AWA’s letter on the proposed Plan for Parks

July 18, 2024

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• Biodiversity
• Protected Areas

On July 18, 2024 AWA sent a letter to the ministers of Forestry and Parks and Environment and Protected Areas, raising our concerns on the ongoing public engagement for the new Plan for Parks and providing recommendations to inform the next Plan. In summary,

Based on the engagement guide and online survey currently open for public input, AWA is concerned that the ongoing consultation for the Plan does not reflect the full mandate of the Provincial Parks Act (the Act). Considering the Plan is meant to outline Alberta’s strategic direction for recreation and conservation of sites managed under the Act, this omission threatens to produce a guiding document that is inconsistent with existing legislation and limited in scope, ill-suited to support and grow Alberta’s provincial park system.

The online survey overwhelmingly focuses on gathering input on just one of the purposes of parks, namely “their use and enjoyment for outdoor recreation, education and the appreciation and experiencing of Alberta’s natural heritage”. Questions regarding accommodations, park access, recreation and tourism opportunities, and commercial development dominate the document. Critically absent is any chance for input on how the Plan should work to protect Alberta’s natural heritage.

To help develop a Plan consistent with the Act, AWA has summarized our recommendations below:

• • Ensuring the lasting protection of Alberta’s natural heritage and conservation of flora and fauna is the purpose of the Act and must be prioritized in the Plan.
  • The ministry must retain the intent of the 2009-2019 Plan’s 12 guiding principles within the new Plan and provide the public opportunities to improve upon previous definitions.
  • Improving the equitability of access cannot come at the expense of ecological integrity and connectivity. Alberta parks are public spaces, and increasing commercial development is inconsistent with improving equitable access.
  • The government must not delegate their responsibility for the management of Alberta protected areas.
  • Prior to publication of a new Plan, Albertans deserve transparent information and accountability on the successes and challenges of the 2009 – 2019 version.
  • A strategy for the improvement and expansion of protected areas under the Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands (WAERNAHR) Act must be developed concurrently, as these are no longer included under the proposed Plan.
  • The Alberta government must complete the remaining regional and subregional land-use plans under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) prior to making any land-use decisions.
  • All conservation areas promised in the existing land-use plans need to be established.

The full letter can be read here.