Land Management &amp; Stewardship

Government of Alberta Land Use Secretariat

Apr

06

2011

Call for Input: Lower Athabasca Regional Plan

Initiative:

Lower Athabasca Regional Plan

Deadline:

6 Jun 2011

With the release yesterday of the draft Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP), AEN members have been busy reviewing and responding to the plan. You can check out some of their reactions in our Media Releases section.

Accompanying the draft plan, the Alberta Land Use Secretariat has launched Phase 3 of their public and stakeholder consultations. Public and stakeholder consultation sessions will be held across the province in April and May (see below for dates and locations). If you are unable to attend any of these sessions, you can provide your feedback by completing the Lower Athabasca Integrated Regional Plan Workbook. Details can be found on the Land-use Framework website. Read More

Apr

06

2011

Alberta’s caribou left out in the cold, again

Ecojustice

EDMONTON — The highly-anticipated Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP), rolled out this morning to much fanfare, is another glaring example of Alberta’s unwillingness to enact swift, meaningful protection of the province’s dwindling caribou population, Ecojustice said today.

Virtually none of the new protected areas designated in the LARP include habitat areas critical to caribou survival and recovery. Read More

Source: Ecojustice

Ecojustice

Environmental Law & Policy

Apr

06

2011

Northeast Alberta Wilderness Sacrificed

Source: Alberta Wilderness Association

Breaking its promise to develop oilsands in an environmentally responsible way, the Government of Alberta in its newly released Lower Athabasca Regional Plan has fallen far short of its own and international targets for protecting northeast Alberta’s ecosystems for future generations. Read More

Source: Sierra Club Prairie

Apr

06

2011

COMMENTS: Sierra Club Prairie, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Local Cree Elder on Lower Athabasca Land Use Plan

Sierra Club Prairie

Please see comments below from Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Alice Martin a Local Cree Elder from Ft. Chipewyan, and Sierra Club Prairie Energy Campaigner Dustin Johnson on the Mel Knight's release of the Lower Athabasca Land Use Plan. Read More

Sierra Club of Canada

Source: Pembina Institute

First Nations Issues

Apr

06

2011

Pembina Institute calls for independent science review of draft oilsands plan

Independent scientists should validate Lower Athabasca Regional Plan to ensure the regional environment will be protected and to restore trust in government oversight

Pembina Institute

CALGARY, ALTA. - The Government of Alberta should commission an independent science panel to review its draft Lower Athabasca Regional Plan as part of the consultation process, the Pembina Institute said following the release of the draft plan Tuesday. Read More

Pembina Institute

Water & Watershed Management

Air Quality

Alberta Utilities Commission

Feb

17

2011

Western Alberta Transmission Line Project Info Sessions

In anticipation of receiving an application for the Western Alberta Transmission Line (WATL), the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) is holding a series of information sessions in which "it will explain how interested persons can participate in the hearing process for the WATL project application." The WATL project proposes the construction of a high-voltage direct-current transmission line with a northern terminal in the vicinity of the existing Keephills and Genesee generating units west of Edmonton and the southern terminal at or in the vicinity of the existing Langdon 102S substation east of Calgary.

More information about the WATL project can be found on the AUC website. Read More

Source: Alberta Utilities Commission

Electricity Generation & Transmission

News & Announcements

Feb

14

2011

ALSA Does Not Extinguish Property Rights

Source: Alberta Wilderness Association

An important clarification about the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) and property rights by University of Calgary law professor Nigel Bankes has confirmed that ALSA does not extinguish property rights. Professor Bankes points out that it is unreasonable to interpret ALSA as providing an alternative means of property expropriation, and that the courts would not uphold such an interpretation. (His February 11 posting is at http://ablawg.ca/) Read More

Environmental Law & Policy

Feb

07

2011

The Water Log— February 7, 2011

Water Matters

No Public Voice in Latest Tax Recovery Land Sales

Source: Alberta Wilderness Association

The Government of Alberta’s latest announcement that it will transfer 84,000 acres of tax recovery land to local municipalities follows a recent pattern: a failure to consult the Alberta public and a failure to recognize the importance of nationally significant native grasslands. The 2010 “Potatogate” saga made it clear that Albertans wanted to see less secrecy and more transparency in the disposal of public land. That message does not seem to have been heard. Read More