• Effective Date: December, 2020 until approximately March 31, 2021
• Where: Kananaskis area around Barrier Lake and in Bow Valley Provincial Park. 
• Why: Please be advised that the Calgary Forest Area’s Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) survey and control program for the 2020-21 season will be active this month (December 2020) and run until approximately March 31^st 2021. This means that you may see our crews working in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis. We have MPB west of Barrier Lake in Kananaskis, Bow Valley Provincial Park and spread throughout the Bow Valley from Exshaw to the Banff National Park boundary. If you are out in these areas, you may see our MPB signage, surveyors, inspectors and control crews in trucks, quads and snowmobiles. Most notably, you will see smoke in the air from the work our control crews will be doing.
• The intent of this program is to control the spread of Mountain Pine Beetle in Alberta. Crews will use chainsaws to cut, pile and burn infested trees on site in order to kill the beetles. We are committed to working together safely and effectively in order to minimize negative affects to local residents and also minimize the threat of significant Mountain Pine Beetle disturbance in southern Alberta. Early detection and rapid response is key to success, we strive to identify the outbreak quickly and control aggressively. If the beetles are allowed to multiply unchecked, they can be prone to rapid population growth. If the MPB population approaches epidemic levels, they become extremely difficult and expensive to control. This scenario causes substantial tree mortality which can have negative social, economic and environmental impacts.

Effective Date: August 1^st – September 8^th, 2020 (during weekends when required).

Where: Barrier Dam Day Use, Grassi Lakes Day Use, Grotto Mountain Day Use and Yamnuska Day Use.

Why:

• Our most popular parks and sites are experiencing high visitor volumes, resulting in crowding of facilities, full parking lots, and an increase in safety issues.
• It’s critical that emergency vehicles like fire response, medical aid and search and rescue have access to these areas – so don’t block the road with your vehicle.  
• Under the Traffic Safety Act, depending on the infraction, tickets will be issued; Enforcement is trying to ensure the safety of the public and staff, which can be jeopardized by illegal parking.

Parking lots at Barrier Dam and Grassi Lakes Day Use will be managed by traffic control staff to ensure emergency vehicles have access. Please do not park on the highway or roadway shoulders when parking lots become full. If the designated parking lots are full, plan to visit another area.

Grotto Mountain Day Use Area and Yamnuska Day Use Area will be controlled to ensure emergency vehicles have access. Please do not park outside of designated parking lots in these areas or on the highway or roadway shoulders; this creates a dangerous situation and impedes access by emergency vehicles.

Effective Date: July 31^st – September 8^th, 2020.

Where: The entire Kananaskis Region.

Why: 

• Our most popular parks and sites are experiencing high visitor volumes, resulting in crowding of facilities, full parking lots, and an increase in safety issues.
• It’s critical that emergency vehicles like fire response, medical aid and search and rescue have access to these areas – so don’t block the road with your vehicle.
• When the parking lot is full, the site is at capacity. Please visit elsewhere or come back another day.

Parking in most areas of the Kananaskis region is in very high demand - especially on weekends; plan ahead, arrive early and ensure you have back-up areas/locations to visit if it is too crowded.

• Effective Date: March 16, 2020 until further notice 
• Where: Kananaskis Visitor Information Centre at Barrier Lake 
• Why: To minimize the risk and spread of #COVID19, Alberta Parks is implementing temporary facility access restrictions and closures under Alberta Health Services mass gathering guidelines. Alberta Parks has closed all recreational facilities and cancelled all events and programs until further notice.