KLESKUN

An Ancient Landscape

Long before there was a Grande Prairie, a County, a highway or a farm, the Kleskun area formed part of an ancient landscape inhabited by dinosaurs and other prehistoric life.

Exposed geological formations around Kleskun Hills provide a visible connection with Alberta's dinosaur past. Fossil discoveries in the area have included dinosaur material and evidence of other prehistoric animals.

This gives Kleskun something unusual from a tourism and educational perspective: a story that begins tens of millions of years before the visitor arrives.

Ice, Water and the Making of Kleskun

The end of the Ice Age transformed the region again. Glacial water covered large portions of what is now the Grande Prairie area and contributed to the landscape visible around Kleskun today.

As glacial waters changed and receded, the area's hills, wetlands, prairie and forests developed into the distinctive landscape that now surrounds Kleskun.

Today these very different environments occur remarkably close together.

A Rare Combination in One Small Area

Kleskun's potential is not based on one attraction. Its strength is the concentration of several different natural, historical, conservation and recreational assets.

When the Sky Comes Alive

One of the most dramatic natural events in the Kleskun area is the seasonal movement and gathering of birds.

Large groups of Sandhill Cranes have been observed in the immediate area. On Kleskun Springs itself, more than one thousand cranes have been personally observed gathering around the property's ponds and remaining overnight.

Trumpeter Swans and numerous other waterfowl and bird species also use the surrounding landscape.

Why Sandhill Cranes Matter

Sandhill Crane migrations are recognized wildlife spectacles in other parts of North America. Large concentrations of cranes can attract birdwatchers, wildlife photographers, naturalists, researchers and visitors specifically interested in migration and wildlife experiences.

That raises an important question for Kleskun:

Kleskun Springs

Protected landscapes can provide the attraction. Private land can help provide the visitor experience.

Kleskun Springs is positioned within the broader Kleskun landscape and could potentially serve as one private-sector component of a larger regional tourism concept.

The objective is not to commercialize sensitive habitat or interfere with the natural resource. The objective is to explore ways for visitors to experience the landscape responsibly while creating compatible economic activity on appropriate private lands.

One Landscape. Four Different Experiences.

Bird migration may become a signature attraction, but a successful destination should not depend on a few weeks of the year.

The broader Kleskun landscape offers the possibility of different experiences throughout the seasons.

A Vision for a Kleskun Nature, Heritage & All-Season Destination

The proposal is not to build one large resort. It is to explore whether Kleskun could become a connected destination made up of several complementary attractions, private properties, protected landscapes and visitor experiences.

Large tourism projects are one model of destination development. They are not the only model.

Just as a modern economy needs both very large data centres and smaller specialized computers, a tourism economy can include major resorts as well as smaller destination areas built around highly distinctive experiences.

Kleskun may be better suited to the second model: a collection of smaller compatible activities linked by one strong regional identity.

Possible Future Components

Where Alberta's All-Season Tourism Strategy May Fit

Alberta is exploring new ways of encouraging all-season tourism development. The Kleskun concept should not assume that any particular provincial designation or program is appropriate.

Instead, one purpose of this proposal is to ask provincial tourism and planning officials whether Kleskun's combination of natural assets, existing protected lands, private lands and proximity to Grande Prairie may fit within an existing provincial tourism framework — or whether another planning approach would be more appropriate.

This Should Benefit More Than One Property

The potential value of the concept is considerably greater if Kleskun develops as an area rather than as a single isolated property or project.

For Surrounding Landowners

Greater recognition of Kleskun as a destination could reveal new possibilities for surrounding properties: accommodation, agricultural tourism, recreation, food service, guided experiences, events and other compatible rural businesses.

Not every neighbouring property needs to participate. The important point is that a stronger destination identity can create opportunities that may not exist when each property is considered in isolation.

For the County of Grande Prairie

A successful Kleskun destination could create additional tourism spending, rural business opportunities, employment, accommodations, visitor services and potentially additional municipal assessment.

It could also create another reason for people already travelling through or staying in Grande Prairie to extend their visit and spend time in the surrounding County.

For Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie could function as the service and access centre for the destination, providing airport access, hotels, restaurants, transportation, shopping and other visitor services.

In that sense, a successful rural tourism destination outside the city can still generate economic activity inside the city.

For Alberta

Kleskun could complement Alberta's better-known mountain, badlands and dinosaur destinations by offering a different northern Alberta experience built around prairie, wetlands, wildlife, conservation and geological history.

The goal would not be to compete with Alberta's major tourism destinations. It would be to add another distinctive reason to explore the province.

For Conservation

Tourism and conservation do not automatically have to be opposing ideas. Responsible nature tourism can increase awareness of habitat value and create economic reasons to preserve the landscapes and wildlife people come to see.

Any future development should therefore be planned around the natural resource rather than at its expense.

For Realtors and Property Owners

Rural real estate is influenced not only by acreage, buildings and agricultural productivity, but also by permitted uses, surrounding attractions, access, economic activity and future possibilities.

Recognizing and documenting the tourism potential of the Kleskun area could reveal land uses and development opportunities that may not be reflected when properties are viewed only as conventional rural or agricultural land.

Realtors therefore have an important role in understanding and communicating the broader story of the area to potential buyers, investors and developers.

What Is Being Proposed?

Not a predetermined resort.
Not a request for immediate construction.
Not a finished development plan.

The proposal is to begin a serious conversation about the long-term potential of the Kleskun area.

We believe there is enough here to justify asking the question.

What This Proposal Needs Next

This website is intended as a starting point for discussion. Before any formal proposal is advanced, additional information should be gathered and independently verified.