24TDRPAR423 - Pest Management (Richardson Ground Squirrel Control) Services Vermilion Provincial Park

Vermilion Provincial Park is located adjacent to the Town of Vermilion and has an extensive and well used IUCN reported Provincial Park that includes front country areas consisting of a campground, group camps, water park, miniature golf, disc golf, playgrounds, manicured grasslands, soccer, and ball fields. As this area is largely mowed and manicured grass, it has made prime habitat for Richardson Ground Squirrels, more commonly known as gophers.

Without significant natural predator control and with such a large area of manicured and semi-manicured grasslands, the population of gophers has grown substantively, and this has impacted the safety, enjoyment, and experience of both the day visitors and those staying in the group camps and campgrounds. Over the past several years, the presence of the large gopher population and disturbance of the lawn or campground areas by gopher holes was the number one complaint received by park management. In spring 2022, it was estimated that 6,000 gopher holes were found in this core park area.

In 2022, a contractor was hired to support pest management at Vermilion PP. The contractor was required to monitor and control gopher populations within the park. The contractor was approved to use Rocon*. This product is advertised as being non-toxic to other wildlife, pets, and children if inadvertent contact is made with the application. It is anticipated that several more years of monitoring and control will be needed to reduce the gopher population.

Alberta Parks is seeking to enter into a 3-year agreement with a qualified vendor for continued pest control maintenance and strategies for Vermilion PP, with the possibility of expanding the scope of this work to other sites in the district as needed. Alberta Parks is open to all proposals which focus on single species “select” control which focuses on the safety of people, pets, and food web. Control methods can include a combination of mechanical, biological, environmental, and chemical control as long as it is safe and appropriate for use within a busy IUCN reported Provincial Park.