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Visitor numbers skyrocket at two Deh Cho territorial parks Blackstone suffers eight per cent drop due to highway closure from forest fires
Jeanne Gagnon
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, October 3, 2013
DEH CHO
Fort Simpson and Sambaa Deh Falls territorial parks experienced increases in visitor numbers of 45 and 46 per cent, respectively.
Sambaa Deh Falls Territorial Park experienced an increase in visitors this summer, in line with the overall higher trend of the region's parks. - photo courtesy of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment
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This is despite the closure of Sambaa Deh Falls Territorial Park, between July 19 and Aug. 16 due to forest fires, which did not stop more people from camping, hiking or enjoying the scenery the territory had to offer this summer season. The park registered 486 visits from May 15 to Sept. 15, compared to 332 last year, an increase of 154 visits or 46 per cent, according to Michael Mageean, regional superintendent with the territorial Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI).
Fort Simpson Territorial Park received 721 visits this summer, compared to 496 visits last year, marking an increase of 45 per cent.
However, the forest fires negatively affected Blackstone visits as the highway had to close for some time this season. There were 384 visits, down from the 419 visits in 2012, representing an eight per cent drop, Mageean added.
Overall, visits to the three parks is up approximately 30 per cent as compared to last year, said Mageean.
"It was an extremely pleasant surprise this year here, given ... the highway was closed for a good period of time because of forest fire activity and our park in Sambaa Deh, in particular, was closed for more than a month of the season this year," he said. "We were very surprised and very pleased."
Fort Simpson mayor Sean Whelly didn't take the numbers at face value. A breakdown of the numbers could show how many represented unique tourist visits and how many were made up of contractors staying in the campground over extended periods. He said contractors are allowed to stay at the park while in the community to work.
"I'm not against tourists coming in," he said. "I wish that was true and that those numbers represented individual and unique new visitors to Fort Simpson. I think it probably represents, perhaps, increased usage, although it's hard to determine how many of those were tourists as opposed to contractors in our parks."
Mageean said workers in the area are still considered visitors because they pay a daily fee.
About 80 per cent of the visitors staying at the region's parks live outside the territories. Some were coming from the provinces, particularly British Columbia and Alberta, or coming from the United States and Europe, especially Germany, said Mageean.
"We continue to receive extremely complimentary and positive remarks from our visitors that stay at our parks," he said. "They claim these parks are amongst the prettiest and the best maintained parks in the Northwest Territories."
Looking to next year, Mageean is hoping for fewer issues to deal with in terms of forest fire-related closures. Visitors should see some changes, particularly at Blackstone. Workers are building a new washroom/shower facility at the park and upgrading the contractors' residence. They have also started to build a new kitchen shelter to be located at the park, he said.
"I hope the visitation to our parks will again be up next year. We hope our parks will be even busier next year," said Mageean.
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