EDMONTON - isitors using off-highway vehicles in Kakwa Wildland Provincial Park need to be aware that the Alberta government will be targeting disrespectful use of these vehicles and visitors who disregard park rules and regulations. Tickets and/or seizure of an offender's vehicle could result.

Kakwa Wildland Provincial Park includes designated trails for motorized recreationalists. Visitors can travel from Lick Creek to the park boundary and on to Upper Kakwa Falls - or from the east boundary to the Lower Kakwa Falls. The remainder of the park is left undeveloped for backcountry hiking, camping and trailriding.

Wildland parks, including Kakwa, have a special role in the parks system. Large and undeveloped, they balance protection, backcountry recreation and tourism. Depending on the season, experienced horseback riders, backcountry campers, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers can explore the area with few signs of civilization.

Unfortunately, some of this untouched wildland is being seriously impacted by illegal off-trail vehicles in the summer. Taking vehicles off designated trails erodes Alberta's forests and endangers the wildlife. It also causes conflict with those park visitors who come to enjoy the peace and quiet of the wildland.

Alberta has literally thousands of kilometres of trails available for off-highway vehicle use on provincial Crown land. From Crowsnest Pass and Slave Lake to Lac La Biche and Hinton, users of off-highway vehicles can enjoy the splendors of all four corners of the province.

Parks are established, and trails developed, for public enjoyment. All users are asked to be responsible, obey the rules and respect the environment.

This summer, Conservation Officers will also be on the look out for unlawful firearms in the Kakwa Wildland. Park visitors need to remember that carrying and discharging a firearm is illegal unless it is during a designated hunting season legislated under the Wildlife Act and unless the user has appropriate permits and tags. A permit to carry and discharge firearms out of season can be applied for through the Alberta government.

For more information about off-highway vehicle use in Kakwa Wildland, call Parks and Protected Areas, Grande Prairie at (780) 538-5350.

For more information about Alberta's parks, call 780-427-3582 (toll-free 1-866-427-3582) 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, or visit our web site at www.cd.gov.ab.ca/parks.

Please see the attached map.

For further information:

Cheryl Robb
Communications
Alberta Community Development
(780) 427-6530