Avalanche safety nonprofit gets $750K in funding from Alberta government over 3 years

The Alberta government has pledged to give $750,000 to Avalanche Canada over the next three years to help promote backcountry safety and education.

Avalanche Canada executive director Gilles Valadesaid the provincial government has been supportingthe organization financially since 2005.

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"We know that the economy over the last few years has been a bit challenging and we've lost some corporate sponsors, so stable government funding is very, very important," Valade said at the funding announcement Thursday in Banff.

According to the province, in the past decade almost half of the Canadians killed in avalanches were from Alberta, as weretwo out of three snowmobilers killed in avalanches.

Valade said despite the numberin backcountryusers risingexponentially over the past 15 years, Avalanche Canada's education programs have helped keep outdoor enthusiasts safe in the mountains.

"Even though we've seen a large increase in users, we've maintained the number of fatalities which is not zero, but it is better than what could have been expected," he said.