Blackfoot is the site of one of the earliest attempts at conversation in
Canada, As early as 1892, the Department of the Interior placed a 
reservation on the forests to protect this important supply of fuel wood 
and building material.

As Edmonton developed, loggers supplied building materials from 
the area's spruce groves.

Settlers couldn't homestead in Blackfoot; the hilly landscape and rocky soil make it unsuitable for agriculture.

The Dominion Government included these lands in the Cooking Lake Forest Reserve in 1899 ... creating Canada's first forest reserve.

A portion of the reserve was used to create Elk Park (the original land
allocated to what we know today as Elk Island National Park).

By this time, much of the remaining forested land was depleted by fire. A tree nursery on the north shore of Cooking Lake began reforestration around 1910. Many of the trees on the grounds of the Alberta Provincial Legislature in Edmonton came from the nursery.

When the Alberta Government took over the area in 1930, tree cutting and reforestration was phased out. Cattle grazing, which began in 1921, became the prime activity.

The Blackfoot Grazing Association was formed in 1948, and continues to operate today accommodating up to 8,000 animal units per season in the grazing fields.

The discovery of natural gas reserves in the 1950's created interest in natural resource extraction. At the same time, recreation activities became increasingly popular, resulting in greater need to manage these diverse activities.

In 1988, this area became Cooking Lake - Blackfoot Grazing, Wildlife and Provincial Recreation Area.

Today, Blackfoot provides a unique contribution to Alberta's parks system as history continues to unfold.