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Waterton Springs Campground to close

Mar 5, 2017 | 8:41 AM

LETHBRIDGE — The current Waterton Springs Campground operators are reaching out to Albertans to help save their beloved business.
 
Kristen Creason explained in a lengthy interview with Lethbridge News Now, that her and her husband have managed it for the past three years, but originally owned the land nearly 20 years ago. They ended up selling it to a business partner, who then sold it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).
 
According Creason, who is the current lease holder, the NCC notified her and her husand that their business partner’s lease was up at the end of 2016.
 
The organization, however, decided to keep the 50-year old campground open for one more season, in light of Canada’s 150th birthday. It’s slated to close for good by October 15.
 
Creason noted that Waterton Springs is the largest privately owned campground outside of the Waterton Lakes National Park boundaries, with 180 regular sites. It frequently provides overflow accomodations when sites within the park are full.
 
“I would say we’re 25-per cent booked for the long weekends already, and July is already filling. Last year, we were completely at max capacity, and overflow for most of July and August. There is not enough camping in the Waterton Lakes area,” Creason said. She stressed that around 10,000 people are accomodated in a typical season, and that usage is only on the rise.
 
When the lease was coming to an end, the NCC ordered a report from Stantec, a consulting company from Lethbridge. Creason says she received a copy of the engineering report, that stated more than $1.5-million in upgrades were needed.
 
“There needed to be some upgrades to the septic system… Upgrades to the electrical system, as well… We did do upgrades to the water system back in 2012. We put in what Alberta Environment needed, in order to run commercially.
 
“There were some building upgrades that needed to be done inside the main building, but that was just general repairs for a building that is 17 years old,” she continued. “Tile in the showers obviously needed to be redone. That was minimal. And then the water boiler at some point would need to be replaced.”
 
While Creason and her husband have a great working relationship with the NCC, she says there seems to be more to the story, noting that the closure goes beyond just costs.
 
“We had the money to put the upgrades into the campground. We had the backers. They do not want to work with private investors. We talked about trying to work with the Waterton community association. We have talked until we were blue in the face, trying to bring in some sort of organization — that would be okay with the NCC — to run the campground.”
 
Creason says she was told by Bob Demulder, regional vice-president for the NCC, that they would rather have a conservation-minded group run Waterton Springs, and that it’s not within the national organization’s mandate to operate campgrounds. That’s something the Creason’s said they can appreciate, being environmentally-friendly people themselves.
 
The NCC has since approached Parks Canada, as well as Alberta Environment and Parks to operate the campground, but neither have shown immediate interest.
 
Creason says if nothing can be done, a reclamation process will begin at the campground by spring 2018. She isn’t sure of any specifics, if the land or nearby interpretive trail will remain open for public use, but certainly knows that camping and overnight stays will no longer be allowed.
 
She recognizes that regular campers are shocked and disappointed by the news, but it is well beyond their control at this point.
 
“There’s still that small glimmer of hope, but it won’t come from us as the lease holders. We have a professional relationship with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, we will not be able to lead the charge with the province in keeping the campground open.
 
“It’s a tough thing. The people are going to have to step up. Albertans are going to have to stand up and have their voices heard,” Creason added. “The people are disappointed and they’re frustrated because Kananaskis is busy and all of those parks are owned by the government. It’s hard to get bookings for camping anywhere.”
 
Creason is now urging those who want to keep camping open in Kananaskis country to send letters to the provincial government in order to make them aware of the issue.
 
Reservations for Waterton Springs is open now for the 2017 season.