Nighttime nightmares grow for stargazing spots in this national park in Alberta

Edmonton

The northern lights, the total eclipse and the perseid meteor shower are out-of-this-world celestial events driving Canadian stargazers to dark sky tourist spots in 2024. What’s also up, in some places, are noise complaints, nocturnal roadkill and bad behaviour.

Overcrowding, bad behaviour and nocturnal roadkill prompt new rules

A steady stream of vehicles pour in through the south gate for entry to Elk Island National Park. (Submitted by Parks Canada) Nighttime is becoming a nightmare for Parks Canada officials in one of Alberta’s most popular national parks. 

Elk Island National Park, about 50 kilometres east of Edmonton, offers some of the best stargazing opportunities, but increased attendance and some bad behaviour has meant new closures in three popular areas for stargazing, Parks superintendent Dale Kirkland said in an interview.

“We’ve done so just to simply keep people out of these areas,” Kirkland said.

Park staff have been dealing with a spike in noise complaints, illegal campfires and a rash of nocturnal roadkill.

Elk Island is part of the Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve, a designation made by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.  The Beaver Hills was designated a UNESCO Biosphere in 2016 and the area is a popular spot to view the stars. 

The park is a popular attraction for hiking, camping and paddling and for visitors eager to catch a glimpse of the famous herd of bison freely roaming the grounds

About 250,000 people have visited the park this summer, a 10 per cent increase from last year, Kirkland said. 

WATCH | Get a feel for stargazing at Elk Island National Park:   

Canadian stargazers are looking up, and here’s what they’re seeing From the northern lights to the Perseid meteor shower, out-of-this-world celestial events are driving Canadian stargazers to look to the skies at night. Edmonton’s Geoff Robertson is with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

But the increased traffic over the past two summers has led to more than 1,000 animals being struck in the park and along the boundary roads. 

“We have staff that are doing very detailed sweeps of the roads every morning and they’re collecting and identifying roadkill,” he says.

“We are seeing garter snakes, skunks, fishers, bison, coyotes, cottontails — even species at risk such as the western toad and the tiger salamander.” 

Elk Island National Park superintendent Dale Kirkland holds up two dead garter snakes, recovered from the morning road kill sweep of the park. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)

The park is in the middle of a two-year study to look at everything from changing wildlife movements, to traffic calming measures and restricting access to areas, he said.

Stargazers are still welcome in the park for official events, but five gates are being installed to prevent people from accessing Astotin Lake Recreation Area, Tawayik Day Use Area and Moss Lake Trailhead Area between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Official stargazing events are run by the Edmonton chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 

The aurora borealis in May 2023 at Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park captured by photographer Hugo Sanchez. (Submitted by Hugo Sanchez) Geoff Robertson, public education director with the society, says one of their recent weekend star parties saw an estimated 5,300 visitors in more than 2,000 vehicles.

“There were lineups of 20 and 25 and 30 people deep around where my scope was,” Robertson said.

“I couldn’t actually get to my telescope to turn it on and get it going. 

“People really want to know about the night sky.”

Geoff Robertson with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada sets up his telescope near the beach of Astotin Lake. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)

Robertson points to the total eclipse in April that gripped North America and had cities like Niagara Falls, Ont., declaring states of local emergency as thousands of dark-sky tourists sought an opportunity to view the event.

He was one of those who travelled to Ontario to view the eclipse. 

“There was lots and lots of excitement, signs on the highway warning of traffic jams, because of people coming in for the eclipse.”

Solar maximum on the horizon For Alberta-based photographer Matt Melnyk, the exponential growth in the popularity of staring into the night sky has thrown up new opportunities and new challenges.

He says technology, forecasting tools and access to the data is so much better than it used to be, encouraging even more amateur astronomers and night photographers.  

“Now people can get alerts and heads up when certain events are going to occur,” says Melnyk.  

Would be eclipse watchers await totality in Niagara Falls State Park, N.Y., on April 8, 2024 — hours before a total solar eclipse will cast the region into darkness. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) He’s also watched the number of people flocking to places like Elk Island National Park grow.

“But the only trouble is now that it’s such a popular place, there’s going to be so many vehicles there, with headlights on and that’s going to obscure your night vision.”

He suggests moving away from the crowds and the cars, especially with what’s coming: a solar maximum.

“The sun is on an 11-year cycle and right now we’re at the high end of it,” says Melnyk.

Sunspots are what produce the aurora borealis. According to the Space Weather Prediction Centre, last month there were an average of 215.5 daily sunspots on our home star’s surface — up from 0.5 just five years ago, the low in the cycle. 

“We’re going to see so much action from the sun, that the northern light shows are going to be far more frequent than they have been and pretty amazing.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adrienne Lamb is an award-winning multi-platform producer based in Edmonton. She served for several years as a national arts reporter. Prior to moving to Alberta, Adrienne worked for CBC in Ontario and New Brunswick. Adrienne is a graduate of Western University with a degree in English and anthropology and a master’s in journalism.

With files from Nicole Mortillaro

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