Elk Island National Park sees dramatic jump in visitors

Dale Kirkland calls himself the stewardof the"hidden gem" tucked away in theparkland forest east of Edmonton.

But that gem,Elk Island National Park, is a little less hidden this season.

"We're seeing international first timers and other parts of Canada first timers and interestingly enough we've heard of a number of first timers from the capital region," said Kirkland, the park's superintendent.

In June, Elk Islandwelcomed 68,000 visitors, an increase of more than70per cent over last June,Kirkland said.

May, too, was busier with 70,000 guests, almost double the amount of visitors last year.

The reason, of course, is the free access the public hasto national parks and historic sites across the country this yearin celebration of Canada's150thanniversary.

Kirkland said the park is managing to accommodate the crowds, so far.

"Here at Elk Island we've made a very strong effort to make sure visitors receive strong messaging regarding wildlife safety when entering the park," he said.

"It's really, really important especially as it relates to viewing bison, torespect bison and to respect wildlife."

But sometimes visitors can lose their perspective when it comes to interacting with wildlife, said national park spokesman Steve Young.

He recalls an incident earlier this summer in Jasper National Park.

"People opened the door to their car and invited a bighorn sheep in," he said.

"What tends to happen I think is people lose a little bit of their focus when they see wildlife because they're so excited by it and we want them to be able to see the wildlife. It's part of the reason you come, but wildlife needs space," he said.

• Parks Canada preparing for busy Canada 150 season, including patrons behaving badly

Glen Hvenegaard, professor of environmentalscience and geography at the University of Alberta, says with the summer season at its height, thing may get worse before they get better.

"I've heard stories of people feeding bears, getting too close to photograph wildlife, car congestion, inability to get a pass to go on a back country camping site, those are all indicators of tourism pressure starting to impact the both ecological integrity and the visitor experience."

Saturday is Parks Day,an annual celebration ofnational, provincial and even some municipalparks across the country, with each park hosting special events.

More on Parks Day in this week's Our Edmonton Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sunday and Monday at 11 a.m. on CBC TV.