Albertans are passionate about our parks, and want more involvement and/or information in decisions about parks and in the delivery of parks programs.
The Alberta Parks Engagement Framework sets out the circumstances which determine:
Note that this framework does not direct or influence Indigenous consultation requirements. Those requirements are subject to The Government of Alberta’s Policy on Consultation with First Nations on Land and Natural Resource Management, 2013 and The Government of Alberta’s Policy on Consultation with Metis Settlements on Land and Natural Resource Management, 2015.
When surveyed, Albertans indicated a preference for email and web-based engagement on issues related to Alberta's parks. In response, we often focus our public engagement online.
Additional engagement mechanisms are often provided in parallel to the online process and determined on a case-by-case basis. This could involve open houses, information sessions, and public or stakeholder meetings. These opportunities will be posted online and shared through Alberta Parks social media, and/or through direct communications to stakeholders.
Subscribe to ParkNews to be advised when future opportunities for public engagement are announced.
Other information is available on advisories, news releases, Facebook, and Twitter.
After the engagement concludes and decisions are made, an update is posted online. The update summarizes the feedback received, as well as the resulting decisions and next steps.
In some cases, Alberta Parks will want to keep the public informed of changes to the parks system and/or regular maintenance/upgrades that may impact public use.
At a minimum, current notifications are posted online. Notifications includes department and media contacts who are able to respond to questions. Depending on the specific situation, other means of communication may be used.
Notifications about public safety issues, fire bans, and other advisories are posted online, both on AlbertaParks.ca and Reserve.AlbertaParks.ca.
Below is an overview of projects and future proposals that the public may be engaged or notified on:
Issue
Description
Designation of New Parks or addition of lands to existing parks
Designated from public/crown land
Designated from a private land sale or donation
Boundary Amendments
Significant change in size or shape, or significant change to public use of park
Insignificant or administrative change to size or shape1 , or no significant change to public use of park
Facility Development
Major new development, is of a significant size and footprint, or will significantly change the use of the site
Minor facility expansions 2
Park Management
New or modified legislation
System-wide policy changes
Development of Park Management Plan
Follow-through on actions committed to and consulted on in management plan
General or routine management actions and decisions
Change in legal classification or the management intent of a park
Major changes to management zones within a park 3
Minor modifications to management zone boundaries within a park
1 Example of an insignificant change to the size or shape of a park is the deregulation of park 0.5 hectares in size that does not contain any natural or recreation values, and has not been used by the public for many years.
2 Example of a minor facility expansion is the addition of ten new campsites to an existing campground.
3 Example of a major change to a management zone would be changing the management intent of a zone from a management zone that allows hunting to one that does not allow hunting. A minor modification might be a correction of an error in the original legal description of a zone.
