The Board of Directors at its 2017 Annual Meeting met with senior officials of Jasper National Park to review the 2015-2017 trial period of our sport in Jasper National Park, the first National Park in Canada to allow it. Jasper Park Visitor Experience personnel Pam Clark and Amber Stewart, as well as Todd Noble, General Manager of Jasper SkyTram, attended. While Jasper Park is producing a formal assessment of the trial period, flying can continue as per the published guidelines (http://www.hpac.ca/pub/?pid=389). Pilots are asked to strictly adhere to the guidelines and post all flights on Leonardo, so that Jasper can be a strong argument for gaining access to other National Parks in the system.
Discussions in Jasper centered around the ongoing need for recording of flights on Leonardo and landing proximities to roads, regarding concern for driver distraction, and other issues. The Board of Directors identified immediate priority parks located in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, as well as the remaining Mountain Parks of Banff, Yoho and Kootenay.