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

In more than 30 years as an outfitter in northeastern Alberta, Charles Beauchamp has introduced hundreds of tourists to the beauty of the area, camping out in the boreal forest while hunting big game like moose, black bears and wolves.

"I've never had a client go home without a bear. And about 90 per cent of them all get their two bears," said Beauchamp.

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

With the average client on a bear hunt paying about $5,000 US, Beauchamp said he believes his industry brings significant benefit to the region, including to the community of Fort McMurray, Alta., about 430 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Wood Buffalo officials agree — they've identified the hunting, fishing and trapping industry as a way to grow tourism in the heart of oil country.

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

"We have the ingredients for the recipe of what tourists across the world want to see." 

'Bring a lot of people' to the area

Beauchamp said he used to do as many as 65 clients each year. He chose to scale back, which allowed him to pay more attention to his clients while sending business to other outfitters in the region.  

"We bring a lot of people into the Fort McMurray area, not just me, all the other outfitters in the area," he said. "And we all use the hotels, the restaurants, the retail gets a lot of boost from this." 

Sweet said the outfitting sector in the Wood Buffalo region has room to grow further. 

"There are market opportunities. We definitely would love to work with existing facilities, or there could be facilities that are dormant right now. We would love to see those revitalized," she said. 

"If there's an entrepreneur out there that would like to start a tourism business, then we can help connect them to the right supports that are available to get their business started and to grow." 

Wildlife management

Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen — who comes from an outfitting background — says the government wants the industry to be stable, balancing client demand and wildlife conservation. 

"We're focused on making sure that the species, the populations, are well-managed," he said. 

"When it comes to helping outfitters with their businesses, we don't have to do anything more than just managing the populations properly," he said. 

He said the number of animals allocated to the outfitting industry, which can be harvested by travelling hunters, is "very small." 

But, he added, "some of the species that they hunt are not necessarily utilized fully by resident hunters and by Indigenous populations — for instance, black bears." 

So, Loewen said, "It's good to have the travelling hunter coming in through the outfitting industry to help manage some of those species." 

Some outfitters in the Wood Buffalo region are also looking to expand their business beyond hunting. 

Beauchamp is "slowly moving away from the outfitting." He is thinking of passing the business to his son-in-law and focusing on eco-tourism offerings like aurora viewings, stargazing and wildlife photography. 

He said this side of his business is proving to be quite successful. 

"So I'm going to concentrate on that."