Public Lands Archive
2012-04-23 South Saskatchewan Advisory Council Recommendations: Closing Date for Comments Approaches
In all of the hoopla over a provincial election, please don't forget to make your comments on the South Saskatchewan land-use plan! The closing date for comments on the recommendations of the South Saskatchewan Regional Advisory Council is April 30 and, although the promised public meetings have not yet taken place, we still encourage people to make their comments before the deadline. Though the fate of the Land-Use Framework and its regional plans remains unclear, this is still an important opportunity to have a say.
2012-01-26 Castle Protesters Banned from Two Thirds of Alberta!
An astonishingly draconian Court Order is served on Albertans protesting the proposed logging in the Castle. The order bans named protesters from all public land in Alberta - approximately 400,000 square kilometres!
2012-01-12 South Saskatchewan Regional Plan: AWA Recommendations
AWA comments on the draft land-use planning recommendations from the South Saskatchewan Regional Advisory Council. The Alberta government has promised a series of public meetings about these recommendations in spring 2012, and is asking for public comments until April 30, 2012.
2012-01-04 Alberta's Public Land Crisis: The Fourth Annual Martha Kostuch Lecture
Wild Lands Advocate article, December 2011, by Ian Urquhart. Describes Bob Scammell's November 18 Annual Martha Kostuch Lecture, entitled The Battle for No-Man's Land.
2011-11-14 Bob Scammell – Several Lives Well-lived
Wild Lands Advocate; 'Recall of the Wild' article, August 2011, by Vivian Pharis. * Bob Scammell will be the recipient of one of this year's 'Wilderness Defenders Awards' and will be delivering this year's Annual Lecture, 'The Battle for No-Man's Land' on Friday November 18.
2011-10-21 AWA Congratulates Premier on Scrapping Potatogate Land sale
AWA letter to Premier Redford, offering congratulations on scrapping the notorious "Potatogate" public land sale. "It is important now to reflect upon the fundamentally flawed process which came so close to allowing this important environmental land ‐ endangered species habitat and leased grazing land – to be sold off and ploughed up."
2011-10-19 AWA News Release: Premier Redford Sticks to Her Campaign Promise, and Cancels Notorious “Potatogate” Land Sale
Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) is delighted to congratulate Premier Alison Redford on honouring her campaign commitment to scrap the notorious “Potatogate” public land sale.
2011-10-18 AWA Wilderness & Wildlife Defenders: Castle Wildland, and Potatogate Public Land Sale
With a new premier, and a slate of new ministers in Alberta, there is a feeling of change and some optimism that progress can finally be made on better protection for Alberta’s wildlands and wildlife. A couple of examples – protection for the Castle, and the notorious proposed “Potatogate” public land sale – will be an early test of Premier Redford’s renewed commitment to “transparency and accountability.”
2011-10-11 AWA Letter to Premier: Proposed “Potatogate” Public Land Sale
AWA letter to new Alberta Premier, Alison Redford, concerning her campaign promise to "suspend the sale of 16,000 acres of ecologically sensitive crown land near Bow Island." AWA looks forward to hearing the announcement of the suspension of the Potatogate land sale...
2011-10-04 AWA News Release: AWA Welcomes Premier-Designate Redford’s Promise to Protect Alberta’s Endangered Wildlife
Alberta Premier-designate Alison Redford committed during her campaign to suspend the public land sale known as “Potatogate” that would see 16,000 acres of native prairie converted to intensive irrigated agricultural use. She also made other important environmental commitments.
2011-08-31 AWA News Release: Alberta's Native Prairie Sell-Off is Back
On August 30, the Alberta government again placed 16,000 acres of Cypress County native grassland up for sale for conversion to intensive irrigation agricultural use. These are all the same lands that were pulled from an impending secretive sale last November after widespread public criticism.
2011-08-29 AWA News Release: Updated Northeast Alberta Plan Confirms Weak Conservation Measures Favouring Oilsands Development
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.
2011-08-04 AWA News Release: How to Prevent More “Potatogates”: New Report Makes Recommendations on Future Public Land Sales
The “Potatogate” land deal, which generated a huge outpouring of public opposition in Alberta in fall 2010, could easily happen again if substantial changes are not made to the way the provincial government handles sales of our public land.
2011-08-02 Sale of Public Land in Alberta. Recommendations for Improving Regulation, Policy and Procedures
Joint report by Alberta Wilderness Association, Alberta Native Plant Council and Nature Alberta.
2011-06-23 AWA Wilderness & Wildlife Defenders: Lower Athabasca Regional Plan
The neglect of land impacts from oil sands development in the government’s proposed Lower Athabasca regional plan has recently drawn international criticism. If you have not already done so, please add your voice to ensure that this regional plan actually manages cumulative effects of development as promised.
2011-06-21 Anthropogenic and Fire Disturbances in Woodland Caribou Herd Ranges in the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan Area
Report by Global Forest Watch Canada
2011-06-17 Open Letter to the Government of Alberta
Open letter to the Alberta government from a number of groups from the United States and European Union nations. The groups urge the Government of Alberta to address serious weaknesses in the draft Lower Athabasca Regional Plan.
2011-05-30 Wilderness & Wildlife Defenders - Lower Athabasca Plan Consultation
Public consultation is now underway for the first of seven regional land use plans in Alberta, so it’s important to get this one right. This plan is for the Lower Athabasca region in northeastern Alberta, where most current tar sands development has occurred and will occur. The draft plan is still taking a hands-off approach to managing land-based impacts of this intensive development.
2011-05-30 Draft Lower Athabasca Integrated Regional Plan - AWA Comments
AWA letter to Alberta's Premier Stelmach and Sustainable Resource Minister Knight, with recommendations to strengthen land and water cumulative effects management in this important inaugural regional plan under the Land-Use Framework.
