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20251211
15084000
ParksProtectedAreasAlberta
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860845.890500
5425575.486800
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GCS_North_American_1983
Linear Unit: Meter (1.000000)
NAD_1983_10TM_AEP_Forest
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dataset
Alberta Forestry and Parks, Government of Alberta
GIS Division, Planning and Strategic Initiatives Section
9th Floor Oxbridge Place
9820 - 106 St NW
Edmonton
Alberta
T5K 2J6
CA
AEP.Parks.GIS@gov.ab.ca
20251211
ArcGIS Metadata
1.0
Alberta Forestry, Parks and Tourism, Government of Alberta
GIS Division, Planning and Strategic Initiatives Section
9th Floor Oxbridge Place
9820 - 106 St. NW
Edmonton
Alberta
T5K 2J6
CA
AEP.Parks.GIS@gov.ab.ca
Queries about the distribution of the dataset submitted through electronic mail must include the salutation "Attention: Parks GIS Division; Dataset: Parks and Protected Areas in Alberta".
Enterprise Geodatabase Feature Class
3.0
https://geospatial.alberta.ca/titan/rest/services/boundary/parks_protected_areas_alberta/MapServer
REST
REST Map Image Layer for Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta dataset
Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta REST Map Image Layer
https://geospatial.alberta.ca/titan/rest/services/boundary/parks_protected_areas_alberta/FeatureServer
REST
Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta REST Feature Layer
REST Feature Layer for Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta dataset
https://geospatial.alberta.ca/titan/services/boundary/parks_protected_areas_alberta/MapServer/WMSServer
WMS
WMS Service for Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta dataset
Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta WMS Service
MB
2
https://www.albertaparks.ca/media/6492787/protected-area-kmz-outline.zip
HTTPS
Parks and Protected Areas in Alberta (KMZ)
KMZ file containing Parks and Protected Areas in Alberta dataset (ZIP)
Keyhole Markup Language
3.0
KMZ
ZIP
Parks and Protected Areas of Alberta
2015-12-09T00:00:00
2025-12-11T00:00:00
2025-12-10T00:00:00
Alberta Forestry and Parks, Government of Alberta
GIS Division, Planning and Strategic Initiatives Section
9th Floor Oxbridge Place
9820 - 106 St NW
Edmonton
Alberta
T5K 2J6
CA
AEP.Parks.GIS@gov.ab.ca
Queries about the creation and/or characteristics of the data set submitted through electronic mail must include the salutation "Attention: Parks GIS Division; Dataset: Parks and Protected Areas in Alberta"
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>The Parks and Protected Areas dataset contains Parks and Protected Area boundaries for sites administered by the Government of Alberta. National parks, because of their similar intent, are also included. GIS line work representing provincial park/protected area boundaries has been interpreted from written legal descriptions appended to Orders-in-Council granted Royal Assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. In case of discrepancy between the GIS data and the written legal description, the written legal description shall take precedence. The Government of Canada is the authoritative source for GIS boundaries of National Parks; National Park boundaries are included herein for reference, only. GIS line work representing National Park boundaries has been interpreted from written legal descriptions within Schedule 1 of the Canada National Parks Act, and adapted to align with the Alberta Provincial Base Features/Foundational Data collection. Defining document is Canada National Parks Act, Statues of Canada 2000, Chapter 32, Assented to 20th October, 2000. In case of discrepancy between the GIS data and the written legal description, the written legal description shall take precedence. Please note that this dataset replaces the following datasets: Ecological Reserve, Heritage Rangeland, National Park, Natural Area, Provincial Park, Provincial Recreation Area, Wilderness Area, Wilderness Park, and Wildland Park.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
This dataset provides users with GIS ready polygonal representation of all the Parks and Protected Areas in the province of Alberta, and is suitable for indexing or analysis purposes. It is provided for use for Government of Alberta staff and the general public.
Alberta Forestry and Parks, Government of Alberta
GIS Division, Planning and Strategic Initiatives Section
9th Floor Oxbridge Place
9820 - 106 St. NW
Edmonton
Alberta
T5K 2J6
CA
AEP.Parks.GIS@gov.ab.ca
Queries about the creation and/or characteristics of the dataset submitted through electronic mail must include the salutation "Attention:Parks GIS Division; Dataset: Parks and Protected Areas in Alberta"
Alberta, Canada
Ecological reserve
National park
Natural area
Provincial recreation area
Parks
Provincial park
Wilderness area
Protected area
Wildland park
Wilderness park
Heritage rangeland
Ecological Reserve
National Park
Natural Area
Provincial Recreation Area
Parks
Provincial Park
Wilderness Area
Protected Area
Wildland Park
Wilderness Park
Heritage Rangeland
Alberta
Canada
Distribution Liability: Under the terms of the Open Government Licence - Alberta, the Information is licensed as is, and the Information Provider excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Information Provider is not liable for any errors or omissions in the Information, and will not under any circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other loss, injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in connection with this licence or the Information, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such loss, injury or damage.
