SAPAA’s website continues growing, recording 50% more visits and 60% more individual visitors, reflecting sustained interest in Alberta’s WAERNAHR protected lands. Popular content includes coniferous trees, protected areas, and site reports. Most visitors are Canadian and arrive through Google. The website supports conservation through ongoing passive communication, while Facebook remains semi-dormant and no new social platforms are recommended.
At the last AGM, the website celebrated its fifth birthday. Twelve months later, like any child, sapaastewards.com continues to grow. Site visits have increased by 19,000, a 50% growth spurt. Individual visitors have increased by 60%. The take away message – interest continues for the Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands (WAERNAHR) lands.
Top Most Visited Sites
The top most visited page was Getting to Know Alberta’s Coniferous Trees. This shows general interest in Alberta’s Natural richness. Excluded from the following table are pages with less than 100 visits and the SAPAA Home page (with 4,000 visits). What are the top most visited webpages? Drum roll please; these pages and sites have had 100 more visits over the past year.
| Page | Total Visits |
| Getting to Know Alberta’s Coniferous Trees | 1078 |
| Protected Areas | 392 |
| Site Inspections | 294 |
| Student Opportunities – 2026 to 2027 | 253 |
| List of Protected Areas | 250 |
| Say Hello to SIR-SAPAA! | 200 |
| SIR Dragon – March 19, 2026 – 1200pm | 170 |
| Clyde Fen Natural Area | 168 |
| Verdigris Coulee Natural Area (PNT) | 150 |
| Kennedy Coulee Ecological Reserve and Milk River Natural Area | 143 |
| Join SAPAA! | 142 |
| Contact Us | 129 |
| Northwest of Bruderheim Natural Area | 123 |
| Newsletters | 117 |
| Halfmoon Lake Natural Area | 113 |
| Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve | 112 |
Who Refers to Us?
Over the past year, most site visitors sound us via a search engine. Google was the most popular (5,321) with Bing (404) and others very distant followers. AI engines are beginning to emerge ChatGPT (17) as well.
The most popular time to visit the site is on Thursday at 11am. This suggests that the site may be used to help plan weekend trips to Natural Areas.
Where do Website Visitors Live?
Most visitors are from Canada (10,435) with the United States (4,402) a distant second. Countries with known scammer and spammer presence are thankfully very low.
Why Does This Matter?
The WAERNAHR protected areas are an unique resource for Alberta. They are also virtually unknown outside of the small environmental community. They represent a resource worth preserving and a destination to appreciate nature.
The website provides ‘passive communication’. It tells the protected area story twenty four hours a day with no intervention by volunteers. This does not mean the website is entirely free. It costs a few hundred dollars a year to run and few dozen hours a year to maintain.
How Can You Help?
You can help by simply visiting the website and enjoying the content. Links to the site via your social media also generates traffic and increases our credibility and search rankings. These are things you are likely doing anyway.
If you have a bit more time and talent, a volunteer role has been established if you want to help generate content (e.g. write up of site inspection reports). Hopefully you enjoyed your (virtual visit) to SAPAA, see you in a Protected Area!
Facebook and Social Media
Due to time and resource constraints, the Facebook page has not been active nor has it added substantial value. It is recommended that it continues to operate, albeit in a semi-dormant state through 2027. Ultimately, a dormant Facebook requires fewer resources than shutting it down and then possibly recreating it in the future.
At this point, no additional social media accounts should be added. Social media is metaphorically hungry beasts that need to be constantly fed with a questionable return for that effort.