The Alberta government is planning to close 20 parks and remove 164 from the Alberta Parks system. A total of 175 parks will lose protection and Albertans could lose access. Read more about Defend Alberta Parks
Calgary – CPAWS Northern and Southern Alberta Chapters are pleased to see the government’s investment in parks infrastructure. However, we are dismayed to hear the Minister continues to move forward with removing 175 parks from the Parks System. The Premier stated in the announcement that “Albertans are a stubborn bunch” and we agree. Albertans from across the province continue to ask for a commitment from this government that all of these parks will remain protected within the parks system. Read more about Government investment in Alberta Parks infrastructure is encouraging, but 175 parks still set to be removed
CPAWS Southern and Northern Alberta chapters are encouraged to see the government’s investment of $9.7-million in restoration projects to benefit habitat for Alberta’s threatened caribou and native trout. The focus on initiatives like restoring disturbances in caribou habitat, improving connectivity in fragmented southern landscapes, and restoring important native fish habitats are important and overdue steps towards species at risk recovery. These initiatives also benefit Albertans by providing important employment opportunities and contributing to our economic recovery. Read more about Alberta’s habitat restoration projects a step in the right direction, but need to consider larger conservation goals
Alberta Wilderness Association has learned from a Jasper National Park website that Jasper’s Maligne caribou are officially extirpated, and that each of the remaining two caribou populations managed by Parks Canada are now too small to recover on their own. Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) calls on Parks Canada to prevent the extirpation of Jasper’s Tonquin and Brazeau caribou and to manage Maligne range access for eventual caribou re-introduction there. Read more about Emergency Measures Needed for Jasper’s Few Remaining Caribou After Maligne Caribou Die Off
EDMONTON, AB – Jasper National Park has announced one of the four caribou herds in the park, the Maligne caribou herd, is considered extirpated after several years of aerial surveys with no sightings. The official change in status comes from an update on Parks Canada’s webpage for Woodland Caribou in Jasper National Park. Read more about Extirpation of caribou herd in Jasper National Park should trigger urgent action for remaining herds
CALGARY — Nina Lothian, director of responsible fossil fuels at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation's final report on Alberta tailings ponds, released Sept. 3, 2020, which found scientific evidence of contaminated water seeping into groundwater around oilsands tailings ponds. Read more about Government action holding oilsands operators to account on tailings management long overdue
(OTTAWA) Unless the federal government revises its methane regulations to take into account new analysis, Canada will miss by a wide mark an international commitment made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reduce oil and gas methane emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2012 levels by 2025. Read more about Without federal action, Canada will miss easiest, cheapest opportunity to reduce climate emissions
From the CPAWS website:
Tell the federal government that you demand they invest in a Green Recovery. This includes new and better-managed protected areas on land and in the ocean, Indigenous protected areas and stewardship programs, and a shift towards natural infrastructure and nature-based climate solutions.
Take Action Read more about A better future for all is within reach – Canada needs a Green Recovery!
The Government of Alberta’s plan to remove 164 sites from the provincial parks system will take a significant cut out of Alberta’s most endangered and least protected Natural Regions: the Parkland, Grasslands and Foothills. Between these three regions, 85 sites will lose their protected status, resulting in the loss of nearly 9,000 hectares of protection – equivalent to around eight times the size of Ghost Lake or one-half the size of Elk Island National Park. Read more about Losing protection where we need it most
From the Ecojustice website:
The federal government is about to give the Canadian economy a multi-billion-dollar kick-start in a COVID-19 crisis recovery effort. Send a letter to your MP and demand those funds be invested in a green recovery.
Send a letter Read more about Raise your voice. Demand a green and just recovery.