Your use of this information will be governed by the terms of the Open Government Licence - Alberta, in force as of the date you accessed the information, found at https://open.alberta.ca/licence
To access the data you must agree to the terms of the Open Government Licence - Alberta found at https://open.alberta.ca/licence
Public
Government of Alberta Data and Information Security Classification
https://imtpolicy.sp.alberta.ca/standards/Pages/Data-and-Information-Security-Classification.aspx
Esri ArcGIS 13.3.0.52636
true
-120.889865
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48.897309
60.025349
1
-120.902026
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60.094015
48.897309
Order-in Council legal descriptions are interpreted. For most sites, a boundary based on the legal was created in MicroStation using 1:20K mapping files from Informatics Branch, Alberta Environment and Parks. The MicroStation derived boundary was then brought into ARC/INFO and incorporated in the Protected Areas data set. For newer sites, boundaries have been created solely in ARC/INFO or ArcGIS, using Base Features data from Provincial Geospatial Centre. Data are now maintained exclusively in an SDE Geodatabase. Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report: In general +/- 5m where a protected area boundary follows ATS or hydrography. Accuracy can decrease to +/- 20m where protected area boundaries follow features which have been updated from IRS imagery. The dates for the data sources used for this resource vary. Please contact AEP.Parks.GIS@gov.ab.ca if you have addition questions about the history of this data set.
Minor edits to line work: Athabasca Dunes ER, Prairie Coulees NA.
Topological integrity, best representation of Order-in-Council legal land description.
2019-09-26T00:00:00
Modification of IUCN category for various sites.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2020-01-27T00:00:00
"Prairie Coulees Natural Area" renamed to "Hargrave Coulees Natural Area"
Order-in-Council 374/2020, December 2, 2020
2020-12-03T00:00:00
Modification of IUCN category for various sites.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2020-12-03T00:00:00
Edited polygon for Wood Buffalo National Park of Canada, to exclude boundaries of Thebathi and ?EJeré K'elni Kue First Nations.
Best representation of legal description, as found in National Parks Act.
2021-05-04T00:00:00
Edited line work of Cold Lake Provincial Park in SE11 T65 R2 W4 to follow the shoreline of Cold Lake as per Base Mapping hydrography polygons.
Best representation of Order-in-Council legal land description.
2021-09-24T00:00:00
Modification of IUCN category for various sites.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2021-11-30T00:00:00
Expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland.
Order-in-Council 6/2022, dated January 26, 2022.
2022-01-31T00:00:00
Minor adjustments to polygon line work of Spray Valley Provincial Park and Bow Valley Provincial Park.
Topological integrity of shared GIS boundaries with Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, as per O.C. 78/2022, dated March 25, 2022.
2022-03-28T00:00:00
Expansion of Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park.
Order-in-Council 78/2022, dated March 25, 2022.
2022-03-28T00:00:00
Revision of polygon for Smoky River South PRA to account for bridge re-alignment along highway 40. Acres/Hectares fields revised accordingly.
Best representation of Order-in-Council legal land description.
2022-07-08T00:00:00
Various attribute table cleanups: Readability of OC_NO field for Glenbow Ranch PP, Lois Hole Centennial PP, Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland; Readability of NOTES field for Marshybank ER; Correction to DATE_EST for Elbow-Sheep Wildland; Cleanup of Schedule number in OC_NO field for Bearberry Prairie NA, Modeste Creek NA, Matthews Crossing NA.
Cleanups of attribute table for readability, sorting ability, correctness.
2022-07-08T00:00:00
Designation of Big Island Provincial Park.
Order-in-Council 32/2023, dated February 16, 2023.
2023-02-16T00:00:00
Modification of IUCN category for various sites.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2023-02-21T00:00:00
Edits to line work of Garner Lake Provincial Park, Rumsey Natural Area.
Best representation of Order-in-Council legal land description.
