The Issue / Idea

How does Alberta regulate recreational impacts on the landscape? How does it compare to other jurisdictions? What challenges does it face in regulating recreational impacts on land and how might we go about it in the future?

The Project

Recreational use of public land in Alberta is creating significant management challenges as the demands for recreational opportunities and the impacts of recreational activity are increasing together. These challenges are shared by many western jurisdictions and have intensified in recent decades due to increases in motorized recreation. This review by the Environmental Law Centre (ELC) compares the legal framework for recreation management in Alberta to other Canadian provinces and US jurisdictions. These comparisons include the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, the US Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, and the States of Colorado, Utah and Oregon. The original report is expanded to consider Quebec and New Brunswick in the Addendum published in 2016.

The comparisons focus on three legal barriers to on-the-ground management actions in Alberta that were identified in advance of the research. These are:

• • mandates to manage recreation on public lands;
  • funding for recreation management programs; and,
  • liability for injuries on recreation trails.

The review also explores two questions relevant to recreation policy development in Alberta:

• • how motorized recreation is typically managed as compared to non-motorized recreation; and,
  • how options for improving recreation management under existing legislation compare to the option of legislative reform.

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Managing Recreation on Public Land: How Does Alberta Compare?

Managing Recreation on Public Land: How Does Alberta Compare? Addendum

Organization

This project was undertaken by

The Environmental Law Centre

Status

Completed in

2016

Supporters

Alberta Law Foundation

The Calgary Foundation

Glen and Lois Mumey