The number of visitors to Waterton Lakes National Park amounted to ******* in the fiscal year 2024/25. This represented an increase over the previous year's figure, which stood at almost********.

Motion-detection cameras are a cost-effective and non-invasive tool used in Waterton Lakes National Park for sampling mammal populations and estimating species occurrence. Occupancy modelling, which uses detection/non-detection data from cameras, provides a useful and flexible framework for population trend analyses. Data are collected throughout the year across Waterton Lakes National Park to determine change in the distribution of key animal populations as well as supporting demographic predictions to better inform management.

Elk are by far the dominant ungulate in Waterton Lakes Naitonal Park, with a population large enough to influence park ecosystems, particularly in the montane and aspen parkland ecoregions. As important grazers, they help to maintain grassland health by preventing woody plant encroachment, but overgrazing will cause grassland health to deteriorate. In Waterton Lakes National Park, aerial elk surveys (Figure 1) have been conducted since the early 1970s. The winter elk population census is conducted by means of an aerial or ground survey, in which a complete minimum population count is calculated, with the goal of detecting change over time. Historic counts are collated from park files and annual reports, as well as survey reports.