Stone Creek Resorts Inc. want to put a gondola up Mount Lady Macdonald, one of our beloved iconic mountains. This gondola would run from the valley bottom through a mid station near the Silvertip golf course, up to the summit ridge. The gondola would be 3 km long and require 15 towers. At the top, they propose 20 acres of development that will include a lodge, hiking trails, viewing platforms and a suspension bridge. It is projected to draw up to 300,000 visitors a year – visitors who will travel over, on and through a critical wildlife corridor, sensitive sheep habitat and the protected lands of Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park.
The proponents have asked the Provincial government to consider fast-tracking this proposal through the Province’s All-Season Resorts Act (ASRA). The catch is, ASRA can’t be used for resort proposals on protected lands so, the government is considering just removing the required lands from the Provincial Park. They’ve already done this to accommodate the Nakiska and Fortress Mountain development plans, so there is a very good chance, without loud and large public outrage, they’ll not hesitate to do it again.
Similarly, ASRA cannot be used for projects that contravene regional land use plans and, this one does. Again the government is considering just re-writing that plan so it accommodates this project.
There are so many reasons this proposal should not be considered under the All Seasons Resort Act but lately the government has been alarmingly emboldened to forfeit protected areas and critical habitat for the sake of increased tourism. This has to stop and they need to hear from you!
The Province is asking for your feedback before May 14th on whether you support removal of the lands from their protected status within Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park AND re-writing our regional Land Use Plan so this project can be considered under the All Seasons Resort Act. If accepted for consideration, it would still have to be approved according to ASRA but unfortunately, ASRA is designed to fast track tourism approvals despite negative impacts on wildlife, the environment and our protected areas.
What you can do:
- Attend the information session on Tuesday May 5th from 7 to 9 pm at Creekside Hall (Seniors Centre) . More details coming soon.
- Review the information on the province’s Silvertip Gondola engagement webpage
- By May 14, provide your feedback to the province by completing the Questionnaire
- Send an email with your concerns to the Honourable Andrew Boitchenko, Minister of Tourism & Sport.
You can do this with our letter writing form here.
Or directly by emailing ts.minister@gov.ab.ca and copy:
– Minister of the Environment Grant Hunter epa.minister@gov.ab.ca
– Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen fp.minister@gov.ab.ca ,
– Banff-Kananaskis MLA Sarah Elmeligi Banff.Kananaskis@assembly.ab.ca.
- We recommend that you also submit your comments on the proposed land use redesignation via email to allseasonresorts@gov.ab.ca.
- Read below for more details and links to important information on this proposal
What science tells about potential impacts on nature
The Bow Valley’s south-facing slopes contain a major wildlife movement corridor, linking Banff National Park to Kananaskis Country. This corridor is one of the reasons the province of Alberta chose to create a provincial park – the Bow Valley Wildland Park – in this area in 2002. Click here to view the map, and read the management plan.
Like a chain, wildlife corridors are only as good as our weakest link: a gondola could spell disaster to the functionality of that corridor.
The Bow Valley is one of the most intensively studied landscapes in the world: several decades of science led the provincial government to protect this entire area through its South Saskatchewan Regional Plan and its Eastern Slopes Policy (last revised in 2023). Maps show that the lower elevation land here is all zoned as Critical Wildlife Area, with the higher elevation land zoned as Prime Protection.
The government’s Discussion Document about this development reminds us that “An All-season Resort Area designation… must align with regional land use plans.” That is DEFINITELY not the case here. Based on just this fact, the redesignation should not proceed.
The proposed gondola would deliver an estimated 200,000-300,000 annual visitors to a day lodge located high in alpine/subalpine habitat, an area used by many wildlife including extensive use by Bighorn sheep, a species known to be highly sensitive to human disturbance – particularly during the lambing season. This is why we have seasonal closures of areas such as the Bow Valley’s Wind Ridge.
Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) conducted a cumulative effects study for the Bow Valley in 2022, looking at the impact of all development on wildlife movement. Results show that, although animals still move through these areas, the corridor that this gondola would transect has already been dramatically decreased by human development. Creating a 13.9 ha slice through the Wildland Provincial Park to enable the gondola project would negatively impact the region’s ecological values, biodiversity, and the corridor.
The project would require 15 towers along its length, establishing significant physical infrastructure with ongoing maintenance requirements; this, plus the obvious visual and audible impact of gondola cars and cables, would further reduce the functionality of the wildlife corridor.
Protected areas are the gold standard of conservation, and absolutely essential to protect important habitat from increasing human development pressure. Removing land from protected areas damages the integrity of Alberta’s protected area system. Unfortunately, this has already begun to happen: when the province created its first All-Season Resorts in late 2025, 131 hectares were removed from Spray Valley provincial Park to support the Fortress Mountain development; and 929 hectares were removed from the Evan Thomas Provincial Recreation Area in connection with the Nakiska ski resort.
The Tourism Minister stated in December 2025 that a key purpose of this government’s All-Season Resorts Policy was to spread tourism out across Alberta, increasing visitation to under-visited areas. The Bow Valley receives well over three million visitors annually – this proposed land use redesignation runs counter to that purpose.
Recreational developments usually continue to expand after their first phase: if this gondola goes ahead, what will follow? A downhill mountain bike course from the alpine to the base station that further compromises the wildlife corridor? Increased numbers of paragliders landing somewhere by Palliser Trail? Abundant local precedence tells us that the gondola will be the thin edge of the wedge that leads to further development and human activity here.