2023-02-21T00:00:00
Minor topological edits to line work of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland, Bellis North Natural Area; correction of type-o in Notes field for Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park.
Topological integrity of polygons; clarity of attribute information.
2023-02-21T00:00:00
Designation of Kleskun Hills Provincial Park, La Biche River Provincial Recreation Area. Boundary amendments to Bleriot Ferry Provincial Recreation Area, Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, Peaceful Valley Provincial Recreation Area. Attribute changes to Egg Island Ecological Reserve, pertaining to re-designation to correct error in legal description (no change to spatial data). Deregulation of 11 Provincial Recreation Areas. Big Elbow Provincial Recreation Area was not represented spatially in this dataset prior to deregulation, due to being entirely overlapped by Don Getty Wildland.
Orders-in-Council: OC 5/2024, OC 6/2024, OC 7/2024, OC 8/2024, OC 9/2024, OC 10/2024, OC 11/2024, OC 12/2024, OC 13/2024, all dated January 24, 2024.
2024-01-24T00:00:00
Updated IUCN Category of Big Island Provincial Park.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2024-01-24T00:00:00
Designation of new Gipsy-Gordon Wildland Provincial Park, rescindment of overlapping Gipsy Lake Wildland Provincial Park.
Order-in-Council 260/2025, dated July 16, 2025.
2025-07-16T00:00:00
Edited polygon for Wood Buffalo National Park of Canada, to exclude boundaries of Dehneeah Túe Reserve 195D, Delttho Tthén Reserve 195C, Deneyutchelea Reserve 195B, Garden River Reserve 238.
Best representation of legal description, as found in National Parks Act.
2025-07-16T00:00:00
Modification of IUCN category for Fickle Lake PRA, La Saline NA.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2025-07-16T00:00:00
GIS line work adjustments to Milk River Natural Area polygon and corresponding adjustment to Acres and Hectares figures.
Best representation of Order-in-Council legal land description.
2025-07-16T00:00:00
GIS line work adjustment to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park and corresponding adjustment to Acres and Hectares figures.
Closure of portion of Road Plan 646BM within Legal Subdivisions 10, 11, 13, 14 of Section 29 Township 26 Range 3 Meridian 5 and consolidation with Certificate of Title No. 851 216 123, as per Closure Registration document 191042243, dated February 26, 2019.
2025-07-16T00:00:00
Modification of IUCN category for Dunvegan PP, Fish Lake PRA, Gipsy-Gordon WPP, Greene Valley PP, and Woolford PP.
Part of ongoing protected area site-based review/reporting processes.
2025-12-11T00:00:00
Boundary amendments of Castle Wildland Provincial Park, Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area, and Spray Valley Provincial Park.
Orders-in-Council 387/2025, 388/2025, and 389/2025, dated December 10, 2025.
2025-12-11T00:00:00
Minor GIS line work adjustment to Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park polygon (LSD16 sec 11 T23 R9 W5) and corresponding adjustment to Acres and Hectares figures.
Best representation of Order-in-Council legal land description of Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, and topological integrity of shared GIS boundaries with Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area.
2025-12-11T00:00:00
469
EPSG
6.11(9.3.0.0)
ParksProtectedAreasAlberta
Feature Class
469
Orders-in-Council
Alberta Cabinet
SOURCE
SOURCE
Original boundary compilation
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
Integer
4
10
0
41
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta - Base Features (ATS v4.1)
PASITES_ID
PASITES_ID
Alberta Parks site ID number
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
Double
8
38
8
1
50446
NAME
NAME
Site Name
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
String
40
0
0
Name
TYPE
TYPE
Classification or Type of Protected Area - Code
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
String
9
0
0
ER
Ecological Reserves preserve and protect natural heritage in an undisturbed state for scientific research and education.
Ecological Reserve (Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act)
NA
Natural Areas preserve and protect sites of local significance and provide opportunities for low-impact recreation and nature appreciation activities.
Natural Area (Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act)
NP
National Parks are "representative natural areas of Canadian significance", protected for public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment, while being maintained in an unimpaired state for future generations.
National Parks Act
PP
Provincial Parks preserve natural heritage; they support outdoor recreation, heritage tourism and natural heritage appreciation activities that depend upon and are compatible with environmental protection
Provincial Park (Provincial Parks Act)
PRA
Provincial Recreation Areas support outdoor recreation and tourism; they often provide access to lakes, rivers, reservoirs and adjacent Crown land.
