CALGARY — Jennifer Grant, director of the Pembina Institute's oilsands program, made the following statement in response to the release today of a revised draft of the Government of Alberta's Lower Athabasca Regional Plan: Read More
The Alberta government's updated Draft Lower Athabasca Regional Plan confirms irresponsible tar sands development by postponing all land disturbance limits and biodiversity goals, and by actually reducing already insufficient proposed protected woodland caribou habitat. Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) believes the plan should contain clear land disturbance and biodiversity targets, including meaningful woodland caribou habitat protection. Read More
A long overdue federal woodland caribou recovery strategy released today allows ongoing habitat loss at the hands of Alberta’s energy and forestry industries. For the weakest herds in Alberta and across Canada, it leaves the only key management tool as the killing of thousands of wolves. Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) finds this approach unacceptable within Species at Risk Act obligations, and calls for habitat protection and restoration for herds throughout their current distribution. Read More
CALGARY — Simon Dyer, policy director with the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the Government of Canada's release of a draft recovery strategy for woodland caribou:
"By allowing 95 per cent of woodland caribou habitat in northeastern Alberta to be lost, the Government of Canada is proposing that Canadians 'write off' virtually all the habitat that supports Alberta's caribou herds in order to promote irresponsible levels of oilsands development. Read More
EDMONTON — The federal government’s draft woodland caribou recovery strategy — released today, four years overdue — is illegal and fails on multiple fronts to comply with requirements under the Species at Risk Act, Ecojustice said today.
“This is not a recovery plan. This is barely a survival plan,” said Melissa Gorrie, Ecojustice staff lawyer. “SARA requires that recovery plans be based in science, but this plan clearly prioritizes political and industrial interests over that of the animals it is supposed to protect.” Read More
With a long overdue federal recovery strategy for Alberta’s critically threatened woodland caribou anticipated to be only weeks away, the Government of Alberta has quietly signed a new 20 year Forest Management Agreement (FMA) with Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries (Al-Pac) that closes the door on protecting caribou habitat in northeastern Alberta. The agreement seems to ignore the protection scientists say is critical for woodland caribou and other wildlife affected by forestry and oil sands industries in the FMA’s 58,000 km2 swath of north central and northeastern Alberta. Read More
The August 3, 2011 issue of The Water Log is available on the Water Matters website.
EDMONTON — The federal Environment Minister’s “out of the blue” decision not to recommend emergency protection for woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta ignored scientific evidence and must be set aside, the Federal Court said late yesterday.
Environment Minister Peter Kent must now reconsider the government’s position on emergency protections for the caribou.
The Federal Court recognized that scientific evidence indicates the caribou face threats to their survival. Read More
The 'environmental monitoring' plan for the Tar Sands announced today by the federal government is actually a non-plan says Sierra Club Canada. Delay, delay, delay would be a more apt assessment of the federal government’s announcement.
Monitoring is fine but the real question is limiting pollution and addressing climate change. Sierra Club Canada has no confidence the federal and Alberta governments will actually do that. There is a long history of allowing the oil companies to do what they want. Read More
"Groundwater is a key turning point for the future of oil sands development and environmental management," says William Donahue, Ph.D., science advisor to Water Matters, an Alberta-based water-policy think-tank, "Unlike many surface water issues where provincial and federal governments have been playing catch up in their monitoring and assessment efforts, there is an opportunity to get ahead of the curve on groundwater protection, and that's what our recommendations are all about." Drilling Down: Groundwater Risks Imposed by In Situ Oil Sands Development, released today by Water Matters, provides clear, achievable recommendations for improving groundwater management, assessment and monitoring in the oil sands region. Read More
