God, I was tired. And we still had to hike out. The author on a Mount Christie expedition in 2005, around the same time he celebrated his 60th year. // Liam Harrap I had wanted to see 60 in with a flourish, not a walking stick and a sit on a bench in the Park. That was the reason I was so tired. I h...

I Smell a Rat! Let’s get one thing out of the way right now – muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are not rats. Muskrats and rats are both rodents, but muskrats are actually more closely related to the meadow voles you can see scampering about in Jasper’s wet meadows... Muskrats are in the family Cricetid...

Beware the ‘Fawn of the Dead’: a herd of skeletal, pock-marked deer limp menacingly towards their target, moaning, intent on a gory brain feast…grraaahhh !!! OK, not really; there are no zombie deer eating anyone’s brains. So why is the disease known as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) also known as zo...

"Returning to Jasper this summer, I found myself rerooting, as an Albertan who spent most of my adult life abroad." The palette beyond our engine was a blinding white. Not snow, not fog, but something closer to the emptied light that those who brush against death claim to glimpse — a blankness that ...

Part 1: Pioneer species on a fire-affected landscape Driving into the park a month after the 2024 Jasper Wildfire, we braced ourselves for a charred-earth landscape. Emotions of loss, devastation, and trepidation followed us in. So when we passed vibrant patches of green grasses springing from newly...

Upheaval and change One of the most successful TV shows of the past several years has been Succession, a darkly funny drama about an exceptionally dysfunctional family of rich “one percenters” and their competition to succeed the ailing father as CEO of a huge corporation. In ecology, the word succe...

On the day of a fallen firefighter’s memorial, the Jasper Wildfire Complex has been downgraded from “out of control” to “being held.” On August 17, as the family and friends of Morgan Kitchen gathered to celebrate the life of the 24-year-old firefighter who died in the line of duty, a significant mi...

Critical details of the staged re-entry into the Jasper townsite for residents will be available on Monday, August 12. Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland made the announcement on Saturday at an 11 a.m. (MST) media briefing. “My hope is that the knowledge of the pending announcement will provide a bridge a...

Increased fire behaviour forces closure of highway, timeline for re-entry still unavailable A wildfire that ravaged the townsite of Jasper continues to burn out of control and recent hot, dry conditions have created more challenges for firefighters actioning the massive blaze. The increased fire beh...

It’s been nine days since the largest wildfire in Jasper National Park’s recorded history started by lightning in extreme conditions. It’s been exactly a week since that fire blew up into an unstoppable inferno and 4,700 residents and another 20,000 or so visitors were forced to flee , in the middle...

For the most up-to-date information on the wildfire and for information and resources for evacuees, visit the Municipality of Jasper's website and the social media channels of the MOJ and Jasper National Park . Jasperites are feeling a mixture of devastation and relief as recent images of their belo...

The community of Jasper has been forever changed after a massive wildfire spread into the townsite yesterday afternoon (July 24).  Structural firefighters continue to work to protect homes and buildings in Jasper but significant losses have occurred, including multiple homes and businesses, official...

Wildfire personnel continue to fight two aggressive fires burning near the Jasper townsite. High winds and continued hot, dry weather in the last 24 hours have pushed a 10,000 hectare wildfire burning south of the Jasper townsite closer to town but fire specialists are hopeful a turn in the weather ...

Jasper National Park has reopened the Maligne Lake Road after avalanche control monitoring. The closure was lifted at 3 p.m. today (May 2). It began May 1 at 12 p.m. and was in place in the wake of 25 cm of snow that fell between Tuesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 2. The storm, which increased the ...

Parks Canada is inviting Canadians to speak to the year that was, and the year that will be, in Jasper National Park. On March 12 and 13, Parks Canada staff will host the 2024 Jasper National Park Annual Public Forum—in-person, and on-line, respectively. The events provide an opportunity to speak di...

Jasper Municipal C ouncil to consider expanding Jasper Transit Parks Canada wants Jasper Transit services to extend to Maligne Canyon. In a February 9 letter to the Municipality of Jasper, Jasper National Park Superintendent Alan Fehr said that Parks Canada is trying to encourage alternative modes o...

To: Alan Fehr Superintendent, Jasper National Park Dear Mr. Fehr, I read in the Jasper Local that you have again refused the offer of a fully funded bridge over Simon Creek on the Athabasca Pass Trail. Oneexplanation for the refusal was to "ensure that the ecological integrity of the area will be ma...

The Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93N) is anticipated to close intermittently on Monday (January 29). Avalanche control work will shut down down a 20 km section of the Icefields Parkway between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Parks Canada says warmer temperatures in Jasper and Banff National Parks are anticipated to in...

The sky was mauve, a pale bluish purple. A colour you only see in winter. Mauve, the colour of cold. This was the night the temperature was forecast to hit minus 30 degrees Celsius.  As we struggled up from the valley the forecast seemed spot on.     I caught the smell of woodsmoke and figured our b...

Jasper RCMP members responded to a call of a deceased male under the ice at Lake Annette in Jasper National Park yesterday (November 21). On November 21, Parks Canada assisted RCMP in a recovery operation after being alerted to a body under the ice on Lake Annette.  RCMP are investigating. "Our hear...