Banff National Park staff have been hard at work enforcing regulations this summer around illegal camping and fires during the extreme fire hazard and fire ban.
As a result, several people ended up in Canmore Provincial Court facing charges under the National Parks Act for contravening its regulations.
Mitchell Mack pleaded guilty to illegal camping and having a fire on July 14 this summer, taking responsibility for a group of eight people found by wardens along the Icefields Parkway.
Federal Crown prosecutor Anita Szabo told Judge P.M. McIlhargey wardens discovered the group north of Saskatchewan Crossing with several tents along the river and a large communal campfire.
“They were not in a campground, nor did they have a permit to camp in the national park,” Szabo said. “They told the warden they thought they could camp for free in the national park.”
She said the illegal campers were cooperative, took down tents, put out the fire and Mack took responsibility for everyone.
Szabo recommended a $300 fine for the illegal camping, and $1,000 for the fire, because at the time the hazard was at extreme and the air smoky from wildfires.
Kevin Price pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking camping rules after being found camping at Tunnel Mountain on July 3.
Szabo said wardens were patrolling for illegal campers and found Price overlooking the river and there was some concern about the cleanliness of the campsite.
As a result, he was fined $150 for camping and $450 for the untidy site the wardens encountered.
Joshua Ens, meanwhile, was charged with having food attractants at a campsite on Aug. 26, at the Tunnel Mountain campgrounds.
Szabo said wardens found unsecured food coolers full of meat, bread, sweets, snacks, juices and alcohol – unattended and in plain view on the picnic table.
She said wardens seized the items, as they could attract wildlife, and returned later to issue the charge. Szabo said human attractants can lead to negative consequences for species like grizzly bears and wolves in the national park and there is significant signage in the area to inform campers about their responsibility.
The judge agreed to a $750 fine, an amount recommended by the Crown.
