Parks and Protected Areas

Most of Alberta’s landbase (60%) is owned by the provincial government (public land), while 10% is owned by the federal government and nearly 30% is privately owned.  Alberta devotes close to seven million acres of land, or about 4% of its land area, to provincial parks and protected areas. Different categories of parks and protected areas allow for different levels of recreational activity and wilderness preservation in order to maintain unique and/or critical ecosystems and biodiversity. For example, ecological preservation is the primary purpose of Alberta’s ecological reserves, while outdoor recreation is the focus of management in Alberta’s provincial recreation areas. The management of forests in parks and protected areas mostly consists of programs to suppress fires and control pests, as these are the biggest threats.

To preserve areas that may be unique or important to the maintenance of biological diversity, the province identifies certain lands as “Environmentally Significant Areas.” These public and private lands may be monitored by the government to obtain information for proper management, but are not necessarily a part of parks and protected areas.