Stewardship and management

A park management plan is a guide for future management of a national park. A management plan provides strategic direction by outlining a vision, key strategies, and measurable objectives with associated targets. Management plans are required by legislation every ten years. They are guided by public consultation, approved by the Minister responsible for Parks Canada, and tabled in Parliament. It is the primary public accountability document for each national park.

• Yoho National Park Management Plan (2022)
• What We Heard Report – A summary of public feedback on the Draft Park Management Plan.
• Strategic Environmental Assessment – Available upon request. Please contact llyksuperintendent-directeurllyk@pc.gc.ca to obtain a copy.

There are seven key strategies for the Yoho National Park Management Plan (2022), each with objectives and targets to help meet those strategies. We will share the highlights of achievements and progress in annual reports.

• Park Management Plan Annual Report, 2023-2024

The current community plan for Field is based on a state of the community report, prepared in 2006, which assessed the ecological, cultural, economic, and social health of the community. It was undertaken in collaboration with the Field Community Council, the Canadian Pacific Railway, Field residents, and other interested stakeholders.

The 2022 Yoho Park Management Plan requires an update to the current Field Community Plan. We look forward to working closely with residents and stakeholders to update the plan.

• Field Community Plan (2010) [PDF, 8.9 MB]

National historic sites commemorate the diversity of human experience and the legacy of thousands of years of human history. They mark the tangible cultural remains of the lives and stories of the people who forged Canada. The family of national historic sites is very large, encompassing more than 900 sites and representing every province and territory. Parks Canada administers more than 150 of these sites including fourteen sites in or near the mountain national parks.

• Mountain Parks National Historic Sites of Canada Management Plans (2007) [PDF, 1.6 MB]

Parks Canada’s legislation outlines its obligations and authorities with respect to the protected places under its responsibility. The Agency uses a wide range of tools to protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage to connect Canadians to that heritage.

• Acts and regulations

The current Field Community Plan was completed in 2010. Parks Canada is updating this plan to align with the 2022 Yoho Park Management Plan. The updated community plan will provide a framework for decision making in Field, B.C. Engagement will ensure that the updated Community Plan is informed by the knowledge, needs and aspirations of Field residents and stakeholders.

• Field Community Plan Update – Learn more about it and how to participate

Abbot Pass Refuge Cabin (Abbot Pass Hut) was located at 2,926 metres on a mountain pass (col) near Lake Louise on the border of Banff and Yoho national parks. For 100 years, it was a destination and a refuge for hikers, climbers, mountaineers and others inspired by high and wild places. It was dismantled for safety in June 2022 after ongoing slope erosion compromised the hut’s structural safety and stabilization efforts were unsuccessful.

In spring 2023, Parks Canada launched a two-step public engagement process about how best to remember this national historic site and classified federal heritage building. The What We Heard report outlines what Parks Canada heard during both phases of engagement.

The first 6 kilometres of twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway at the east end of Yoho National Park, including wildlife crossing structures and fencing, was completed in 2018. Consultation with the public and Indigenous groups on substantial twinning design and a draft Detailed Impact Assessment (DIA) for the remaining 40 kilometres of highway through Yoho National Park is now complete.

Based on the DIA and consultation, Parks Canada has determined that this project may proceed when funding becomes available. There are currently no funds for construction.

• Trans-Canada Highway Twinning Phase IVB - What we heard report

Business and municipal services for Yoho National Park including the community of Field, B.C. are provided by Parks Canada. To serve you faster, the most commonly requested information is offered below. Still have questions? We look forward to assisting you.

Office hours: Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mountain.
General inquiries: llyklotissementsurbains-llyktownsites@pc.gc.ca or by phone - 250-343-6117 (Field), 403-522-1186 (Lake Louise)
After-hours emergencies: Contact Park Dispatch at 403-762-1470

Any person providing goods or services in a national park, including guides, outfitters, and non-profit organizations, must obtain a business license.

“Business” is defined as any trade, industry, employment, occupation, activity or special event carried on in a park or on Parks Canada-administered lands or waters outside of a park, for profit, gain, fund raising or commercial promotion, and includes an undertaking carried on in a park by a charitable organization, or by an organization or individual on a non-profit basis.

Information on the application process for Guided Businesses can be found below. For all other businesses, we ask that you contact your local Parks Canada office to obtain the applicable application form.

Please note that you may also be required to apply for a Basic Business License, depending on the nature of your business.

• Does this apply to me? For the purposes of business licensing, “business” means any trade, industry, employment, occupation, activity or special event carried on in a park for profit, gain, fundraising or commercial promotion. This includes work carried out by charitable organizations or by an organization or individual on a non-profit basis.
• What are the timelines and fees? Business licences require on average 7-10 business days to process. Business licencing fees vary depending on the type and size of the business.
• Why are licenses required? Licenses allow us to regulate activities to ensure they are consistent with Parks Canada’s mission and mandate and what Canadians expect of national parks. They also ensure we can share important information with you about work that may impact your business.
• Who should I contact? Contact permiscommercialllyk-llykbusinesslicence@pc.gc.ca or 403-522-1186 for more information.

Anyone wishing to operate a guided /outfitter activity in a national park in Canada is required to apply to Parks Canada for a business licence. Please note that you may also be required to apply for a Basic Business Licence, depending on the nature of your business.

