Banff National Park turns 140

Banff National Park’s 140th anniversary comes at a time when its purpose is being tested.

What began on November 25, 1885 as a place for people to use freely for pleasure has transformed into a leader in conservation management.

But now large crowds are challenging that progress, and Parks Canada is exploring new ways to manage how people will visit the park in the coming years.

François Masse, Parks Canada superintendent for Lake Louise, said Banff’s founders would be shocked by the current scale of visitation.

“In the 1880s, only a small number of people could make the trip,” particularly to Lake Louise, Masse said. “It was a two-day horseback ride from the town of Banff or a short train ride.”

Kate Riordon, archivist at the Whyte Museum in Banff, said the park’s initial focus was on people using the land, not protecting it.

“The idea of ​​a national park was for it to be a space for people to use and enjoy in many different ways,” he said. “Money making ventures, recreation, health and wellness, logging operations, mining, hunting, trapping.”

In those early years, conservation was not part of the park’s mandate as it is now. Bill Hunt, a retired Parks Canada conservation officer who now works for the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative, said attitudes were different.

Predators like wolves were killed so tourists could see the moose without fear, he said, and Parks Canada even stocked lakes with non-native fish to boost sport fishing.

Conservation gains

Banff has since become a leader in conservation, Hunt said. He points to the Trans-Canada Highway wildlife crossing structures, now copied around the world, and the park’s bison reintroduction project.

“The amount of learning we have had in those 140 years is tremendous,” he said.

While the conservation landscape has improved dramatically since 1885, visitor numbers have also skyrocketed. Banff now welcomes more than four million people a year, and the pressure is particularly visible in the Lake Louise area.

Masse said traffic in Lake Louise has increased more than 70 percent in the last decade. A hiking trail in the area, called Lake Agnes Tea House, has seen a 300 percent increase in visitors during that period.

I think now everyone realizes that it’s not just about having fun in the park. People value this place because it is a wild place.– François Masse, Parks Canada superintendent for Lake Louise

Hunt said Banff is now close to its limit when it comes to visitors.

He believes the park needs to expand on the tools it already uses, such as closing certain areas at set times, to give wildlife a break from people.

He would also like to see Parks Canada introduce new tools to manage the flow of tourists, such as being able to check on an app if parking lots are already full.

Reshaping the way people visit

To address overcrowding, Parks Canada is now looking at changes, including placing limits on visitors and changing parking capacity.

Masse said another priority is to reduce the number of cars.

“One thing that’s already starting to happen,” he said, “but I think will have to continue to happen, is seeing even easier and more convenient access to the park via public transportation.”

Masse said he has noticed a change in the way people view the park.

“I think now everyone realizes that it’s not just about having fun in the park. People value this place because it’s a wild place,” he said. “And I see broad consensus on this core aspect of what we’re trying to do. It’s very encouraging.”

Despite the challenges facing the park, Masse hopes that in another 140 years, Banff will look the same as it does today, thanks to the work being done now to protect it.