Parks Canada Caribou Conservation Breeding Program in Jasper National Park

I support the breeding program

I support any program that will perpetuate indigenous plant and animal species in the protected areas even if this means limiting access to some areas of the parks. I support raising parks fees if necessary to support such endeavours.

Closing access to the Tonquin Valley by the outfitters is not the answer. They have had minimal impact on the current caribou population.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment. I am a born and raised Jasperite. My dad, Warden Klettl (1956-1985) made many meaningful contribution

thank you for the opportunity to comment

I am a born and raised Jasperite. My dad, Warden Klettl (1956-1985) made many meaningful contributions and pioneered many innovations to JNP, be it avalanche safety, or trail work/visions. I believe I’m following in many of his footsteps. He was the first PC employee to raise the declining caribou alarm, in the Tonquin Valley. According to his 1969 report; in five years, 180-190 caribou plummeted to 60 - 80. There were no wolves at that time since they still hadn't recovered, from the prior decades of predator poisoning. They simply disappeared. He wrote a detailed report and all his recommendations were approved, by Ottawa. For the past twenty-plus years, I’ve been involved in every JNP trail/winter/summer all-use-related workshops and open houses, I attend all JNPs Year in Review and am on all email lists. I’ve also been on numerous boards advocating for mountain biking, trailwork, good trail planning, cross country/backcountry skiing and I am an ambassador/spokesperson for use in JNP. I am very aware of what is happening in this Park and community and 100% believe and support consultation and input. I must commend, recognize and thank the herculean efforts of PC staff to put together this caribou breeding program and PC did try its best to be inclusive, in the consultation phase. I realize this is a big deal, costly, complicated, and exciting. My only concern is the future culling of predators (wolves, wolverines and bears) to protect caribou. However, what was totally overlooked and not thought through was the loss of human use/opportunities aspect and park history. Yes, Our Canada has Caribou but JNP should also have opportunities to backcountry ski and stay in seasonal backcountry lodges. This will not be possible in JNPs future unless there is a concerted effort from JNP and us. I feel this loss should have been mentioned in the plan, because of the intrinsic, historical and emotional relationship and Canadians should have been aware of this. Sadly, when it comes to the Tonquin Valley Outfitters, there are no words that can express how badly the whole situation was handled, and now they’re scared to speak freely, so as not to mess up their compensation package. They provided incredible experiences for decades and, for many years, often, were the only presence in the valley; helping hikers, calling in drone use, aided JNP with rescues. trail clearing, reporting caribou sightings and misuse of campgrounds, fishing, etc. Pretty sure JNP was grateful for these calls. The lack of PC respect for Tonquins stewards, human history, and buildings, is deeply disappointing, to all who know the true story. I really believed PC cared about this stuff and hope it was an oversight that can be corrected. I feel Tonquin Valley, caribou, the Outfitters, Jasperites and users are all entwined and wish PC had involved them, us, to come up with solutions, together, to solve all aspects, of the complicated Tonquin Valley to propel forward, not only caribou conservation but use opportunities, as well. Thank You

Grow Caribou numbers while also protecting JNP human history & recreational access

I strongly support the efforts suggested to conserve and repopulate Caribou numbers in JNP. I just believe there are ways to do so without restricting recreational access and destroying the incredibly important human history and Outfitter businesses in the Tonquin Valley. I'd love to see some brainstorming sessions with all interest groups, as I'm confident a solution can be found that meets the needs of all involved. Thank you