥檚 work plan.
Lower Whistlers is slated for improvement this year after it was put on hold last year because Parks Canada didn鈥檛 have the resources available to fix it.
The group also has Parks Canada鈥檚 blessing to continue to improve access points to Pyramid Bench, clear sightlines along official trails in the valley bottom and install yellow diamonds to help people navigate Jasper鈥檚 trail system.
To get involved the organization encourages people to attend one of its High Five Trail Days. The volunteer outing takes place on the 5th, 15th and 25th of every month.
For more information visit the JTA鈥檚 Facebook page or The Friends of Jasper National Park.
Paul Clarke | [email protected]
