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Year in review: headlines from Banff and Lake Louise in 2020

It was a year full of big news headlines for the town of Banff, the national park and the community of Lake Louise

JANUARY

Parks Canada introduces a reservation system to ride shuttle buses to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake from the park-and-ride east of the hamlet as a way to alleviate visitors’ frustration over congestion and crazy lineups.

After 80 years of running Shadow Lake Lodge, the Brewster family – one of Banff’s founding families – announces the sale of the lodge to the Alpine Club of Canada.

Parks Canada turns down Liricon Capital’s proposal for an aerial gondola from the Banff townsite to the summit of Mount Norquay, noting there will be no further consideration of the proposed gondola, two-storey pavilion and boardwalks, which would be located on lands outside Norquay’s leasehold.

 

FEBRUARY

Parks Canada confirms one of three bison calves born last year in Banff’s backcountry as part of the bison reintroduction project is the first to die in the wild. It is unknown whether the calf was preyed upon, was sick or injured, or died in an accident such as crossing a river.

A male grizzly bear, believed to be either The Boss (Bear No. 122) or Split Lip (Bear No. 136), is spotted west of the Banff townsite on Feb. 27. This is the earliest sighting of a grizzly bear in Banff National Park in more than a decade.

 

MARCH

As COVID-19 hits Alberta, the Town of Banff is quick to declare a state of local emergency, ahead of the Alberta government, and sets up an emergency coordination centre. The Town prepares a support system to help the thousands of residents laid off as a result of widespread business closures throughout the tourist town in the face of the pandemic.  About 80 per cent of Banff’s workforce was initially laid off. At the same time, Parks Canada shuts down public access to all national parks, including trails, parking lots and the backcountry, to limit the spread of the COIVID-19 virus.

A controversial $9.5 million construction project to turn Bear Street into a permanent plaza-like area is going ahead in a bid to stimulate the local tourism economy that has been crippled by the global COVID-19 crisis.

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity announces 400 employees, representing 75 per cent of its staff, temporarily laid off due to COVID-19.

 

APRIL

During the month of April, the caring and generous spirit of the Banff community shines through. The Grizzly House begins delivering free meals to Banff’s most vulnerable, and Heather Jean Jordan, the pianist at St. George’s-In-The-Pines Anglican Church, brings joy to residents as she rings the historic church bells every day at 1 p.m.

YWCA Banff works with the Town of Banff to provide a limited number of isolation rooms for community residents during the COVID-19 pandemic given temporary closure of the Y’s hotel.

The Town of Banff sets up checkstops at both entrances to town, turning visitors away from the tourist town to protect residents and prevent the spread of the virus.

 

MAY

A rare white grizzly bear and its sibling are constantly spotted feeding by the side of the Trans-Canada in Yoho National Park. The young bear’s continued roadside presence forced Parks Canada to implement a no-stopping zone to prevent people from getting too close for photographs and putting the animal more at risk.

The Town, Parks Canada and businesses work towards a safe reopening in June after Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announces a phased approach to reopening Alberta.

Banff decides to close down the 100 and 200 block of Banff Avenue and a portion of Caribou Street to vehicles this summer to give pedestrians more space. Restaurants and retailers struggling during the pandemic were also allowed to open up outside in the pedestrian zone.

The alpha male of the Bow Valley wolf pack is run over and killed on the Trans-Canada Highway near the Banff townsite. The death of 1901 raised questions about the future of the pack given the breeding female is at the den site with one-month-old pups, and the five remaining members of the packs are either yearlings or two-year olds.

 

JUNE

As nature moves into once busy places all over the world during the COVID-19 lockdown, from humpback whales in the St. Lawrence River near Montreal, to puma in the streets of Santiago, Chile, some uncommon wildlife behaviour in Banff is prompting closures. An aggressive coyote comes into town, a killdeer nests on the Banff recreation grounds and loons nest at Two Jack Lake day-use area peninsula.

The provincial government signs a memorandum of understanding with the Canada Infrastructure Bank to look at the feasibility of a new passenger rail service between Calgary and Banff National Park.

A five-kilometre section of eight-foot high wildlife fencing east of Banff has been hot wired with a single electric wire to zap black bears and keep them off the deadly Trans-Canada Highway.

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity announces it has permanently terminated 284 positions due to COVID-19.

Parks Canada mourns the death of one of its most distinguished workers – Cazz the rescue dog. The affable rescue dog, who was retired in 2019 following an eight-year career in which he responded to more than 450 calls with handler Mike Henderson, had difficulties walking and was put down to end his pain.

RCMP in Lake Louise issue seven $1,200 fines to American travellers illegally hiking in Lake Louise during COVID-19 restrictions.

 

JULY

An emaciated young male wolf that appeared food conditioned after getting into food at backcountry campground was put down by Parks Canada. Two days later, another wolf, an old and injured non-breeding female, was killed near the Banff townsite.

The owners of Mount Norquay are testing the water with Parks Canada to see if their second pitch for an aerial gondola between the Banff townsite and the ski hill might fly – this time to the base of the resort instead of the summit.

A 30-year-old backcountry skier from Calgary died after he tumbled about 400 metres to his death in a couloir near Moraine Lake in July 18. The accident occurred in the 3/4 Couloir in the Valley of the 10 Peaks.