Provincial Recreation Area (Provincial Parks Act)
WA
Wilderness Areas preserve and protect natural heritage, where visitors are provided with opportunities for non-consumptive, nature-based, outdoor recreation.
Wilderness Area (Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act)
WP
Willmore Wilderness Park was established under its own legislation in April 1959; it is similar in intent to Wildland Parks.
Willmore Wilderness Park (Willmore Wilderness Park Act)
WPP
Wildland Provincial Parks preserve and protect natural heritage and provide opportunities for backcountry recreation.
Wildland Provincial Park (Provincial Parks Act)
HR
Heritage Rangelands preserve and protect natural features that are representative of Alberta's prairies; grazing is used to maintain the grassland ecology.
Heritage Rangeland (Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act)
SUBTYPE
SUBTYPE
Subtype or purpose within type
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
String
20
0
0
Conservation
Established (or reserved) for the purpose of conservation
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
Education
Established (or reserved) for the purpose of education
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
Recreation
Established (or reserved) for the purpose of recreation
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
STATUS
STATUS
Protection Status
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
String
5
0
0
Text
OBJECTID
OBJECTID
Internal feature number.
ESRI
OID
4
10
0
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
ACRES
ACRES
Area of polygon, in acres
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
Double
8
38
8
Positive real numbers that are calculated using 10-degree Transverse Mercator Projection, NAD 83 datum.
IUCN
IUCN
IUCN Protected Area Management Category
The World Conservation Union (IUCN)
String
4
0
0
IA
Strict Nature Reserve: protected area managed mainly for science
Area of land and/or sea possessing some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features and/or species, available primarily for scientific research and/or environmental monitoring.
IB
Wilderness Area: protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection
Large area of unmodified or slightly modified land, and/or sea, retaining its natural character and influence, without permanent or significant habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural condition.
II
National Park: protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation
Natural area of land and/or sea, designated to (a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations, (b) exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes of designation of the area and (c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible.
III
Natural Monument: protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features
Area containing one, or more, specific natural or natural/cultural feature which is of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.
IV
Habitat/Species Management Area: protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention
Area of land and/or sea subject to active intervention for management purposes so as to ensure the maintenance of habitats and/or to meet the requirements of specific species.
V
Protected Landscape/Seascape: protected area managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation
Area of land, with coast and sea as appropriate, where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant aesthetic, ecological and/or cultural value, and often with high biological diversity. Safeguarding the integrity of this traditional interaction is vital to the protection, maintenance and evolution of such an area.
VI
Managed Resource Protected Area: protected area managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems
Area containing predominantly unmodified natural systems, managed to ensure long term protection and maintenance of biological diversity, while providing at the same time a sustainable flow of natural products and services to meet community needs.
NR
Not Reported
Site is not reported as these sites do not meet the IUCN definition of a protected area.
NRSS
Not Reported - Subsurface
Site is not reported due to existing subsurface mineral commitments with surface access, although site otherwise meets IUCN definition of a protected area (protected area category as per NOTES field, in these cases).
OC_NO
OC_NO
Order-in-Council number - An Order-in-council is a legislative order in relation to and authorized by an existing act of the legislature.
Alberta Cabinet
String
20
0
0
Order-in-Council number
SHAPE
Shape
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Geometry
8
0
0
Geometry type
NOTES
NOTES
Notes to clarify history &/or context of protected area.
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
String
254
0
0
Text
HECTARES
HECTARES
Area of feature in hectares
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
Double
8
38
8
Positive real numbers that are calculated using 10-degree Transverse Mercator Projection, NAD 83 datum.
Shape.STLength()
Shape.STLength()
length of the polygon boundary in internal units
ESRI
Double
0
0
0
Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.
OC_DATE
OC_DATE
The date of the current Order-in-Council, referenced by the OC_NO attribute.
Alberta Cabinet
Date
8
0
0
Date
Shape.STArea()
Shape.STArea()
Double
0
0
0
area of the polygon boundary in internal units
ESRI
Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.
GlobalID
GlobalID
GlobalID
38
0
0
Automatically generated identifier for each record.
ESRI
Automatically generated global identifier.
DATE_EST
DATE_EST
Date of establishment of the protected area.
Alberta Cabinet
Date
8
0
0
Date
OC_NAME
OC_NAME
Full site name on the Order-in-Council.
Alberta Parks, Government of Alberta
String
150
0
0
Simple
FALSE
469
TRUE
FALSE