Camping, fishing, hunting
Police, parks beef up for rowdy campers
5/21/2008 8:21:14 PM
The snow's almost gone, the temperature is threatening to set record highs and it's the first May long weekend since rowdy campers wreaked devastation at a provincial campground south of the city a year ago.
Provincial park authorities and the RCMP are bracing for a massive influx of campers and off-road enthusiasts heading for the outdoors and hope to avert the destruction and bad behaviour that mired the 2007 Victoria Day weekend.
"We are hoping things are a lot better than last year," said Eilish Lemieux, spokeswoman for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. "We cleaned up 3,200 garbage bags of trash and had 14 abandoned vehicles (last May long weekend)."
The destruction led to tougher rules that banned vehicles and limited camping in the area known as Indian Graves and Willow Creek, a 4,800-hectare area about 120 kilometres southwest of Calgary.
Get Ready for Camping Season
5/21/2008 7:30:21 PM
Springtime! Time to shake the cobwebs off of your camping gear, air it out, and get ready for yet another year of camping adventures. If you haven't done so already, before packing up for that first outdoor trip of the year, it's a good idea to check your gear for wear and tear, mold or mildew, dirt and grime, or signs of damage that may require more serious repairs.