Friends of Kananaskis stepping up public lands trail care in new deal

KANANASKIS COUNTRY – More than 70 trails on public lands in Kananaskis are now being maintained through a new stewardship agreement ensuring upkeep and sustainable use.

The Friends of Kananaskis Country – the only trail stewardship group that manages trails throughout the entire Kananaskis region – has entered an agreement with the Alberta government’s public lands division to support trail care.

“What public lands was looking for was a partner that would look after the many other trails that don’t fall under jurisdictions managed by the Great Divide Trail Association, which will be the trail manager for the Great Divide Trail as it moves through public lands; Bragg Creek Trails, which oversees designated area trails in and around Bragg Creek and West Bragg Creek,” said Trevor Julian, executive director of the Friends of Kananaskis Country.

“Moose Mountain [Bike Trail Society] is another example of a non-motorized partner, and they’re the trail manager for certain mountain bike trails in and around Moose Mountain.”

The Friends 1,100 volunteers work in Kananaskis from the Bow Valley down through the Spray, Sibbald, Elbow and Sheep valleys. Prior to the agreement with public lands, the group was primarily a steward for provincial parks trails in the region.

“We’re all over the place and we were really open to the idea of being a trail manager for a number of trails within public lands and across a broad area,” said Julian.

“It was a mutual interest, by public lands and by the Friends. They knew that we would work across Kananaskis Country and we were interested in doing that and expanding the work that we do.”

Notable trails covered under the new agreement include Cox Hill, Lusk Pass – which also ties into the Trans-Canada trail, Prairie Mountain, Powderface and Powderface Ridge, Elbow Valley trail and countless others.

“Some of them are well used and loved, like Prairie Mountain would be a great example of that. Others are more remote and haven’t been worked on in a long time. So, we’ll be able to give some of those our attention,” said Julian.

Many trails are multi-use, used by hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers and equestrian users. Trail wear and tear generally depends on use and location.

“If there’s a lot of cattle and ranching in the area or equestrian use, like in the Sheep Valley, that’s going to wear a trail differently,” said Julian.

“If it’s lower in the valley and it's wetter, a trail will wear differently than something that’s drier. If it’s south facing, it might be drier and tread might be harder. It really depends … many trails are in many different states and require different maintenance and work.”

In 2023, the province announced it was funding refurbishment of the Prairie Mountain trail, along with Powderface trail, to the tune of $700,000 as part of a $1.3 million investment in trail work in the Kananaskis Public Land Use Zone. The Friends have taken the lead on both projects.

The Friends’ agreement to manage additional trails on public lands was made through the Trails Act – provincial legislation created in 2022 that establishes a system for motorized and non-motorized trail management.

The act aims to improve trail planning for public lands, designates Crown-owned trails, ensures trail repair, allows appointments of trail managers and enables partnerships for trail operations.

The act agreement, though it is still considered a draft between the Friends and the province, enables the Friends as a trail manager to public lands in Kananaskis.

The Friends of Kananaskis Country have received a $200,000 grant to conduct trail work in 2024 on both parks and public lands.

The funding is welcome as visitation to Kananaskis continues to increase, Julian noted. Alberta Parks recorded 4.7 million visitors to the region in 2023, which is a 12 per cent increase from 4.2 million visitors in 2022.

“More use means more wear, which requires more maintenance,” said Julian. “This increase in funding and grants is really good timing to make sure that we can keep up with that.

“I think the Kananaskis Conservation Pass is a contributor to that, in terms of the revenue that they’re [the province] then able to grant out to make sure that we’re working on Kananaskis Country.”

Julian said the Friends are always looking for more volunteers, but right now is pushing to boost its number of boots on the ground.

“We’re certainly looking for volunteers and can use more, and that’s a push right now in terms of trying to reach people and get more volunteers so we can deliver on our promise, both as a newly appointed trail manager, but also for the work we do with Alberta Parks.”

The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.