Guided business licences are generally issued for the following activities:

• hiking tours
• road biking tours
• backpacking tours
• interpretive walks
• guided mountaineering
• guided ski touring
• guided cross-country ski touring
• guided horseback tours
• rafting tours
• stand-up paddleboard
• outfitting
• all wilderness related tours and guided programs

Application process

The following procedure is for new guided/outfitter activity businesses seeking to operate in a national park. It is not applicable if you are seeking a replacement licence. A separate application form is available for this purpose. Please contact your local Parks Canada office for further information on this process.

All employees that will be conducting Guided Trips will be required to obtain a Guide Identification Card (see “Guide Identification Application Form Part IV ”), and carry this card at all times while guiding.

A separate application is available if you are seeking licensing as a new business in any other area other than guided/outfitter activities. We ask that you contact your local Parks Canada office to obtain the application form.

Any person who uses land for a business or residence in a national park requires a lease and/or license of occupation. National parks are owned by all Canadians and the land can be neither purchased nor sold.

• I have a lease and/or license of occupation. We welcome your questions about replacements, mortgage approvals, subleases and more. Please contact us at llyktownsites@pc.gc.ca
• I have never had a lease or license of occupation. Yoho National Park currently has a moratorium on new commercial leases, therefore no new commercial leases can be issued.

Are you thinking of building or digging in a national park? Check with us first! All development and building projects in national parks require permits and require an impact assessment.

We welcome your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Development Office
Lake Louise, Yoho, Kootenay Field Unit
Parks Canada / Government of Canada
llyklotissementsurbains-llyktownsites@pc.gc.ca
1-403-522-1186

For more information about land use planning and permitting in national parks and national park reserves, please visit our national website.

Parks Canada provides municipal services to the Village of Field. The Field Advisory Board (FAB) works closely with us to provide advice and communicate with residents.

• Water, sewer and solid waste services 
  • Parks Canada manages the Field Wastewater Treatment Plant and coordinates solid waste services for Yoho National Park. 
  • For after-hours emergencies, contact Banff Dispatch at 403-762-1470. 
  • For all other inquiries call the Field Townsite Liaison Officer at 403-522-1186.   
• Electricity and heating services
  • Electricity is provided by BC Hydro. Please call 1 800 BCHYDRO (1 800 224 9376) if you experience any problems.
• Road maintenance and snow removal
  • For this small community, Parks Canada provides relatively frequent snow removal. The safety of the Trans-Canada Highway takes priority and plows service the village Field as soon as possible. We get epic snow! Please be prepared.

Residents partially cover the cost of providing water, wastewater and garbage services by paying fees-for-service.

Parks Canada covers the cost of providing additional services from general national park operating funds. These additional services include wildland fire protection and risk reduction, avalanche control, wildlife management, snow removal and maintenance. Parks Canada cannot levy taxes and does not receive federal transfer payments to provide municipal services in national parks.

The Province of B.C. and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District collect taxes from Yoho National Park residents for the provision of other regional and municipal services. Parks Canada also pays for these services by making annual Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) . This is the mechanism by which federal properties in Canada, although exempt from taxation, share costs equitably with neighbouring jurisdictions.

If you are a Parks Canada employee seeking information about staff housing, please reach out to your supervisor. For existing tenants, please contact our Housing Officer at 403-763-0736 or llyklogements-llykhousing@pc.gc.ca

What is Eligible Residency?

Residential leases in Field restrict occupancy to eligible residents as defined in national park regulations. The eligible residency provisions ensure that community residential lands are available exclusively for community use, rather than recreational or second home purposes.

Why have Eligible Residency?

To ensure that a broad supply of housing types are available for those who work and raise families in the community, all people living in national park communities must meet eligible residency requirements. This ensures that housing remains available for those whose primary objective is to live and work in the community.

Who is an Eligible Resident?

According to the National Parks Lease and License of Occupation Regulations an eligible resident is defined as:

(a) an individual whose primary employment is in the park,
(b) an individual who operates a business in the park and whose presence at the place of business is necessary for the day-to-day operation of the business,
(c) a retired individual who resides in the park and who, for five consecutive years immediately prior to retirement,
(i) was employed primarily in that park, or
(ii) operated a business in that park and whose presence at the place of business was necessary for the day-to-day operation of the business,
(d) a retired individual who resided in the park at the time of the individual's retirement and who resided in that park on July 30, 1981,
(e) an individual who is a student in full-time attendance at an educational institution that is located within the park and registered under the Income Tax Act or applicable provincial legislation relating to education,
(f) an individual who is a lessee of public lands in the park and who
(i) was the lessee of those public lands prior to May 19, 1911, or
(ii) is a descendant, by blood or adoption, of an individual who was the lessee of those public lands prior to May 19, 1911, or
(g) the spouse or common-law partner or a dependant of an individual referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (f).

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, an individual who resides in, operates a business in or whose primary employment is in Lake Louise, and who is an eligible resident of Banff National Park of Canada under paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition eligible resident in subsection (1), is an eligible resident of both Yoho National Park of Canada and Banff National Park of Canada.

Some facts about eligible residency

• You do not need to be an eligible resident to lease property in Field. However, you do need to be an eligible resident to reside here.
• Operation of either a Home Occupation business or a Bed & Breakfast Home does not satisfy the requirements of eligible residency.

Enforcement

• Eligible residency will be enforced by Parks Canada to ensure that those living in the community have an established need to reside here. Ultimately, lessee non-compliance with lease terms can result in lease cancellation.

It is a criminal offense to make a false statutory declaration of eligible residency.

Disclaimer

This document has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various codes and regulations currently in effect. It is meant solely to provide information that may be of general assistance to interested parties.