Biodiversity and Wildlife

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

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

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

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