Lakeland Provincial Park and Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area are located east of Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada, in Lac La Biche County.

The park contains numerous lakes, such as Kinnaird, Jackson, McGuffin, Dabbs, Shaw, and Blackett, as well as many other smaller waterbodies. The Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area contains Pinehurst Lake, Seibert, Touchwood and Ironwood Lakes.

Park planning and development

Planning the provincial park Discussions of Lakeland Provincial Park were ongoing for decades before the park was designated in 1992. During the 1960s and 1970s the region was under consideration as a public recreation area. Increasing use led to the construction of small-scale facilities by the provincial Department of Highways and the Forest Service. In 1972 a park reservation was created from Lac La Biche to Cold Lake, which includes the areas now in Lakeland Provincial Park.Parks Division, Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife. Lakeland Provincial Park Proposal Summary. Edmonton: Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife, 1978. Page 2. By the late 1980s, the existing facilities were facing substantial use pressures. Reports from the provincial government described the recreational infrastructure as "minimal" and suggested improving the "limited road access".Alberta Recreation and Parks. Lakeland Foundation Document. Edmonton: Alberta Recreation and Parks, 1991. Page 3. Discussing the park's potential, the then Deputy Minister of Renewable Resources stated:

The proposed Pinehurst-Seibert-Touchwood Park has by far the greatest potential for a wide variety of water based recreation activities in Alberta. The excellent beaches on the larger lakes [Pinehurst, Seibert, Touchwood, and Spencer] provide focal points for intensive use camping, boating, swimming and fishing. These lakes have carrying capacities for large numbers of people. The Jackson-Kinnaird-Blackett area has natural potential for wilderness canoeing, hiking, and sportfishing. The Sand River and its tributaries have very good potential for canoe and trail routes. The upland areas are prime wildlife habitat and provide abundant opportunities for dispersed recreation such as viewing, photography, hiking, nature study and hunting.Parks Division, Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife. Lakeland Provincial Park Proposal Summary. Edmonton: Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife, 1978. Page 2.

In 1975 a government task force was struck to provide Premier Peter Lougheed with management options pertaining to resource conflicts in the area. The Minister of Lands and Forests, Allan Warrack felt a formal recommendation to establish the park could be submitted for government consideration in 1976.Parks Division, Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife. Lakeland Provincial Park Proposal Summary. Edmonton: Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife, 1978. Page 2.

Announcing the park One of the most vocal proponents of the proposed park was the nearby town of Lac La Biche. The town felt significant job growth and tourist revenue would stem from the creation of the park. The public announcement, in January 1992, that the park proposal had been accepted garnered positive reaction from the community. Mayor Tom Maccagno and MLA for Athabasca-Lac La Biche Mike Cardinal jointly made the announcement at a local fish fry, which was being held to celebrate the creation of Lakeland. At the announcement, the Honourable Mike Cardinal announced the park could attract "up to one million tourists annually".The Edmonton Journal, 19 January 1992. Page B5.

Developing the park The facilities at Lakeland Provincial Park were constructed in part by First Nation and Métis prison inmates. During the early 1990s the Government of Alberta was experimenting with changes to the criminal justice system that would bring more Métis and First Nation individuals into policing and legal roles, including judges and justices of the peace. Another component of this program included putting convicted First Nation and Métis inmates to work. An inmate camp was constructed at Lac La Biche, and prisoners were used to construct trails and facilities in the park.The Edmonton Journal, 25 February 1992. Page A9.

Hydrology

Drainage basins The Lakeland area straddles two drainage basins, and is thus drained by two major river systems, the Athabasca and the Beaver-Churchill. The Athabasca River drainage basin is the second largest drainage basin in Alberta. It drains 5 of the major lakes in the north-west section of the Lakeland area, including Blackett, Dabbs, Kinnaird, and McGuffin lakes, which all flow into Jackson Lake. Jackson Lake is drained by Gull Creek, which ultimately flows into the Piche River, which in turn joins the Owl River, then Lac La Biche, the La Biche River, and ultimately, into the Athabasca River and on to the Arctic Ocean.Alberta Recreation and Parks. A Biophysical Overview and Resource Assessment of the Proposed Lakeland Provincial Park and Provincial Recreation Area. Edmonton: Alberta Recreation and Parks, 1991. Page 61.

