AWA Briefing Note re: Parks Closures in the Grasslands
July 23, 2020
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In February 2020, the Government of Alberta announced a plan to remove 164 of 473 sites from the Alberta Parks system, which includes 11 Provincial Parks, 10 Natural Areas and 143 Provincial Recreation Areas (PRAs). Five of the 11 Provincial Parks slated for removal from the Parks system are located within the Grasslands, which even before this decision, were already one of the least protected Natural Regions in Alberta. Only 1.25% of this Natural Region is protected. This decision will eliminate nearly 5% of the existing protection. AWA has serious concerns with the removal of sites from the parks system due to the important ecological and recreation values these areas provide; this decision will almost certainly mean the protected status of Alberta’s grasslands will be threatened.
