offered general comments about development or offered suggestions on how to mitigate the effects of development. Typical comments related to development and tourism Category
Example of Comment
Slow Development
as much as the parks depend on the tourist industry for financial support, I believe tourism in the parks should be limited. I also feel that there should be large buffer zones between the parks and either logging / mining or commercial / residential development. It would seem a little goofy to have the parks at all it the entire area up to the park boundaries was completely barren. I feel a stronger, more “wild� approach is better for the park. People come for the rugged mountains, not just the spas. Tourism development poses a great threat to the ecological integrity of the parks, and should therefore be halted. In particular, ski resorts should not be allowed to expand or increase capacity and no new backcountry facilities should be allowed I am concerned about the pressures that are presently being put upon our parks and the wildlife within them by increased human activity. I have personally witnessed the results of these pressures on our parks and I strongly support the required restrictions on human activity within the parks, not withstanding that some may cause inconvenience to visitors.
Allow Development
Accept that Banff is tourism oriented. Establish more wilderness areas that are protected but not developed for people. while the cost to manage the parks is surely to rise and therefore the cost would prohibit the average person from being able to visit the parks, I feel that commercial developments in the parks, and to a lesser extent adjacent to them, should greatly subsidize the management and operational costs.
General
It’s important to balance the need to keep the parks as natural as possible with the need for people to experience the parks. The more people that see the parks, experience nature and enjoy the experience the better people will understand the need for the parks to protect the environment. Concentrating human impact in the parks in specific areas such as Banff (or near Canmore / Radium) and Jasper will lessened impact on wildlife in remote areas.
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