Alberta Environmental Network

Alberta conservation groups are seeking an emergency order from Jim Prentice, Federal Environment Minister to enforce habitat protection for the endangered Foothills and Oil Sands woodland caribou herds. “Minister Prentice has recently acknowledged that there is a need for industry and the Alberta government to work with Ottawa to improve Canada’s environmental reputation. Alberta’s caribou desperately need Federal help, and this is Prentice’s chance to take meaningful action,” says Rocky Notnes with the Athabasca Bioregional Society.

Is someone proposing an industrial or other significant project in your community? How are environmental impact assessments conducted in Alberta? How can you get involved in the environmental impact assessment process?

The short answer is that Alberta Environment regulates environmental aspects of many activities under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Some of these are subject to mandatory environmental impact assessments and there are a variety of ways for the public to participate.

If you live in Alberta please help us and sign the petition below.

We are a group of farmers and residents living in and around Fort Saskatchewan which has been designated “the Industrial Heartland Area.”

Our group is called Citizens for Responsible Development. We are working to reduce the pollution to our air, water, and soil caused by tarsands upgraders and to protect the health of our families, natural areas, and some of the most fertile farmland in the entire country.

As part of Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation’s commitment to consultation with stakeholders and the public, the Parks Division would like to invite you to comment on the proposed deregulation of Coalspur and Lambert Creek provincial recreation areas.

Both provincial recreation areas are little used, subject to vandalism and no longer considered commercially viable. Additional camping stalls will be added to nearby provincial recreation areas to compensate for the potential closure of these two sites.

Network News

February 3^rd, 2010

Mark Your Calendars: the RCEN’s 2010 Conference is this September 17-19

The RCEN is pleased to announce that its 2010 Annual General Assembly and Conference on the Environment will be held in Montreal, from September 17-19.

The theme of this year’s event is “Conserving Biodiversity Pays: The Values of Ecosystem Services”. The organizing committee is working hard to deliver an even bigger and better event than last year’s successful AGA in Edmonton! We’ll be in touch with more details soon. In the meantime, visit our 2010 Annual Conference website to learn more about this year’s theme.

Attention Biodiversity Fans… Bookmark this Site!

We are pleased to announce the launch of the RCEN’s International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) website. The site features a regularly updated news feed, with the latest information from Environment Canada, the Convention on Biological Diversity and other interesting articles. The new website also includes links to biodiversity and IYB-related information, educational resources and materials produced by the RCEN, such as the Best Practices Handbook. You can also sign up for our Biodiversity Buzz newsletter!

Biodiversity Hotspots: Meat eating plants and over 50 species of butterflies—in Northern Ontario!? Read more

If you wish to share a story about a biodiversity hotspot in your area, please send a short paragraph to jessie [at] cen-rce [dot] org.

Last chance to tell us what you think of the RCEN website

The RCEN is currently conducting an evaluation of its website and e-Bulletin. Please take 5-7 minutes to share your feedback and ideas so that we can improve our online presence and serve you better. Complete the survey

As you’ve likely seen in the news, CPAWS is warning that Boreal woodland caribou in Alberta’s oil sands region will perish unless the province moves to protect at least half of this area’s intact forests and wetlands.

• Read our news release and CPAWS’ open letter to Premier Stelmach
• See media coverage at the Globe, where you can add your comments, and in Canwest papers across Canada

Since 1993, nearly half of the Boreal woodland caribou in the area where the oil sands industry is concentrated have disappeared. You can make a difference. Please sign the petition now to protect at least 50% of Alberta’s Lower Athabasca planning region.

This region, part of CPAWS’s Athabasca Heartland campaign, contains some of the most pristine wilderness in the province. It’s threatened by heavy industrial development, including Alberta’s oil sands.

Take action!

• Sign the petition to protect Alberta’s last great wilderness: for people, for wildlife, forever.

Edmonton, Alberta — Alberta must act fast to protect 50% of the oil sands area from industrial use so that wilderness, biodiversity and traditional use can continue into the future.

That is the key advice contained in an open letter to Ed Stelmach from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). CPAWS wrote the letter to the premier on the occasion of World Wetlands Day, February 2, and the International Year of Biodiversity.

The province and energy industry have been criticized by leading thinkers and governments for their rush to extract fuel from the oil sands without regard for the environmental costs. Alberta has a chance to prove the critics wrong, says Helene Walsh, Boreal Conservation Director for CPAWS, Northern Alberta

The Alberta Environmental Network has received a delegate selection request for two representatives and two alternates to participate as members on the Alberta Water Council for a two-year term beginning April 2010.

Public Interest Alberta is hiring an Environmental Intern  

This position is being funded through the Youth Eco Internship Program (YEIP)*. This program places people aged 30 and under from diverse backgrounds into paid internship opportunities within the non-profit and community services sector in Canada with a focus on the environment. These positions, offered in a wide range of organizations, will help young Canadians learn the skills required to gain and sustain future employment within the sector.