Bighorn Archive
2012-03-14 AWA News Release: No Public Involvement in Forestry Deal: Health of North Saskatchewan and Red Deer River Headwaters at Stake
A large forest management contract on public lands in the headwaters of two major Alberta rivers is close to being renewed without any public consultation. Albertans may miss this one-in-twenty-year opportunity to provide input into the management of North Saskatchewan and Red Deer Rivers headwaters, affecting over a million downstream users.
2012-03-05 No Public Consultation in Forest Management Agreement Renewal Process
This document is the official input from Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) into the Forest Management Agreement (FMA) renewal process of Sundre Forest Products Inc. (SFP), within the provincial Forest Management Unit R10. Although there is no requirement to conduct a formal public consultation process surrounding FMA renewals, we believe Albertans have the right to provide input into the management of public lands held in trust and managed by our elected representatives.
2011-12-09 AWA News Release: Time to protect Alberta's Castle and Bighorn on International Mountain Day
On the occasion of International Mountain Day, December 11, Alberta Wilderness Association calls on the Government of Alberta to secure important water sources and grizzly habitat by protecting the Castle and Bighorn areas of Alberta for future generations.
2011-08-30 AWA Disappointed by AB Governments Response to Trail Closure Request
AWA received the following letter in response our request made to close trails that have been extensively damaged by unregulated off-highway vehicle use in the Bighorn Wildland.
2011-08-12 AWA Requests Damaged Trails be Closed to Motorized Recreation
In July, 2011 AWA staff spent four beautiful days backpacking in the magnificent Bighorn Wildland, within the Clearwater Ram FLUZ trail system. Unfortunately, we observed extensive trail damage inflicted by off-highway vehicle use. In response, AWA has written to Alberta Sustainable Resource Development to ask that immediate action be taken to more closely regulate motorized recreation in this area, and that the most damaged of trails be closed.
2011-05-17 AWA News Release: Growing Call for Trail Closures on May Long Weekend: Conditions are Too Wet for Motorized Access
The Alberta Government is under increasing pressure to demonstrate that motorized access in Alberta’s Eastern Slopes is being managed sustainably – by closing trails over the May long weekend. Continuing wet and snowy conditions mean that even low levels of activity would lead to unprecedented damage to trail networks. Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) supports motorized access organizations who have called for a temporary suspension of motorized trail use. AWA is calling for the Alberta government to suspend all motorized trail use in the Eastern Slopes until conditions have substantially improved.
2010-03-05 AWA News Release: Bighorn Wildland Protection Calls Bolstered by New Grizzly Report
Calls to protect one of Alberta’s last great unprotected watersheds received a recent boost with the publishing of the province’s new report, Status of the Grizzly Bear in Alberta. The 4,000 km2 Bighorn area, which sits east of Jasper and Banff National Parks, has suffered from motorized abuse, and it is now clear that grizzly bears are one more victim of that abuse.
2009-08 Vol.17 No.4 Wild Lands Advocate
Why? How? Thinking About Protected Areas | Protected Areas in Alberta – How Much is Enough? | A Grand Opportunity for Alberta Boreal Forest Protection | Demonstrating the Imperative for Protection: AWA in the Bighorn | Sage-grouse Court Victory a Major Step for Endangered Species Recovery | Caribou and Wolves Imperiled by Government Impotence
2009-03 Is the Access Management Plan Working? Monitoring Recreational Use in the Bighorn Backcountry
AWA report on five years of recreational access monitoring in the Bighorn Wildland.
2008-12 Bighorn Research Highlights Recreational Concerns
Wild Lands Advocate article, December 2008, by Chris Wearmouth.
2008-08 AWA Launches Water Analysis of Panther River
Wild Lands Advocate update, August 2008, by Chris Wearmouth.
2008-07-13 The Promised Land: Protecting the Bighorn Wildland
Parts 1 and 2 - A presentation on the benefits of preserving the Bighorn Wildland on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, against inroads by oil and gas interests and by forestry companies. Includes interviews by: Nigel Douglas, Dorothy Dickson, Vivian Pharis, J.W. Campbell, Jim Butler, Alan Ernst, Ben Gadd, Brian Horejsi and David Schindler. (Note: The original video has been divided into two parts to accomodate the duration restrictions on YouTube media)
