In October 2009, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation proposed deregulating and transferring Groat Creek Provincial Recreation Area to Woodlands County for its continued operation as a public recreation site. Feedback was gathered during a 60 day online public comment period that ended December 12, 2009. The province took all comments into consideration before making a decision. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback.

What We Heard

The majority of responses supported the proposed transfer of the site.

Concern:

• Concern that the facility will not be operated in an environmentally sustainable manner once transferred to the County.
• Concern that the lands could be sold to a private corporation for the purpose of recreation.

Response:

• Woodlands County has been operating the site and its facilities since 2002. The transfer will provide the municipality with greater flexibility to offer local and regional recreation and tourism opportunities.
• A caveat will be placed on the title to ensure that if Woodlands County is no longer running the site for public recreation, the title will be transferred back to the province. The municipality does not have the authority to sell or transfer the site to a third party for any purposes.

Resulting Decision

Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation has deregulated and transferred Groat Creek Provincial Recreation Area to Woodlands County through an Order-in-Council.

Background

Groat Creek PRA is located in west central Alberta near Whitecourt, within the municipality of Woodlands County. Groat Creek PRA is a day use site which currently offers washroom facilities, a cookhouse and seven picnic sites.

Groat Creek PRA was closed in 1995 due to a lack of visitation and funding. In 2002, Woodlands County proposed to reopen the site under its control and continue to operate the site for public recreation purposes. An interim operating agreement between Woodlands County and the province was reached in 2002 with the understanding the site would be transferred to the county in the future. TPR is proposing to follow through on the final transfer of the PRA to the county.

As part of the Plan for Parks, TPR has committed to clarifying the park system and providing quality park experiences for all Albertans. The transfer of sites such as Groat Creek PRA to the local municipality allows them greater flexibility to offer local and regional recreation and tourism opportunities, while allowing TPR to focus resources at sites that can provide greater recreation and/or conservation opportunities at a provincial scale.

*Disclaimer: We thank you for providing your input. Those who submit feedback will not be contacted individually regarding their submission