The other major lakes, in the south-east section of the Lakeland area, are in the Sand River sub-basin. Spencer and Seibert Lakes are drained by a small unnamed creek, while Punk Creek drains Pinehurst Lake. Water from Touchwood Lake also enters Pinehurst Lake through a small creek. Water from the area flows into the Sand River from Helena Lake, into Horne Lake, then Ironwood Lake, and in turn Rich Lake. The Sand River enters the Beaver River and flows to Hudson Bay through the Churchill system.Alberta Recreation and Parks. A Biophysical Overview and Resource Assessment of the Proposed Lakeland Provincial Park and Provincial Recreation Area. Edmonton: Alberta Recreation and Parks, 1991. Page 61.

Lakes of Lakeland Provincial Park Black Duck Lake is translated from the Cree Kuskutesip Sagahegan. It is unclear on the exact species of duck the name refers to. The lake often ices over in early October, and is thought to be too shallow to contain fish.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 122.

Blackett Lake is at the same elevation as nearby Kinnaird and Jackson Lakes, and is connected to the other bodies of water by small streams. Local First Nation groups and early settlers understood and conceptualized the three lakes as one large body of water. The Blackett name is likely taken from a group of early settlers, who may have been fleeing legal trouble stemming from the Yukon Gold Rush.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 119-120.

Brown Lake is one of the least accessible, and seldom visited, lakes in the park. No fish currently inhabit the lake, although local memory indicates there may have once been a self-sustaining population. Brown Lake is quite shallow, and possibly only connected to nearby lakes through groundwater. At high water levels, Brown Lake may spill into adjoining Helena Lake. Little information exists on the origin of the "Brown Lake" name, although it is suspected to not be of local origin.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 121.

Dabbs Lake is named after Pilot Officer H. E. Dabbs, who died during World War II. The Cree name for the lake is Hamschigosik Sagahegan, translated as Little Island Lake.Karamitsanis, Aphrodite. Place Names of Alberta, Volume III: Central Alberta. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1994. Page 67. The shoreline of Dabbs Lake is dominated by white spruce, and the lake is connected to Kinnaird Lake via a small creek. Dabbs Lake is divided into two basins, with a maximum depth of in the deeper, north basin.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 120-121.

Jackson Lake has relatively high shores, dominated by cattails, willows, black spruce, aspen poplar, and white spruce vegetation. The lake is named after a family with the surname Jackson, originally from North Dakota, that homesteaded on nearby Fork Lake in the 1930s. Likely, members of that family trapped on Jackson Lake in the winter.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 117.Lac La Biche Heritage Society. Lac La Biche: Yesterday and Today. Calgary: D. W. Friesen & Sons, 1975. Page 158.

Jackson Lake, as well as Kinnaird and Blackett Lakes, are at the same altitude and connected by narrow bodies of water or small streams. Collectively, the three lakes had the Cree name Maniwansik. Similarly, commercial fishermen in the 1920s and 1930s referred to the lakes collectively as Egg Lakes. It is believed that Jackson and Kinnaird Lakes formed the basin of a single, larger lake, until a pressure ridge was pushed up by ice over an existing sandbar.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 117.

Kinnaird Lake is one of the largest lakes within the provincial park. It was named after D. G. Kinnaird, a homesteader in the region. The name was made official in 1921, although it may have originally appeared as Canard. Kinnaird Lake has been commercially fished since the 1920s. There is significant algae and summer plant growth in Jackson Lake, with thin shorelines and very tall grasses.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 119.

McGuffin Lake is one of the smaller lakes in the park. It is named after Squadron Leader W. C. McGuffin, of Calgary, who was killed during World War II. The Cree name for the lake was Kamshttigowa, while local residents had previously called McGuffin Lake Island Lake. McGuffin Lake drains into Jackson Lake via a small creek.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 116-117.

Shaw Lake is one of the smallest lakes within Lakeland Provincial Park. It is the only lake with a road-accessible public recreation area on its shores. Shaw Lake was likely named after J. P. Shaw, a commercial fisherman from the area active in the 1930s. The lake has the characteristics of a large slough, with marshy shores and two distinct basins. Shaw Lake appears to have once been commercially fished, although is now subject to frequent winterkill.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 116.

Snake Lake is less than a quarter section in total area, although significant number of northern pike are found in the lake. There are three competing theories on the origin of the "Snake Lake" name. The first posits that local trappers frequently saw garter snakes on the lakeshore. The second argues that the northern pike in the lake rarely exceeded three to four pounds, and their long sinuous bodies resembled those of snakes. The third theory suggests early visitors to the lake encountered very large leeches, which resembled snakes. The lake is also known as Zig-Zag Lake.Chipeniuk, Raymond. Lakes of the Lac La Biche District. Lac la Biche, Alberta: R. C. Chipeniuk, 1975. Page 121.

Lakes of Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area