When was elk island park created

Get ready to explore Canada this year! You might just see some amazing animals when you visit! They're a great place to rest after a hike or a marker for meeting up. Because of this, lots of rare animals are able to thrive inside the park. There are more than elk in the park — they're a bit harder to find but they can be spotted around the park around dusk or dawn. Just remember to keep a safe distance of at least 30 metres since these are wild animals. This park is all about the animals! It was started in to protect a herd of elk.

At the time that small herd was thought to be one of the last in Canada! In bison were brought to the park as well. But what motivated the creation of the only entirely fenced national park in Canada? I was really left with more questions than answers.

Doing a little digging, it turns out that those five men from Fort Saskatchewan were all members of a hunting club. This interpretation fits with descriptions of the Fort Saskatchewan men being concerned that unnamed people would shoot the last remaining elk in the region.

I then ran across this newspaper clipping on the foundation of the park in the May 6th, edition of the Edmonton Bulletin click to enlarge.

The relevant paragraph is the following:. As Mr. Walker explained, some of the residents of his constituency, being very desirous of preserving the band, approached the Minister of [the] Interior on the occasion of his recent visit to this city and asked that he lay the matter before the Government at Ottawa and induce them to build a fence around at tract of timber in that part of the country.

The guarantee was considered an evidence of faith in the scheme that could not well be overlooked, and the minister promised to do what he could to have the land set aside for the purpose of a deer park fenced.

Three sides of the fenced enclosure were built around Astotin Lake by volunteers, leaving the southern boundary open. Elk were driven into this area, and the fourth fence constructed soon after, enclosing a grand total of about 24 elk in June The residents of Fort Saskatchewan disagreed. If the five men were right, Oliver would make the fenced enclosure officially a national park or protected game reserve.

The residents, in the end, succeeded, and Elk Park was quietly managed as if it were a national park until it was officially designated one under the Dominion Parks Act in It always seemed like an idealization of the past or a romanticize of its founders.

Located less than an hour away from Edmonton, Elk Island National Park protects the wilderness of the aspen parkland, one of the most endangered habitats in Canada. This beautiful oasis is home to herds of free roaming plains bison, wood bison, moose, deer, and elk. Be it for wildlife viewing, hiking, cross-country skiing, picnicking, golfing, overnight camping, star gazing, or taking in an entertaining interpretive program there is something for everyone at Elk Island National Park.

Parks Canada A History of Conservation In the late nineteenth century, after wildfires swept through the Beaver Hills area destroying habitat, the Cooking Lake Forest Reserve was established to protect the forest.