Special Areas Parks looking forward to 2022 Camping Season
After two years of record-setting use at Special Areas parks, the SAB Parks team is looking forward to more normal levels of use in 2022. With public health restrictions around COVID-19 being dropped earlier this year by the provincial government, parks staff are expecting lower volumes of use.
“The last two seasons were the busiest we have ever had. Camping during COVID was one of the few things that seemed to be relatively untouched by public health regulations. Now that health regulations have ended, it seems like most people are looking forward to doing all the things they couldn’t over the past two years like travelling, family reunions, and sports camps. We are looking forward to a slightly less hectic season in our parks as a result,” said John Armstrong, Parks Supervisor.
There are some changes at Prairie Oasis Park this season, including the return of reservable sites. Around half of the sites are being managed through an online reservation system, found at www.campspot.com. This service has been extremely popular, with over 2400 nights reserved in the first hour bookings opened on April 14. This translated to over $130,000 in camping fees! Another big change is a front registration booth at the park. This booth will act as a base of operations for Parks Staff and will be staffed throughout the season from 10 am to 7 pm. Overnight campers will be required to stop at the booth for both first-come, first-serve and reserved campsites.
For the 2022 season Blood Indian will have 38 serviced sites operating on a first-come, first-serve basis. These sites are in addition to the 250+ unserviced shoreline campsites found around the reservoir. A team from Alberta Environment and Parks will be returning to Blood Indian Reservoir this summer to continue fieldwork related to Prussian Carp. The netting and seining program will remove as many Prussian Carp as possible, while collecting data on the growth and survival of the fish species stocked by AEP into the waterbody. This will be the third year of the fieldwork project.
“We have been working with AEP staff for many years to try to understand what the Carp mean for Blood Indian. Having Craig’s team come back this summer will continue to develop a full picture of the negative impacts Carp are having. I really appreciate the time and work AEP is putting in at Blood Indian, as well as our positive working relationship,” Armstrong concluded.
Photo courtesy Special Areas
