Elk Island National Park
| Elk Island National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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| Location | Alberta, Canada |
| Nearest city | Edmonton |
| Coordinates | 53°36′52″N 112°51′58″W / 53.61444°N 112.86611°WCoordinates: 53°36′52″N 112°51′58″W / 53.61444°N 112.86611°W |
| Area | 194 km2 (75 sq mi) |
| Established | 1913 |
| Visitors | 220,758 (in 2012/13) |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Improvement District No. 13 | |
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| Improvement district | |
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| Coordinates: 53°36′52″N 112°51′58″W / 53.61444°N 112.86611°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Alberta
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| Region | Central Alberta |
| Census division | No. 11 |
| Established | April 1, 1958 |
| Renumbered | January 1, 1969 |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | Alberta Municipal Affairs (AMA) |
| • Minister of AMA | Deron Bilous |
| Area (2016) | |
| • Land | 165.05 km2 (63.73 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 0 |
| • Density | 0/km2 (0/sq mi) |
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| Postal code | T8L 2N7 |
| Website | Parks Canada |
Elk Island National Park (French: parc national Elk Island) is a national park in Canada that played an important part in the conservation of the American bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This “island of conservation” is located 35 km east of Edmonton, Alberta along the Yellowhead Highway, which nearly bisects the park. It is Canada's 8th smallest in area but largest fully enclosed national park, with an area of 194 square kilometres (75 sq mi). The park is representative of the northern prairies plateau ecosystem and as such, the knob and kettle landscape is a mix of native fescue grassland, aspen parkland and boreal forest. As well, Elk Island plays host to both the largest and the smallest terrestrial mammals in North America, the wood bison and pygmy shrew respectively.
Elk Island National Park is situated in the Beaverhills area, which with its aspen thickets and easy access to water, has provided shelter for wintering herds of elk, bison and moose since times immemorial. Though there was never any permanent First Nations settlement in the area, there are over 200 archaeological remains of campsites and stone toolmaking sites. The land has been influenced by the Blackfoot, Sarcee and Cree peoples.
In early post-Contact history, the Beaverhills area was primarily used for commercial hunting. This led to over-hunting and the virtual elimination of beaver from the area by the 1830s and of large ungulates by the 1860s. The area then became valuable for timber until 1894, when fire swept through the area. In 1899, the federal government designated the area the “Cooking Lake Forest Reserve”. But while the forest was protected, it did little to protect the moose, elk and deer populations. Thus, in 1906, five men from Fort Saskatchewan put forward $5000 and petitioned the federal government to set up an elk sanctuary, calling it “Elk Park”. Elk Island Park was later granted federal park status in 1913, and then designation as an official National Park under the National Parks Act which passed through the Canadian Parliament in 1930.
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