SOMETHING ALREADY DONE ONCE AND A BIG FAIL IT WAS TOO
Strathcona Science Park users blindsided by province
March 10, 2020
On Feb. 29 the province announced it would handover 164 "small and under-utilized" parks to third parties to manage. One of those parks is the Strathcona Science Park. That has left the Edmonton Nordic Ski Club and Sunridge Ski Hill with an uncertain future. Photo Supplied
In a move to save $5 million, Budget 2020 revealed 20 provincial parks will see full or partial closures this year. PEANUTS
Eleven of those will be permanently closed, while nine will be accessible but without any services.
On Saturday, Feb. 29 the province announced it would hand over 164 “small and under-utilized” parks to third parties to manage. One of those parks is the Strathcona Science Park.
The club which has about 800 members including 100 biathlon athletes, received a provincial Community Initiatives Program grant to make $30,000 worth of upgrades to its biathlon range, but with their parks status unknown, the club president said everything is in a holding pattern of uncertainty. The club has leased the land, which is zoned to allow a firing range, since the 1990s.
“We’re in no man’s land,” Edmonton Nordic Ski Club president, Chris Hanstock, “We absolutely feel blindsided. If we were told if it was going to happen 2021, we could start planning and going through the proper processes but when the announcement came out, it was a big surprise. Really, there was no consultation. Even the people who work for Alberta Parks didn’t have much of a heads up than what the general public did.”
The Strathcona Science Park is the home of the Edmonton Nordic Ski Club’s biathlon range, which plays a crucial part in developing biathlon athletes across the province. It also hosts major provincial and western Canadian events. Photo Supplied
The venue recently hosted a provincial event with more than 200 athletes and it’s also home to the Western Canadian championship. Since there are so few biathlon courses in Alberta, Hanstock said if one is lost, it could hurt the future of the sport. In fact, this would be the third hit for the sport, following the UCP’s shuttering of the Alberta Sports Council in the 2019 budget, which they relied on for funding, and the end of the Alberta Lottery Fund, which allowed the club to build the current biathlon range.
Located in the same park, Sunridge Ski Hill is also facing the same uncertainty.
Hanstock acknowledges $5 million would be some sort of savings, but it’s merely a drop in the bucket when looking at the overall budget.
“Parks are something that people in this province hold dearly. And yeah maybe some of them aren’t used very much, but they were put there for a purpose and to be maintained for future generations. I just can’t fantom what their rationale was,” he said, adding usage of the Strathcona Science Park would counter any argument to delist it as a park.
The Edmonton Nordic president noted he was also shocked to learn the province would stop trail grooming in Kananakis next season as the club just sent 200 youth and adult athletes attend a ski race; If that disappears, that would be tragic as far as the sport is considered.”
According to Alberta Park’s website “work is underway to explore the feasibility of various alternate management approaches for each site”. As for a future with a third party operator, the department stated a community can benefit from divested sites by maintaining it for recreation and tourism opportunities.
“Sites removed from the parks system allow a greater range of uses that were previously not possible under government regulation. Successful transfer to a third party will enable these sites to continue to be part of the community while generating new economic opportunities,” read a statement on Albert Parks’ website.
Information about third-party agreements will be released on May 1.
The Sherwood Park Natural Area, a day-use park located along Range Road 231 just south of Highway 628, is also on the provincial list of parks subject to be removed from the provincial park system.
Rural Municipalities Association called the move is another “download” to municipalities from the provincial government.
“Not one square centimetre of Alberta Parks land is being sold,” Premier Jason Kenney wrote on his Facebook page on March 5. “Some sites with extremely low attendance (0.3 per cent of the Alberta Parks land base) will be returned to crown land, to ensure we aren’t frivolously spending taxpayers dollars. And some others will see improvements, by way of partnerships with non-profits or the private sector, to make a better experience for guests.”
Full closures will take place at Bleriot Ferry Provincial Recreation Area, Crow Lake Provincial Park, Greene Valley Provincial Park, Kehiwin Provincial Recreation Area, Little Fish Lake Provincial Park, Running Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Stoney Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Sulphur Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Sheep Creek Provincial Recreation Area, and Twin Lakes Provincial Recreation Area.
Partial closures are planned for Bow Valley Provincial Park – Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre, Chain Lakes Provincial Recreation Area, Dinosaur Provincial Park – Comfort Camping, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park – Tolman Bridge Campgrounds (East and West), Engstrom Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Gooseberry Provincial Recreation Area – Elbow Valley Visitor Centre, Gooseberry Provincial Park Lake, Lawrence Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Notikewin Provincial Park, and Smoky River South Provincial Recreation Area.
The Edmonton Nordic Ski Club president recommends if Albertans are dismayed by these changes to write to their MLAs; “Let them know you’re not happy about it and we can only hope if enough people do that, MLAs can have some sway in the decisions that are being made.”
