K-COUNTRY – A hungry black bear ripped a tent at Spray Lakes West Campground in Kananaskis Country late last week, forcing a warning to campers to be aware and properly store food and garbage and prompting calls for the long-awaited redesign of the campground.
The bear had chewed on non-food items at two different campsites and ripped a fly off an occupied tent on May 25.
Alberta Parks officials say there is no immediate risk to public safety.
“There were no injuries and the bear did not display signs of aggression,” said Bridget Burgess-Ferrari, communications advisor for Forestry, Parks and Tourism in an email.
“The bear had left the area prior to the arrival of conservation officers.”
The latest incident has renewed calls for the long-awaited redesign of the Spray Lakes West Campground, a seasonal campground located in Spray Valley Provincial Park, about 16 kilometres south of Canmore on the Smith Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail that operates 50 unserviced sites from May to September.
In 2017, Kananaskis Country planners announced an upgrade to the campground – a favourite for locals in the Bow Valley because of its close proximity – to include new washrooms, rejigging of sites to better facilitate wildlife movements, signage and more.
The province wants to modernize the aging campground and facilities, but one of the main reasons behind the plan is to better manage human-wildlife conflict there, an area that sees a lot of bear activity and regular bear warnings.
Part of the redesign would consider bear data and other wildlife data to get an idea of where bears are moving. In addition, there would be a mix of sites as part of the redevelopment, such as tenting and areas for larger RVs, which can’t fit into some of the sites because the campground was built in the 1970s.
The provincial government’s 2023-24 funded capital projects include $1.7 million to refurbish, formalize and maximize the capacity of Spray Lakes West Campground and for road resurfacing in Spray Valley Provincial Park.
The latest warning on May 25 had many on social media calling for the redevelopment to happen sooner rather than later, while others are calling for it to be closed because it lies within an important wildlife movement corridor.
John Marriott, a local wildfire advocate and photographer, said a first step for the five-km long and sprawling campground is removal of dandelions and buffalo berries – key bear attractants – and contracting the campground into a smaller footprint.
“I would also include a redesign that ensures an adequate corridor for bears and other wildlife to get by on that side of the lake without having to walk through the campground and without being enticed into the campground like they are now with all of the bear food in there,” he said.
“The current design lends itself to lots of campsites feeling quite isolated, so if campers do leave food out, it’s very easy for a bear to 'suddenly’ be there eating it.”
Marriott said sight lines also need to be improved between the campsites, camp areas and the reservoir’s shoreline, more like the Interlakes Campground in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park – but even better.
“Right now, campers that leave their shoreside campsites to go down to the lake often lose sight of their trailer/tent/completely because of all the buffalo berries, trees and shrubs in the way,” he said.
Because of the election, Alberta Parks is unable to comment on the redevelopment of the campground at this time.
“It is government of Alberta policy that departments refrain from new communications activity until the outcome of the election is confirmed and/or a new government is sworn in,” said Burgess-Ferrari in an email.
In the meantime, in order to avoid a surprise bear encounter, Alberta Parks reminds people to make plenty of noise and travel in groups, be aware of surroundings, look and listen for signs of bears, keep dogs on leash, and carry bear spray – and know how to use it.
Alberta Parks asks that all bear sightings be reported to Kananaskis Country immediately at 403-591-7755.
