Alberta Ski Resorts on the Eastern Slopes and Environmental Advocacy: Conservation Politics and Tourism Developments in Kananaskis Country, 1980-2000

• Author / Creator

  Murphy, Michelle

• This study investigates ski resort development and proposals on the eastern slopes of Alberta between 1980 and 2000 with a specific focus on Kananaskis Country. It highlights issues between conservation imperatives and recreation and sport development. It examines the site selection for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games to uncover the provincial government and Olympic Organizer’s lack of concern towards environmental issues and disregard for concerns brought up by environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), recreational skiers, and the public. An analysis of conservation politics regarding the site selection of Mount Allan, the potential use of Mount Whitehorn (Lake Louise), and the Spray Lakes Ski Resort proposal looks closely at the strategies used by ENGOs to advocate for the environment.
  Through an exploration of conservation politics and land-use debates, this research project probes the role of Kananaskis Country as a multiple-use landscape to argue that between 1980 and 2000, a pro-development provincial government placed minimal value on environmental knowledge and expertise and chose to sacrifice important Alberta mountain habitats for ski resort development and economic gains. This was contrary to opposition from ENGOs, like the Sierra Club of Western Canada, and the public, who utilized strategic discourse to draw attention to environmental threats as a form of resistance to government decision-making. Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed used the creation of the multiple-use area Kananaskis Country to leverage recreational developments and create a “playground” for Calgarians that would also create an Olympic legacy. In the late 1990s, Premier Ralph Klein cancelled the Spray Lakes ski resort project and placed a moratorium on Kananaskis Country development. In December 2000, he established Spray Valley Provincial Park after strong pressure from the public and ENGOs, which lead to increased public approval in time for the Spring election.
  Archival research investigates the ski resort developments based on analysis of government documents and letters, newspaper clippings, and materials and letters written by ENGOs, recreational ski clubs, and members of the public. When Mount Allan was proposed as a potential Olympic downhill site in the early 1980s, skiers opposed the development due to poor snow conditions and high winds. ENGOs voiced concerns for wildlife because the mountain provided winter grazing for a variety of ungulates. When Olympic organizers asked the federal government for the use of Mount Whitehorn, ENGOs argued this would go against Parks Canada’s policies and would threaten grizzly bear habitat.
  Potential resort development at Spray Lakes had been ongoing since the 1970s, and the area had actually been originally selected for the 1988 Games. In the 1990s, the public and ENGOs were clear about their expectations for Kananaskis Country, and more ski resort developments were not wanted. Increased environmental contestations and advocacy exposed government discrepancies which forced a reconsideration of further projects and lead to a moratorium on development in Kananaskis Country in 1999.
  The debate over Mount Allan assisted the later protection of Spray Lakes and demonstrates the public’s desire to reduce development on the eastern slopes. The opposition to Lake Louise reveals the values placed upon national parks and the importance of protecting these areas from encroaching development and mega-events. A retrospective analysis of ski resort development raises cumulative impacts as change factors that affect the wellbeing of natural environments and their sustainability. Observing the early contestations and later outcomes of these developments offers a longer-range assessment to further inform development in Kananaskis Country.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Conservation
  • Kananaskis
  • Environment
  • History
  • Advocacy
  • Skiing
  • Olympics
  • Recreation
  • Mountains

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3S757190

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.