Dear Reader,
In our last newsletter of the year, we’re reflecting on the immense challenges Alberta’s environment and its communities faced in 2024. From wildfires and droughts to habitat loss and new conservation hurdles, it’s been a tough year for our province’s landscapes, wildlife and people. Thank you for your support and your willingness to keep fighting for Alberta’s nature. We’re proving that even in hard times, there’s strength in action and resilience in community.
Put simply, our wish list going into 2025 includes the following:
More parks, more wildlife protections and more of Alberta’s nature permanently protected. Many policy decisions in the past year have veered far from this path and we will continue pushing for much needed course correction in the province.
Read on for our last conservation musings of 2024.
Wildlife Management in Alberta, Ignoring the Science
Integral to conserving and protecting Alberta’s nature, is ensuring that wildlife populations in the province thrive. For years, we have highlighted the need for increased habitat protections and restoration of the at-risk caribou and for umbrella protections for bison in Alberta. While some (small) progress has been made, it feels like one step forward and two steps (or more?) back. This year, policies were updated to allow the hunting of Alberta’s grizzly bears and cougars which contradicts the best available science and lacks community engagement. Furthermore, the Government of Alberta has removed trapping limits for wolverines and other species.
All of these species are found in low numbers throughout the province where they are susceptible to habitat destruction and fragmentation, impacts of climate change and disease. Policy that works only to control population numbers by reducing them rather than to respond to evidence of population changes, restore habitat and reduce human-wildlife interactions, where necessary, is poor policy.
Coal for Christmas: A Tale of Two Mines in Northern Alberta
Mine 14, one of the four coal mine projects exempted from the 2021 moratorium on new coal mines is a proposed underground metallurgical coal mine near Grande Cache. You may remember that in 2023 CPAWS Northern Alberta submitted aStatement of Concernregarding the project given its outdated permits – many of which permits were filed as far back as 10 years ago. The Alberta Energy Regulator has announced that there will be a public hearing for the project, and CPAWS Northern Alberta has applied to be a participant.
Meanwhile, the Vista thermal coal mine, operated by Coalspur mines, is planning to expand in the area south of Hinton, Alberta. The mine expansions present environmental risks to native trout, the intactness of the region and to climate. Hundreds of you wrote letters to the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change asking to designate the Vista Coal Mine Expansion projects for federal review, to apply greater scrutiny to the environmental impacts of the mine expansion projects. Unfortunately, this request was denied. Read more about this decision here.
A Sprig of Hope Thwarted: Plan For Parks
In June, the Government of Alberta gave Albertans the opportunity to help shape a renewed strategic direction for Alberta’s Parks. It was an excellent opportunity to highlight the need for more parks and the need for parks to be used as a tool to protect nature.
Many of you stepped up to the plate: Over 4,900 Albertans completed the survey.
A Freedom on information request showed that:
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78% of Albertans supported creating more parks to increase conservation and;
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83% of Albertans opposed more large-scale commercial development in parks.
The Government of Alberta’s decision to then present and pass Bill 35, the “All-Seasons Resort Act” was exceptionally disappointing, directly contradicting what Albertans envisioned for the province’s parks by making it easier to designate land for privatized all-season resort development and remove protections for parks.
Read more about Bill 35 here.
Stay Tuned: Alberta’s Nature Strategy
Throughout October and November the Government of Alberta collected feedback to create a Nature Strategy. A nature strategy should be a guiding policy to protect Alberta’s nature in a way that aligns with global goals to halt and reverse biodiversity loss crisis.
We anticipate a draft strategy to be released by the provincial government in 2025. Please keep your eyes and ears peeled for public comment on the Alberta Nature Strategy. We are holding onto hope for what this strategy could mean for Alberta’s landscapes, wildlife and communities. We, along with 11 other conservation organizations, have developed a joint vision for this strategy which you can read here.
As parting words, we want to emphasize how urgent it is for us to take strong measures to protect nature. Communities have experienced record-breaking wildfire, floods and storms from climate change driven by human activity.
Protecting Alberta’s lands and waters is using a solution that already exists and is in fact a (small ‘c’) conservative approach.
Thank you to our Casino Volunteers!
We want to extend a sincere thank you to all of our casino volunteers. The casino provides crucial funds for our operating costs and it would not be possible without you. Thank you for supporting our conservation work this way.
In the News
- Alberta’s new wolverine trapping rules lead to divide between trappers and researchers
- Alberta quietly opens cougar hunting in provincial park
- Indigenous environmental activists offer counter-programming to industry-funded tar sands tailings conference
- Alberta releases new rules and no-go zones on wind and solar projects
- Bill fast-tracking resort development sets ‘problematic’ precedent, critics say
Take Action
Share your support for National Urban Parks
Email your MLA to let them know you support National Urban Parks and would like to see Alberta be a part of a national network of urban parks.
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