Nesting black swifts, which are on the brink of extinction in North America, are spreading some hope in Banff National Park with confirmation of at least three pairs of the endangered birds nesting in Johnston Canyon.

As Banff starts to get busier with tourists, council passes a mandatory mask bylaw in all publicly accessible buildings like grocery stores, retail shops and restaurants, as well as outdoors on the 100 and 200 block of Banff Avenue.

A Calgary judge dismisses Lake Louise Ski Resort’s appeal of a $2.1 million fine for chopping down endangered whitebark pine trees.

Banff YWCA officially begins construction of its $10.4 million Courtyard Project to develop 33 units of self-contained affordable housing.

Several companies, including the operators of the all-terrain Ice Explorer and the unidentified bus driver are listed in a class-action lawsuit filed by a survivor of the fatal Columbia Icefield bus crash, which killed three people and critically injured 14. A second lawsuit listing Brewster Travel Canada and VIAD Corp. is filed in September in relation to “serious, grievous, permanent and catastrophic injuries” from the fatal incident.

 

AUGUST

The Town of Banff reviews long-term options at the Fenlands Banff recreation centre, which includes potentially retrofitting one of its ice rinks arenas into a year-round field house. Council backs away from this direction later in the year.

An independent investigation into Mayor Karen Sorensen ordered by council, and an RCMP investigation, clear her of any conflict of interest allegations associated with her position as mayor while her husband’s company has been one of the brokers providing employee benefits package to the Town of Banff.

 

SEPTEMBER

High regional visitation to Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks led to an unprecedented number of river rescues, including two drownings in the mountain parks this summer. A 34-year-old Calgary woman died after being swept over a waterfall at Tokumm Creek through Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park on Aug. 16. A 23-year-old man from India drowned after falling into the North Saskatchewan River on July 25. His body was found Sept. 19.

Female grizzly bear 143 was struck and killed by a train between Castle Mountain and Lake Louise on Sept. 3. She emerged from her den in spring with two cubs. Neither cub was found at the site.

Lewis, a 10-month-old tabby cat, missing in Banff National Park for six weeks after escaping from his owner’s trailer at Tunnel Mountain campground was reunited with its owners in Quebec.

One of three orphaned black bear cubs dumped in a washroom in Banff National Park three years ago is photographed by a remote camera west of Ya Ha Tinda, about 2.7 kilometres from where she was released about two years ago.

The number of tourists to Banff National Park this year is on par with previous summers despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Gate entry data shows visitation to was down about 15 per cent over summer 2019, which was a record year.

One of four caribou herds in Jasper National Park is extirpated. Parks Canada quietly puts on its website that Jasper’s Maligne herd is gone and two other herds under the federal agency’s responsibility are too small to recover on their own.

 

OCTOBER

Council directs administration to move ahead with a $13.2 million price-restricted, for-purchase affordable housing development on the 300 block of Banff Avenue.  The Town is confident the 33 units will sell even though COVID-19 has left many local businesses struggling and people out of work.

As the ongoing standoff between Parks Canada and a demoralized Field Fire and Rescue Department continues, two truck drivers in two separate incidents are trapped in their vehicles for several hours waiting to be extricated by Golden Fire Rescue.

Residents would be able to park for free downtown for up to three hours per day under a revised paid parking plan for the tourist town. A residential parking permit system is being set up for nearby residential streets, where it is thought visitors may try to park to avoid paying for parking.

Bunnies and bird-feeders are officially banned in the national park townsite. Existing pet bunnies are grandfathered.

 

NOVEMBER

Parks Canada will strike an expert panel to look at how to deal with soaring visitation in Banff National Park. The agency wants the panel to advise on a long-term framework for how visitors will get around the park. It could also include human-use management actions like quotas at crowded places like Moraine Lake or Lake Louise.

Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen announces she has no plans to run in the October 2021 municipal election. Having served two terms on council and now in her third term as mayor, Sorensen said she believes she has accomplished what she set out to do over the past 17 years, including on housing and public transit.

Dangerous sex offender Albert George Muckle has been denied parole. Muckle was deemed a dangerous offender after being found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and attempted murder of a young woman in Banff on July 11, 2005.

For the second time sine the pandemic began in March, the Town of Banff declares a state of local emergency in the face of rapidly rising COVID-19 numbers. The high point was 192 active cases at the end of November.

An isolation centre opens at the Banff Centre given growing COVID-19 numbers as the isolations rooms at Banff YWCA are at or near capacity.

 

DECEMBER

After months of campaigning, a COVID-19 testing centre for the general public opens at the community health care centre on Lynx Street.

Bear Street will be turned into a pedestrian zone this winter, complete with a skating rink, to promote outdoor activities and help boost struggling businesses there that were also affected by the Bear Street construction project all summer.

In an unprecedented move, Banff and Lake Louise Tourism stops marketing Banff National Park as a place to visit as a temporary measure during the current COVID-19 crisis.

No alcohol will be for sale in Banff after 10 p.m. in the coming weeks as the municipality tries to curb the spread of the virus.

A reservation system has been launched at Lake Louse ski resort in response to high skier numbers during the pandemic.

Parks Canada lays charges against four backcountry skiers for violating a closure put in place to protect a female grizzly bear in her den near Jimmy Junior-Hidden Bowl along the Icefields Parkway.

 

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