St. Albert’s biggest provincial park is even bigger, now that the provincial government has added close to 300 football fields of land to it.
Alberta Forestry and Parks announced Jan. 25 it was adding some 1,400 hectares to the province’s park system. About 1,000 of these hectares went toward the new Kleskun Hill Provincial Park northeast of Grande Prairie.
Some 238 hectares of land (about 292 football fields) were added to Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, a portion of which is in St. Albert. The lands are to the north, east, southwest, and west of the park.
Lois Hole Park covers about 1,100 hectares (roughly the size of Morinville), and about half of it is taken up by Big Lake. It is a federally recognized Important Bird Area and host to thousands of migratory birds.
The province aims to add adjacent lands to Lois Hole Park where possible to enhance the park’s ecological integrity and capacity for nature-based recreation, Alberta Forestry and Parks spokesperson Victoria Person said in an email. These lands were previously privately owned.
With the exception of the east chunk (which is between the park’s parking lot and Edmonton’s Starling neighbourhood), none of these lands are currently accessible to the public without long hikes through wilderness and private property. Most of the land was previously flagged for addition to the park under the park’s 2019 management plan.
Tony Druett, board member with the Big Lake Environment Support Society (BLESS), said the park expansion was extremely good news as it means all St. Albert lands south of Big Lake and west of Ray Gibbon Drive (save for one 60 acre parcel) are now part of the park.
The province bought the east chunk about 10 years ago to add to the park, Druett said. This area is next to the main access point to the park and home to many animals, and could play host to a future environmental learning centre. Adding these lands to the park protects important natural areas and could facilitate connections with a wildlife corridor in the Starling neighbourhood to the south.
“In our opinion, that quadrant of St. Albert is the most important natural area in St. Albert,” Druett said.
Druett said he hoped this announcement would push the City of St. Albert to change its planning documents for this region to conform to the province’s plans for the park.
The north chunk — a semi-rectangular blob south of the Sandpiper Golf and Country Club — is next to lands owned by Ducks Unlimited that once hosted a trail and viewing area, Druett said. BLESS is pleased to see the province expanding the park on the north shore of Big Lake and has been lobbying Sturgeon County and St. Albert to preserve natural areas between the lake and Meadowview Drive.
Druett said these new lands could inspire the province to fund more trails in this park.
Visit www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/news-events/new-park-boundary-amendments for details on the park expansion.
