Banff ecological protection plan unveiled

April 18, 1997
Source: Edmonton Journal
Original story - link verified on August 20, 2000

Copps, as part of a pre-election flurry of federal announcements, presented an animal-friendly vision for the park's future on Thursday. She released the final version of a management plan to prevent further ecological damage to the Rocky Mountain jewel. "This plan makes it very clear that Banff National Park is first and foremost a place for nature," said in a statement from Ottawa. "Ecological integrity is the cornerstone of the park and the key to its future." Banff, Canada's oldest national park, has been under increasing pressure from millions of tourists who visit each year. Highlights of the plan, most of which were already announced in preliminary reports, include closing down the Banff airstrip, relocating an army cadet camp and moving horse corrals and a bison paddock that interfere with a wildlife corridor for large carnivores and their prey. A proposed expansion of the Banff Springs golf course has already been abandoned by Canadian Pacific Hotels, while the boundaries of Banff townsite and nearby Lake Louise have been frozen.

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