For 14 years Parks Canada has held a planning forum to outline its progress in implementing its management plan for Banff National Park.
But over time, the format, length and types of discussions held have changed and some in the conservation community are concerned about that direction.
Jim Pissot with the Wild Canada Conservation Alliance questioned how Parks evaluates its forum and reports outcomes back to stakeholders.
In a submission to the forum, Pissot questioned whether constantly changing the forum structure is an experimentation with learning.
“But the more skeptical among us might conclude that Parks Canada is just floundering about and as a result, keeping stakeholders off-balance and diminishing our effective participation,” he wrote.
Banff superintendent Pam Veinotte said the forum has been a model for other national parks and historic sites.
“We do try to keep the format fresh and fun and the agenda to match your feedback and needs,” she said.
That said, Veinotte acknowledged over the past few years she has noticed energy and attendance drops off during the second day of events, especially in the afternoon.
This year, instead of two whole days, the event was structured to include an evening Q&A with the superintendents and just one full day of working sessions.
“This year we decided on an evening and a full day,” she said.
The full day session was focused on working groups discussing two topics in detail – trail experiences and winter experiences for visitors.
Veinotte said in the past, discussions have occurred at a high level and this year it was decided to delve into two very specific subject areas.
“We very much use all the feedback we get,” she said.
The forum was the first for Veinotte as Banff’s superintendent and the very first for Lake Louise superintendent Dave McDonough.
In its submission to the annual forum the Banff Lake Louise Hotel Motel Association also expressed disappointed at the lack of communication to stakeholders following the past forums.
Executive director Darren Reeder indicated each year stakeholders are asked to prepare for an engage in meaningful discussions about ways to improve Banff National Park and come to the table as partners.
“To date, the process has not allowed for any continuity of discussion on important topics; this has had the unintended consequence of leaving business and environmental groups believing that they have even less in common than they did before coming to a Planning Forum,” wrote Reeder.
