What is a Management Plan?

    Parks Canada administered places are a source of shared pride for all Canadians. They represent the very best that Canada has to offer and tell the stories of who we are, including the histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples.

    A park management plan guides management decisions and actions in each heritage place, and serves as a key public accountability document. 

    Management plans are strategic in nature, based on a long-term vision, with clear direction for a 10-year period, including objectives and actions to achieve results.

    How are Management Plans developed?

    Management plans are developed through extensive engagement and input from various people and organizations, including Indigenous peoples, community members and visitors. 

    Parks Canada ensures that management planning and reporting decisions are made in an open and transparent manner, reflect sound financial management, contribute to Government of Canada and Parks Canada Agency’s priorities, and are results-based to allow for assessment and inform future decision-making.

    Updating a management plan involves: a “State of” the Park assessment, a scoping process to determine the important challenges and issues for the next 10 years, and includes opportunities for Indigenous and public consultation. The plan is then drafted, and subject to additional Indigenous and public review and comment and strategic environmental assessment, before it is finalized, approved by the Minister, tabled in Parliament and implemented. 

    What role do Indigenous peoples and the public play in the management plan process?

    Parks Canada is committed to undertaking meaningful, accessible consultation on its management plans, and strives to ensure that Indigenous peoples, partners, stakeholders, and the public have opportunities to influence and contribute to Parks Canada’s priorities and direction. 

    The draft management plans reflect meaningful stakeholder involvement and are built on feedback from the initial phase of Indigenous and public consultation and the success of previous plans. They are founded on the principles of openness and transparency and have carefully considered and integrated feedback from functional reviews.

    Indigenous engagement provides an opportunity to increase the Indigenous voice in all aspects of park management. Parks Canada consults on management plans with Indigenous peoples who may be affected by and are interested in decisions or activities arising from the management of the park. Collaborating with numerous Indigenous groups across Canada, Parks Canada and Indigenous peoples are partners in conserving natural and cultural heritage and sharing the stories of these treasured places.

    What is included in the draft management plans for the mountain national parks?

    Park management plans include a vision of the park at its future best. Key strategies to achieve that vision are described, along with management objectives for the next five to ten years. Under each objective, targets describe how results will be measured over the life of the plan. Geographic management areas are described, illustrating how strategies and objectives will be achieved in those areas.  A land use zoning plan is included, along with a summary of any zoning changes made since the 2010 management plans were approved. Lastly, a summary of the Strategic Environmental Assessment provides an overview of the potential for cumulative effects resulting from the management plan and other factors such as climate change.

    How can I get involved?

    An important part of the development of any management plan is understanding the perspectives and aspirations of interested Indigenous peoples, key stakeholders and Canadians. It is only by engaging with the public that Parks Canada can make sure that the future direction of the mountain national parks reflects the perspectives and aspirations of the people it is managed for. 

    Parks Canada invited interested Indigenous nations, stakeholders and Canadians to provide input on the draft park management plans for all the mountain parks in the Spring and Summer of 2021. While consultation on the park management plans has now closed, you are welcome to provide feedback on park management and operations at any time by reaching out to pc.opinion-jasper.pc@canada.ca.

    What will happen to my comments?

    At the end of the first phase of consultation (spring 2019), Parks Canada reviewed all feedback and prepared a What We Heard report. The information gathered during this second phase of consultation on the draft management plans will be reviewed, analyzed, and considered as the management plans are finalized and prepared for tabling in Parliament. 

    A document outlining what we heard during this second phase will be created and posted on the park websites. This report will summarize public input and show how it helped shape the final management plans.

    Zoning

    Parks Canada’s national park zoning system designates where particular activities can occur on land or water based on the ability to support those uses.  The zoning system has five categories: 

    • Zone I - Special Preservation; 
    • Zone II - Wilderness; 
    • Zone III - Natural Environment; 
    • Zone IV - Outdoor Recreation; and 
    • Zone V - Park Services.

    The Jasper National Park Draft Management Plan incorporates minor adjustments to improve the zoning from the 2010 Jasper National Park Management Plan. The intent of the zoning changes is to account for minor changes in use since the last plan, to ensure consistency in how zoning is applied throughout the park, and to resolve minor geospatial inaccuracies in previous mapping layers. The overall percentage of the park occupied by each zone has not changed in the new management plan.

    View map: Zoning