The province recently announced fees will also increase such as $3 for base camping rates across most campgrounds and $10 for some comfort camping and group sites.
On Feb. 29 the province announced it would handover 164 "small and under-utilized" parks to third parties to manage. One of those parks is the Strathcona Science Park. That has left the Edmonton Nordic Ski Club and Sunridge Ski Hill with an uncertain future. Photo Supplied
In a move to save $5 million, Budget 2020 revealed 20 provincial parks will see full or partial closures this year. PEANUTS
Eleven of those will be permanently closed, while nine will be accessible but without any services.
On Saturday, Feb. 29 the province announced it would hand over 164 “small and under-utilized” parks to third parties to manage. One of those parks is the Strathcona Science Park.
The club which has about 800 members including 100 biathlon athletes, received a provincial Community Initiatives Program grant to make $30,000 worth of upgrades to its biathlon range, but with their parks status unknown, the club president said everything is in a holding pattern of uncertainty. The club has leased the land, which is zoned to allow a firing range, since the 1990s.
“We’re in no man’s land,” Edmonton Nordic Ski Club president, Chris Hanstock, “We absolutely feel blindsided. If we were told if it was going to happen 2021, we could start planning and going through the proper processes but when the announcement came out, it was a big surprise. Really, there was no consultation. Even the people who work for Alberta Parks didn’t have much of a heads up than what the general public did.”
The Strathcona Science Park is the home of the Edmonton Nordic Ski Club’s biathlon range, which plays a crucial part in developing biathlon athletes across the province. It also hosts major provincial and western Canadian events. Photo Supplied
The venue recently hosted a provincial event with more than 200 athletes and it’s also home to the Western Canadian championship. Since there are so few biathlon courses in Alberta, Hanstock said if one is lost, it could hurt the future of the sport. In fact, this would be the third hit for the sport, following the UCP’s shuttering of the Alberta Sports Council in the 2019 budget, which they relied on for funding, and the end of the Alberta Lottery Fund, which allowed the club to build the current biathlon range.
Located in the same park, Sunridge Ski Hill is also facing the same uncertainty.
Hanstock acknowledges $5 million would be some sort of savings, but it’s merely a drop in the bucket when looking at the overall budget.
“Parks are something that people in this province hold dearly. And yeah maybe some of them aren’t used very much, but they were put there for a purpose and to be maintained for future generations. I just can’t fantom what their rationale was,” he said, adding usage of the Strathcona Science Park would counter any argument to delist it as a park.
The Edmonton Nordic president noted he was also shocked to learn the province would stop trail grooming in Kananakis next season as the club just sent 200 youth and adult athletes attend a ski race; If that disappears, that would be tragic as far as the sport is considered.”
According to Alberta Park’s website “work is underway to explore the feasibility of various alternate management approaches for each site”. As for a future with a third party operator, the department stated a community can benefit from divested sites by maintaining it for recreation and tourism opportunities.
“Sites removed from the parks system allow a greater range of uses that were previously not possible under government regulation. Successful transfer to a third party will enable these sites to continue to be part of the community while generating new economic opportunities,” read a statement on Albert Parks’ website.
Information about third-party agreements will be released on May 1.
The Sherwood Park Natural Area, a day-use park located along Range Road 231 just south of Highway 628, is also on the provincial list of parks subject to be removed from the provincial park system.
Rural Municipalities Association called the move is another “download” to municipalities from the provincial government.
“Not one square centimetre of Alberta Parks land is being sold,” Premier Jason Kenney wrote on his Facebook page on March 5. “Some sites with extremely low attendance (0.3 per cent of the Alberta Parks land base) will be returned to crown land, to ensure we aren’t frivolously spending taxpayers dollars. And some others will see improvements, by way of partnerships with non-profits or the private sector, to make a better experience for guests.”
Full closures will take place at Bleriot Ferry Provincial Recreation Area, Crow Lake Provincial Park, Greene Valley Provincial Park, Kehiwin Provincial Recreation Area, Little Fish Lake Provincial Park, Running Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Stoney Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Sulphur Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Sheep Creek Provincial Recreation Area, and Twin Lakes Provincial Recreation Area.
Partial closures are planned for Bow Valley Provincial Park – Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre, Chain Lakes Provincial Recreation Area, Dinosaur Provincial Park – Comfort Camping, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park – Tolman Bridge Campgrounds (East and West), Engstrom Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Gooseberry Provincial Recreation Area – Elbow Valley Visitor Centre, Gooseberry Provincial Park Lake, Lawrence Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Notikewin Provincial Park, and Smoky River South Provincial Recreation Area.
The Edmonton Nordic Ski Club president recommends if Albertans are dismayed by these changes to write to their MLAs; “Let them know you’re not happy about it and we can only hope if enough people do that, MLAs can have some sway in the decisions that are being made.”
The province recently announced fees will also increase such as $3 for base camping rates across most campgrounds and $10 for some comfort camping and group sites.
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