Man asked to leave P.A. National Park for leaving food unattended

By Ian Gustafson

A Prince Albert man is feeling frustrated after he and his friends were forced to leave their campsite in Prince Albert National Park last weekend. Officials told him he broke the wildlife safety rules when he accidentally left some food out at his campsite.

“There were people all around and people cooking breakfast all around us. Their main issue was the sealed tub of small margarine that we had forgotten on the table and there was also leftover coffee that was on the stove,” Eric Samuel said. “Other than that, everything else, the main food containers were sealed and up in the bear cache.”

When they arrived to camp near Kingsmere Lake on Friday, parks officials warned Samuel and his friends about four different bears who were seen in the area and were advised to keep their site clean. When they returned from fishing in the morning on Saturday, a park warden and another staff member were allegedly taking items from Samuel’s camp and moving them to bear caches including clean dishes and a cooler full of clean ice. Samuel said he’s been camping at the site for 13 years and was surprised he wasn’t given a warning about leaving the items out. Instead, his camping permit for the weekend was revoked and he was given a 48-hour suspension from the park.

“There was no warning. There was no, ‘Hey, next time put these things up there as well in the bear cache’ because we had all our stuff that we thought we should have had up there,” Samuel said. “I’ve had my campsite a lot messier than it was this weekend and I’ve never been threatened with a fine and had my park permit pulled.”

Samuel said another group nearby also had their camping permit revoked because they had left out a recycling bag full of empty cans and a bottle of dish soap.

Parks Canada response

When asked to respond about Samuel’s situation, Parks Canada said park wardens have conducted enforcement patrols in the Kingsmere Lake area since Victoria Day long weekend to support efforts of keeping visitors and wildlife safe, especially with the recent bear activity in the campgrounds and on the trails in the area.

In a statement emailed to paNOW, Parks Canada said, “As a result of those patrols, several violations were found and enforcement actions taken. Details about individual enforcement cases are not shared with the public.”

The statement also said visitors to Prince Albert National Park are required to put all items, including but not limited to, food, scented products, coolers, beverages, recycling and toiletries in a place secure from access by bears and other wildlife. Feeding wildlife in a national park or historic site is illegal and people can be charged under the Canada National Parks Act.

“This includes feeding them directly by offering them food, or indirectly by leaving food unattended, littering, or not properly disposing of garbage,” the statement said.

Samuel was told by Parks Canada that he can only appeal a fine—not the park suspension he received. Still, he plans to file a complaint about his incident.