The government of Alberta has announced that the Gipsy Lake Wildland Provincial Park will be expanded and renamed to the Gipsy-Gordon Wildland Provincial Park.
The size of the new park is over 186,000 hectares, expanding the size of the old park by approximately 150,000 hectares.
The park is located about 50 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray and is home to many threatened species including the yellow-banded bumblebee and the olive-sided flycatcher. In total, the park will help preserve habitats for 30 provincially or federally designated species at risk, including 18 bird species.
The Gipsy-Gordon Wildland Provincial Park will also support traditional Indigenous activities, including the exercise of Treaty rights. The expanded size the park will also be home to backcountry recreation, including hunting, fishing, trapping and motorized recreation on designated trails.
The Gipsy-Gordon Wildland Provincial Park was originally established as a conservation area under the Lower Athabaska Regional Plan and is one of 34 spread throughout the province.
