AMPPE's Membership Newsletter: Your source of information on visitor experience, access & recreation in Canada's rocky mountain national parks.
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           Volume 8, Issue 2, Summer 2019
Dear AMPPE Members:
As we look towards the fall, this newsletter provides an update on some of the activities that have been underway at AMPPE over the first half of the year.

New at AMPPE
AMPPE has undergone some necessary changes to better assist our members and stakeholders and to more effectively engage in the Parks management planning process. This includes the creation of a new three-year business plan and a focused purpose: 
AMPPE is the voice of local businesses and Mountain Parks enthusiasts.  We work to ensure positive visitor experience and ecological integrity remain enshrined in the National Parks Act and are equally recognized in Parks Management Plans

We will achieve this purpose by working with our partners and members to: 

-       Foster positive and collaborative relationships with stakeholders
-       Advocate for meaningful and impactful policy 
-       Communicate our messages through multiple channels 

To signify our forward-looking shift, we have altered our logo so that the arrow is now facing onwards - into the future. 
Advocacy in Action
Let's Talk Mountain Parks

With the ten year Mountain Parks Planning process underway, AMPPE has been an active participant at several roundtable consultations since the beginning of the year. As part of this, AMPPE prepared and submitted a paper into the  Let’s Talk Mountain Parks portals for Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay. 

The document stated three key principles: 

1)    The Mountain Parks are for the benefit, education and enjoyment of Canadians; 
2)    Ecological integrity and parks enjoyment are inextricably linked, 
3)    Parks planning decisions must be made in consultations with local users and businesses who intimately understand changing patterns, trends and science. 

Roundtables took place in Banff and Jasper, and AMPPE also was represented at a smaller meeting regarding the management of Banff’s backcountry. 
Throughout the fall and winter, we will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to find innovative ways to improve ecological integrity, as well as the experiences for Parks users. We are well-positioned to help provide unique triple bottom line solutions to some of the region’s biggest challenges. Our aim is to ensure that ecological integrity of our Parks are protected while at the same time we are improving the experiences our visitors have during their stay here. 
Federal Advocacy   

In May, AMPPE travelled to Ottawa and held a series of meetings with federal decision-makers to ensure AMPPE’s core principles are being considered on a national, as well as local level. We met with Members of Parliament, officials with Tourism Canada, and Parks Canada.
We shared AMPPE’s principles and reinforced that Parks Canada is a vital partner to the ongoing success of our members. 
AMPPE will be monitoring the federal election closely and will be sending periodic updates to members as issues arise throughout the election season.
Proposed Project List (Bill C-69) 

I n May, AMPPE submitted a letter to Environment Minister McKenna in response to the Proposed Project List under CEAA,  the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act . 
Our letter was in response to proposed new rules for major projects and included new physical work on land administered by the Parks Canada Agency. The Bill specifically mentioned new and commercial development in Banff, Yoho, Jasper and Kootenay Parks outside the town sites and ski hill areas that have not yet been subject to environmental assessment and public review. 
AMPPE’s position is that this level of specificity towards the Mountain Parks is disproportionate in relation to how other National Parks are treated. We also reiterated our belief that the Parks Management Plan is the best avenue for decision-making regarding the long-term future of the Mountain Parks. 
Summer Use Plan for Sunshine Village
AMPPE was invited by Parks Canada to provide input into the Terms of Reference for the Detailed Impact Analysis of Summer Use Plan for Sunshine Village Ski Resort. Our response was framed within the context of AMPPE’s core principles, recognizing that our members have invested in improvements that, along with Parks Canada, provide visitors with a uniquely Canadian mountain experience leading to a better understanding of ecological needs of the parks and how these can be balanced with visitor experience.
Provincial Red Tape Reduction Panel
AMPPE was invited to participate in the provincial government’s Red Tape Reduction industry panel for the tourism and hospitality sector. The Government of Alberta is examining regulatory and administrative requirements with the view to eliminating and preventing red tape that may be unnecessarily burdensome and costly to Albertans and Alberta businesses. The panel will continue to meet on a semi-annual basis, and AMPPE would welcome your input on any recommendations for regulatory changes at the provincial level that will make doing business easier for you.
Dates to Watch
October 21: Federal election 
This is an important year for AMPPE. We look forward to working with, and continuing to advocate for you. 

We would love to hear from you! Please email  [email protected] for any thoughts or feedback. 
“No one will protect what they don’t care about;
and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
~ Sir David Attenborough