Ho Ho, Hey Hey Caribou are here to stay

December 1, 2017

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• Caribou
• WLA Archive

A pdf version of this article is available here.

Ho Ho, Hey Hey Caribou are here to stay

…shouted the group gathered in front of the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton. On Tuesday, November 28, 2017, Alberta Wilderness Association and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society held a rally for caribou. Joined by concerned citizens and representatives of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, the group demanded protection for Alberta’s dwindling caribou herds.

MLA Dr. David Swann championed the cause in the legislature. He reminded Members of the Legislative Assembly that the Government of Alberta had promised to protect caribou and had over five years to complete these plans – time caribou can ill-afford to see wasted. Dr. Swann later presented over 300 postcards – signed by concerned Albertans over the previous weeks – calling on Premier Rachel Notley to release the much anticipated caribou range plans for northern Alberta.

While some view protecting caribou and their habitat as a threat to jobs in Alberta’s natural resources sectors, this does not have to be true. Some jobs may have to shift from resource extraction to stewardship and restoration – areas Alberta already lags in – and forestry companies may need to share quotas.  But much of the land required to support caribou is located outside of areas where those natural resource companies are operating. At the end of the day, we need healthy forests and ecosystems to drive our economy and mitigate the coming threats of climate change.  Alberta’s economy shouldn’t sacrifice healthy forests and ecosystems, it relies on them.

-Nick Pink

Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Alberta Hansard,

November 28, 2017

Dr. Swann: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Great honour for me today to rise and introduce to you and through you to the House a constituent, an active environmental protector with the Alberta Wilderness Association, Carolyn Campbell, here on behalf of the Wilderness Association and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. AWA’s work will be familiar to many of us in the Assembly, the oldest wilderness conservation group in Alberta, seeking a network of representative protected areas throughout the province for caribou.  Founded in 1965, AWA has a proven history of raising awareness and achieving conservation actions for wildlands, wild waters, and wildlife. Carolyn is a conservation specialist with AWA, and in her 10-year tenure she has taken the lead on caribou conservation and continues to work tirelessly with her colleagues throughout Alberta and across the nation to see habitat protected, just as the caribou need to be.  She has now risen, and I’d ask that we give her the warm welcome of the Assembly… Today we are tabling a petition and over 300 postcards highlighting the threats to caribou in northern Alberta. Among those signatories is Robert Bateman, the famous painter from the west coast.