JASPER, ALTA. -- Lakes in Jasper National Park are part of what draws thousands of visitors each year.

But an accumulation of boats and debris left along the shores can affect not only the pristine beauty that people love to experience, but also the ecological health of lakes.

You have to be a licensed commercial operator to be able to leave boats along shorelines in the park, said Steve Young, spokesman for Jasper National Park.

Commercial operators, he said, “do a wonderful job, provide a service for people to get out onto a lake”.

If you're not a commercial operator though, you are required to move your boat from shorelines.

And Parks Canada staff will be going out in the next couple of weeks to tag boats for removal.

“We did that last year, letting 1/8 people 3/8 know they weren't in alliance with the Parks Act,” Young said.

“Some complied with the notices to move their boats shortly after. There's a lot of people who are taking care of their stuff. We did give them a grace period into 2020.”

Young noted though, there are certain lakes that have more boats that shouldn't be there, than others: Pyramid Lake, Patricia Lake, Lake Edith and Lake Annette.

He said boats will be tagged, and people have until October 15 to remove them.

The general cleanliness of an area can be a problem as well. Young said every year, staff from Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper do a day long clean-up in a designated area.

A clean-up in 2019 turned out to be particularly unpleasant.

“Last year they went to a lake by the west gate and hauled out a disgusting amount of garbage,” Young said. “That was one of the first clean-ups we did.”

Parks Canada also takes part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up - a national conservation program that gives Canadians the opportunity to take action in their communities wherever water meets land, to clean up garbage.

As well, Young said, community members, mostly from Jasper, have taken part in cleaning up areas and some local businesses give their employees time off to do this. There are also individuals who organized clean-ups with friends.

“That happened a lot this spring,” Young said.