Parks Canada is hiring private security services to patrol campgrounds in Banff National Park at night this summer.
Parks officials say the main reason for the added security personnel, who will be in several campgrounds from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., is to make sure campers don’t leave out food and garbage that attracts wildlife.
“We don’t have staff during those hours and the primary reason is increasing our ability to find wildlife attractants,” said Greg Danchuk, visitor experience manager for Banff National Park.
“There are also other items that are counter to national park regulations, whether that be quiet hours and campfires out after 11 p.m., or no alcohol, the security will be there for.”
Parks Canada does not want a repeat of last summer, when two female members of the Bow Valley wolfpack – the alpha female and a yearling – were shot and killed following a series of worrying incidents.
Both wolves had become food-conditioned after getting into food and garbage left out by messy campers at different campsites, including Tunnel Mountain, Two Jack Main and Two Jack Lakeside.
Parks Canada is still negotiating the final aspects of the contract with a security firm, but Danchuk said it’s hoped there will be two to three security personnel at Tunnel Mountain this coming May long weekend.
He said the first part of the shift would see security stationed at the campground kiosks, but would later see them patrolling the campground. He added Parks is working on getting a second vehicle to be able to patrol for the entire evening.
“We’ll see how it works for us, and we’ll expand as more campgrounds become open,” said Danchuk.
“We may just go weekends at first, and then in summer go to every day, and then back to weekends in September.”
The end goal is to have at least six or seven security staff working in the Banff field unit to cover Johnston Canyon campground, Two Jack Main and Two Jack Lakeside.
“We do have our law enforcement who are on duty fairly late, but they can’t be everywhere,” said Danchuk.
“The security will interact with people and if there’s a situation that warrants it, they would call dispatch and law enforcement.”
