Privately-run glass platform and walkway at Columbia Icefields rile national park supporters

Canada has one of the oldest, largest and most extensive national parks systems in the world but much of it is hard to access and Parks Canada is struggling to arrest a steady decline in the number of visitors.

But Parks Canada's latest attempt to attract more people is angering parks supporters who worry it's a step towards the Disneyfication of the more popular attractions.

The focal point is a proposal by Brewster Travel Canada to build a commercially operated interpretive trail and glass-floored viewing platform at the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park in the Alberta Rockies.

Parks Canada is set to make a decision on the proposal by the end of this month. Meanwhile, it's defending itself against accusations the idea will despoil the park and turn it into a profit-making enterprise for private companies.

"An online petition hosted by the international activist group Avaaz.org had gathered nearly 140,000 signatures by the beginning of this week," Troy Media reported.

"The plan would not only spur development, but would give an American company the right to charge each of us for entry into parts of Jasper park," the petition declares.

Parks Canada has been quick to counter these fears.

"All lands in Jasper, as with all other national parks, remain and will continue to remain owned by the people of Canada," Jasper National Park superintendent Greg Fenton told Castanet News. "We, as Parks Canada, administer it on their behalf, but within the context of a very strong policy framework.

"This isn't a dangerous precedent towards privatization. There are significant policies and legislation in place to ensure that does not happen."

Parks Canada's own release on the project links to Brewster's page offering background on its plans.

Troy Media's story noted the controversy highlights a central dilemma that's faced Canada's parks system for decades:

"Is it the duty of government to ensure Canada's parks remain pristine wildlife refuges, or should some level of development be allowed to encourage urbanites to get out and explore? Further, will making the parks more accessible actually achieve the goal of increased revenue and visits?"

Most visitors to Alberta's best-known parks, such as Banff and Jasper, stay on pavement, noted Troy editor-in-chief Doug Firby.

"Getting into the back country is saved for the 10 per cent of park visitors who seek out an authentic wilderness experience," he wrote.

The drop in parks attendance may be due to several factors, he said, including less active baby boomers, an increasingly urbanized population and shrunken disposable income. Adding a fee of up to $30 to use the proposed Glacier walk, on top of park access fees, will hardly help in that case.

Smoothing the rough edges of Canada's unspoiled wilderness parks will diminish their uniqueness, Firby wrote. The walkway and conveniences at other parks may entice a few more urbanites.

"But if Parks Canada sees salvation in such gimmicks, it is almost certainly in for bitter disappointment."