Parks Canada is exploring options for the licensing of commercial dive companies in Banff National Park for the summer of 2013 – though what those options are is not yet known.
Presently, four Calgary-based scuba companies operate at Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake, but one more company has expressed interest to Parks Canada.
Parks Canada officials say it will be business as usual if the numbers stay the same, but they will have to consider options if more commercial companies show an interest in bringing scuba clients to Banff.
Officials say they don’t want to speculate on the outcome of their research, such as whether or not a cap on the number of commercial dive companies is a consideration.
“We want to find out how many people are interested. Once we know the numbers, we can make a plan as to how we proceed in the future,” said Indra Jasinsky, a business licensing officer in Banff National Park.
“If the numbers don’t change and we only have four or five, it’ll be business as is. Until we have some more concrete numbers, I don’t want to speculate.”
Parks Canada last week placed a notice of intent in local newspapers and Calgary and Edmonton dailies, saying they were exploring options for licencing of commercial dive operations in the summer of 2013.
The deadline is March 31.
Presently, Adventures in Scuba, AquaSport Scuba Centre and The Dive Shop bring scuba clients to Banff. Caribbean Dreams is more recent and a fifth company has expressed an interest.
The cost of an annual business licence for scuba companies is about $59.
Parks Canada is commissioning a $50,000 study to identify new revenue sources to support their existing operations and enhance the visitor experience in Canada’s national parks and historic sites.
The study aims to identify new sources of revenue from activities such as retail, concessions, Internet activities, licensing and royalties, rentals, membership, or other public programs.
However, Jasinsky said this notice of intent is completely separate from that study.
“This is outside of that discussion. It’s not part of this process,” she said.
“We want to ensure the diving companies offer a fair return to the Crown and that both commercial and recreational users can continue to enjoy the area.”
Both Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake are popular dive spots.
Not only is Minnewanka geologically interesting, there are archaeological and historical sites submerged in the waters of the lake, following the construction of power-generation dams built in 1912, 1923 and 1941.
Divers at Lake Minnewanka can explore the submerged townsite of Minnewanka Landing, which was established in 1888. Features include a hotel, several house foundations, wharves, breakwaters and bridge foundations.
Dives vary in depth from 12 metres to more than 25 metres and vary according to the time of year, as waters can rise as much as 5.5 metres between spring and fall.
Ice diving also takes place at Lake Minnewanka, but requires a restricted activity permit.
Banff
