Keepers of the Athabasca

West Athabasca Watershed Bioregional Society

Coal

Electricity Generation & Transmission

Environmental Law & Policy

Environmental Assessment

Water & Watershed Management

First Nations Issues

Mining

Dec

02

2020

Conservation of Wood Buffalo National Park of ‘significant concern’, local Indigenous communities and environmental organizations say more action is needed

CPAWS Northern Alberta

Mikisew Cree First Nation

Source: CPAWS Northern Alberta

EDMONTON, AB – The ongoing precarious state of Wood Buffalo National Park was internationally recognized today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which stated in a report assessing all of its World Heritage Sites, that its conservation outlook is of “significant concern”. This assessment came only one day after the Government of Canada was due to submit a State of Conservation update report to the UN on the federal government’s implementation of the Wood Buffalo National Park Action Plan to recover the park. The Action Plan was announced nearly two years ago, but Indigenous communities and environmental organizations have consistently expressed concerns about the need for more resources and timely actions to reflect the scope and severity of threats. Read More

Source: Alberta Wilderness Association

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Indigienous Peoples Issues

Wilderness & Parks

Oct

26

2020

New Research on lake contamination: Swan Hills’ SHTC and Faust’s Osmose Site

Keepers of the Athabasca and our partners have taken 2 sets of lake sediment core samples in Lesser Slave Lake (LSL): at the mouth of the Swan River, and in Faust Bay in 2018 and 2020. Read More

Toxics

Hazardous Waste

Sep

02

2020

Issue Brief: Vista coal mine expansion

Latest updates

Alberta coal miner launches legal challenge against federal environmental assessment (The Narwhal)
Minister’s Response on the Vista Coal Mine Phase II Expansion Project (Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, July 30)
Statement: Vista coal mine expansion to undergo federal impact assessment, Ecojustice reacts (Ecojustice)
Canada agrees federal impact assessment necessary for mine expansion near Hinton, Alberta (CPAWS Northern Alberta & CPAWS Southern Alberta)
Alberta’s Vista coal mine expansion will now face a federal review. Here’s why Ottawa reversed course (The Narwhal)

Climate Change

Environmental Law & Policy

Coal

Environmental Assessment

Mining

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

West Athabasca Watershed Bioregional Society

Issue Briefs

Jul

30

2020

STATEMENT: Vista coal mine expansion to undergo federal impact assessment, Ecojustice reacts

Keepers of the Water

West Athabasca Watershed Bioregional Society

CALGARY – Ecojustice lawyer and climate program director Alan Andrews issued the following statement in response to Minister Wilkinson’s decision to designate Coalspur’s Vista coal mine expansion for a federal impact assessment: Read More

Source: Ecojustice

West Athabasca Watershed Bioregional Society

Environmental Law & Policy

Coal

Environmental Assessment

Mining

Jul

23

2020

Call to Action for Energy Champions

Keepers is providing free energy audits for a short time

Our Call to Action for Energy Champions invites First Nations, Métis Settlements, non-profit organizations, local businesses, municipalities, schools, and individuals in Northern Alberta to find energy cost savings.

Benefits of participation include: Read More

Renewables & Alternatives

Energy

Energy Conservation

Indigienous Peoples Issues

Jun

09

2020

Groups across Alberta and the Northwest Territories warn the federal government of impacts of monitoring suspensions on Wood Buffalo National Park

Fort Chipewyan Métis Association

Northwest Territory Métis Nation

Smith’s Landing First Nation

Hamlet of Fort Resolution

Keepers of the Athabasca Watershed Society

CPAWS Northwest Territories

CPAWS Northern Alberta

Ecology North

Alternatives North

Council of Canadians – Edmonton and Northwest Territories Chapters

Edmonton – The following letter was submitted on behalf of a joint group including: Fort Chipewyan Métis Association, Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Smith’s Landing First Nation, the Hamlet of Fort Resolution, Keepers of the Athabasca Watershed Society Organization, Alberta Wilderness Association, CPAWS Northern Alberta, CPAWS Northwest Territories, Ecology North, Alternatives North, and Council of Canadians – Edmonton and Northwest Territories Chapters. The letter to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change outlines the substantial risks to downstream communities and ecosystems due to the Alberta Energy Regulator’s decision to suspend environmental monitoring for oil & gas projects. The health of Wood Buffalo National Park and the success of its federal Action Plan is undermined by these suspensions. Wood Buffalo National Park is Canada’s largest national park, and continued ecological degradation would be grounds to list as a World Heritage Site “in Danger”.

Download the full letter on the CPAWS website Read More

Source: CPAWS Northern Alberta

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Council of Canadians