Hunting down tourism opportunities in the heart of Alberta's oil country

Dennis Kovtun · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

In much than 30 years arsenic an outfitter successful northeastern Alberta, Charles Beauchamp has introduced hundreds of tourists to the quality of the area, camping retired successful the boreal wood portion hunting large crippled like moose, achromatic bears and wolves.

"I've ne'er had a lawsuit spell location without a bear. And astir 90 per cent of them each get their 2 bears," said Beauchamp.

His company, Birch Mountain Outfitters, brings astir 20 clients, mostly Europeans, to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo each year. 

With the mean lawsuit connected a carnivore hunt paying astir $5,000 US, Beauchamp said helium believes his manufacture brings important payment to the region, including to the assemblage of Fort McMurray, Alta., astir 430 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Wood Buffalo officials hold — they've identified the hunting, sportfishing and trapping manufacture arsenic a mode to turn tourism successful the bosom of lipid country.

"We person astonishing hunting and sportfishing lodges, for example, and we person Indigenous experiences," said Lisa Sweet, interim CEO of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Economic Development and Tourism. 

"We person the ingredients for the look of what tourists crossed the satellite privation to see." 

'Bring a batch of people' to the area

Beauchamp said helium utilized to bash arsenic galore arsenic 65 clients each year. He chose to standard back, which allowed him to wage much attraction to his clients portion sending concern to different outfitters successful the region.  

"We bring a batch of radical into the Fort McMurray area, not conscionable me, each the different outfitters successful the area," helium said. "And we each usage the hotels, the restaurants, the retail gets a batch of boost from this." 

Sweet said the outfitting assemblage successful the Wood Buffalo portion has country to turn further. 

"There are marketplace opportunities. We decidedly would emotion to enactment with existing facilities, oregon determination could beryllium facilities that are dormant close now. We would emotion to spot those revitalized," she said. 

"If there's an entrepreneur retired determination that would similar to commencement a tourism business, past we tin assistance link them to the close supports that are disposable to get their concern started and to grow." 

Wildlife management

Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen — who comes from an outfitting inheritance — says the authorities wants the manufacture to beryllium stable, balancing lawsuit request and wildlife conservation. 

"We're focused connected making definite that the species, the populations, are well-managed," helium said. 

"When it comes to helping outfitters with their businesses, we don't person to bash thing much than conscionable managing the populations properly," helium said. 

He said the fig of animals allocated to the outfitting industry, which tin beryllium harvested by travelling hunters, is "very small." 

But, helium added, "some of the taxon that they hunt are not needfully utilized afloat by nonmigratory hunters and by Indigenous populations — for instance, achromatic bears." 

So, Loewen said, "It's bully to person the travelling huntsman coming successful done the outfitting industry to assistance negociate immoderate of those species." 

Some outfitters successful the Wood Buffalo portion are besides looking to grow their concern beyond hunting. 

Beauchamp is "slowly moving distant from the outfitting." He is reasoning of passing the concern to his son-in-law and focusing connected eco-tourism offerings similar aurora viewings, stargazing and wildlife photography. 

He said this broadside of his concern is proving to beryllium rather successful. 

"So I'm going to ore connected that."