Wilderness & Parks

Cancelling Leases, Pausing Lease Sales in Category 2 Lands – A Good First Step

Yesterday, Energy Minister Sonya Savage delivered a small, but important, reward to the thousands of Albertans and Canadians who have objected to the provincial government’s unilateral decision to revoke the 1976 Coal Policy. She announced that 11 leases sold in December would be cancelled. She also announced a “pause” in offering more lease parcels for sale in the Coal Policy’s Category 2 lands. Read More

CPAWS celebrates Canada’s nearly $60 million commitment to Wood Buffalo National Park

EDMONTON, AB – Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, has announced a $59.9 million funding commitment for the implementation of Wood Buffalo National Park’s Action Plan over the next three years. This funding is in addition to a previous federal investment of $27.5 million from 2018 for the park’s Action Plan, which was developed to address serious concerns with the ecological degradation of this World Heritage Site. CPAWS Northern Alberta welcomes this exciting announcement of continued investment in the future of Canada’s largest national park. Read More

Grassy Mountain Coal Project

The oral portion of the public hearing for Benga Mining Ltd.'s proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project in the Crowsnest Pass concluded on December 2. The next step in the federal impact assessment process is for the Joint Review Panel to draft the Impact Assessment Report, Consultation Report, and recommend potential conditions for submission to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Grassy Mountain is the first of at least six mountain-top removal coal mines proposed by large Australian mining companies in various stages of regulatory approval in the region. There are more than 50,000 ha of the Old Man River headwaters under lease for future mountain-top removal mining.

Public hearing

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

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

Alberta’s Crown Land Vision released, but groups call for more clarity

Last week the Government of Alberta released “Alberta’s Crown Land Vision.” The Alberta Crown Land Vision appears to be a precursor to changes in two key areas of legislation: updating parks and public land legislation, and introducing new recreation legislation (Alberta Trails Act) focused on the creation of a recreation user-based fee framework. Read More

2020 Environmental Gathering Idea Talk: Indigenous Protected & Conserved Areas

Dec 8 2020 - 10:00am to 11:30am

Canada is working to meet its commitment of 17% conserved areas by the end of 2020. New creative measures have been developed to help meet these goals. Join Kecia Kerr from CPAWS Northern Alberta and Matt Munson from the Dene Tha' First Nation as they share the relatively new concept of Indigenous Protected & Conserved Areas (IPCA) and what it takes to develop the first IPCA in Alberta. Read More

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