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Photo by Government of Alberta

The province said designating the area as a park will allow it to protect the environment and boost the local economy by promoting the area to both locals and tourists.

It will, however, impact forestry, mining and oil and gas development in the area. Existing oil and gas leases will remain, but the province will not approve any new ones.

“Effective today, there will be no commercial logging in the area covered by the two parks,” said Phillips, garnering applause from the crowd.

No one from Spray Lakes Sawmills, which holds the forestry lease in the area, could be reached for comment Friday, but the decision has angered the forestry industry.

“It feels to us a bit like we’re being vilified,” Brock Mulligan of the Alberta Forest Products Association told The Canadian Press.

Some local businesses, conservationists and First Nations, however, applauded the plan to protect the area, which some have been fighting for since the late 1960s.

“This is a very good day,” said Gordon Peterson, a Beaver Mines resident who’s a member of the Castle-Crown Wilderness Association. “Whether we look at the local, provincial, national or international levels, there are many reasons why the Castle is deserving of protection.

“At the local southern Alberta level, this is our backyard.”

Peterson said it’s also important for businesses, who rely on tourism; the First Nations people, who believe in its cultural and spiritual significance; and, other Albertans, who get their water from its headwaters.

Local resident Abby Morning Bull, who grew up in Brocket and on the Piikani Nation, said some of her best childhood memories come from the wilderness area.

“Growing up, my dad would take us out and get us to pick medicine out in the Castle range or go and pick stones for ceremonies,” she said. “It was an integral part of my childhood growing up.”