Kananaskis Country (abbreviated: K-Country)[1] is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Its western edge borders Banff National Park and the Alberta-British Columbia border. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a legendary Cree Native. Covering an area of approximately 4,000km2 (1,500sqmi), Kananaskis Country was formed by the Alberta Government in 1978 to provide an assortment of land uses and designations. Land uses include resource extraction activities (such as forestry, cattle grazing, water, oil and gas), recreation, power generation, and residential communities. Land designations include public land and protected areas.[2][3]
Not all areas of Kananaskis Country are covered by the same measure of protection. Areas within Kananaskis Country include provincial parks, provincial recreation areas, wildland provincial parks, ecological reserves and Crown land. All of the aforementioned categories are governed by differing laws.
A management plan approved in March 2003 restricts further development in the Spray Valley Provincial Park area to preserve the ecological integrity. Restrictions were imposed on off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, horseback riding and biking; however, a site in the Spray Valley is considered for the construction of a small lodge.[5][6]
Recreation and tourism
Cross-country skiing in Kananaskis
Although Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area, it is noted for recreation and tourism. One of the reasons the area was established was to "alleviate congestion in national parks, and to provide greater recreation opportunities for Albertans".[7]
Recreation facilities in Kananaskis include several campgrounds, a golf course, a hotel, a holiday ranch, two alpine ski areas (Nakiska, which hosted alpine skiing and freestyle moguls skiing during the 1988 Winter Olympics and Fortress Mountain Resort and a competitive cross-country ski area, the Canmore Nordic Centre) that the public can use. The Canmore Nordic Centre was the venue for cross-country skiing events during the 1988 Winter Olympics. Most of the development is within Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and along the highway 40 corridor that parallels the Kananaskis River. Kananaskis has many kilometres of hiking, cross-country ski, and horse trails. Other activities popular in Kananaskis include mountain biking, scrambling, climbing, backpacking, hunting, and fishing.
Parks and other areas
Extent and locations of parks in Kananaskis Country
Kananaskis Country contains five provincial parks, four wildland provincial parks, one ecological reserve, several provincial recreation areas, four public land use zones and two public land recreation trails. Each of these land use designations have a different purpose, different levels of protection, different permitted activities and different management priorities.[8] These areas or designations include:
Special areas within Kananaskis Country that are not formally designated as parks or ecological reserves include the Bow Corridor Area, the Elbow River Valley Area, Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area, the Highwood/Cataract Areas, Sentinel Provincial Recreation Area, Stoney Creek Provincial Recreation Area, Strawberry Provincial Recreation Area and the Sibbald Area (Sibbald Lake Provincial Recreation Area, Sibbald Meadows Pond Provincial Recreation Area).
Public land use areas
Kananaskis Country includes four areas of Crown land (also known as provincial land or public land) called Public Land Use Zones (PLUZ). The largest is the Kananaskis Country Public Land Use Zone which takes up over a quarter of Kananaskis Country's land area. The other public land uses zones are Sibbald, Cataract Creek, and McLean Creek. Land use zones do not include provincial parks or provincial recreation areas. Each Public Land Use Zone is managed differently, but permitted activities may include cattle grazing, trapping, mining, oil and gas exploration and production, logging, pipelines, cultivation, or commercial recreation operations. Recreational uses such as camping, mountain biking, hunting, hiking, horseback riding, and skiing are permitted with certain limitations. Motorized recreation is permitted in all zones except Kananaskis Country Public Land Use Zone.[9][8]
Two public land recreation trails, which are actually roads, are included to permit motorized recreation: the Ford Creek-Jumpingpound Forest Recreation Trail and the Little Elbow Loop Public Land Recreation Trail.[10]
Natural environment
Two main landscapes make up the region: the rugged, high mountain peaks to the west, which includes alpine, subalpine and montane zones, and the lower, rolling foothills to the east. Between these two regions is a transitional zone with characteristics of both the mountains and the foothills. Kananaskis Country is the source of several rivers, including the Kananaskis River, the Elbow River, the Highwood River, the Sheep River, and the Livingstone River.[11][12][13]
Kananaskis Country can be accessed by five main highways that run into or through the area: Highway 40, a 66km (41mi) segment of the Bighorn Highway and also known as Kananaskis Trail; Highway 66, a 28km (17mi) highway originating near Bragg Creek known as Elbow Falls Trail; Highway 68, a 42km (26mi) gravel highway originating from the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) known as Sibbald Creek Trail; Highway 546, west of Turner Valley; and Highway 549 west of Millarville.
In June 2021, the Alberta Government implemented fees for all personal and commercial vehicles stopping in Kananaskis Country. The fees, known as a conservation pass, are meant to provide more conservation and safety measures, and improve services and facilities. The fee does not apply to vehicles accessing the McLean Creek Land Use Zone, which caters to motorized recreation.[15][3]
On June 26 and June 27, 2002, the area hosted the 28th G8 Summit. This annual "Group of 8" Summit was held in Kananaskis Village at the Kananaskis Resort (also called the "Delta Lodge at Kananaskis").[16] This was the second time Canada used a lodge venue for the G8 Summit, after its inaugural 7th G7 Summit at Montebello, Quebec in 1981.[17] So far, it is the only G8 Summit to be held in western Canada. The 2002 conference pumped some $300-million into the Kananaskis and Alberta economy; however, security cost taxpayers in excess of $200-million. [18]
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