The phase-out of off-highway vehicle use in the Castle Parks is long overdue

July 8, 2026

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• Castle
• Grizzly Bears
• Native Coldwater Fish

On July 8, 2026, AWA sent a letter to the Minister of Forestry and Parks requesting the Government of Alberta recommit to phasing out the use of Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) in Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park.

Released in May 2018, the Castle Management Plan recognized that “summer recreational OHV use is incompatible with the conservation objectives for Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park.” This management action was well supported by the public during the Plan’s consultation and backed by substantial scientific research indicating that continued OHV use in the region would result in unsustainable and negative impacts to vegetation, water quality, and wildlife.

In July 2019, the Government of Alberta decided to pause and reconsider the phase-out of motorized recreation in the Castle Parks, despite the clear, ongoing risks OHV use poses to critical habitat for threatened species like the westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, and grizzly bear. While OHV trails remain in use in these protected areas, these important species face an additional and unnecessary threat to their survival.

AWA requests a recommitment to using the best available science and evidence to manage Alberta’s parks and protected areas; the Castle Management Plan must be fully implemented, starting with a phase-out of OHV use.

The letter can be read in full here.