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For too long, Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said Friday, Alberta’s provincial parks have been neglected.

She said that has thwarted tourism opportunities and put strain on the landscape, and her government intends to do something about it.

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That something is a $239 million investment in parks over the next five years, including campground improvements, trail upgrades and roadway redevelopment.

Over the last decade, around one million people have moved to Alberta, but few new provincial campgrounds have been built.

Even with campgrounds continually booked to capacity, Phillips said, many of them have become ragged around the edges thanks to a lack of maintenance dollars.

“We have a number of visitors that we are not accommodating in our current system,” Phillips said.

In particular, she pointed to large RVs, for which electric hookups and supporting infrastructure has been sorely missing.