Protected Areas

Alberta needs a complete system of protected areas that captures the province’s diverse natural regions and the species at risk that live within them. Alberta has an amazing diversity of natural landscapes ranging from mountains to grasslands, boreal forests to wetlands. Healthy, protected ecosystems provide us with many services such as food, clean water, protection from natural disasters, and recreation opportunities. Protected areas provide direct and indirect benefits to overall physical and mental health (Equilibrium Research 2010; Sturm and Cohen 2014).

Alberta contains protected areas which fall under federal and provincial jurisdiction. For more information on federally protected areas see this page.

Provincial Protected Areas

The term protected area is used in Alberta to cover eight distinct designations covered by three different legislative acts: the Provincial Parks Act; the Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act; and the Willmore Wilderness Park Act.

Each of the eight designations is distinguished by varying restrictions on activities in the protected area; the following are the eight protected area designations in Alberta, beginning with Ecological Reserve, the designation with the most stringent protections down to Recreation Areas, the designation with the least restrictions. Source: Alberta Parks 2017

Ecological Reserve – An ecosystem containing representative, rare and fragile landscapes, plants, animals, and geological features that is protected for scientific research, education, and heritage appreciation. They are established with the strict intent to preserve natural ecosystems, habitats and features, and associated biodiversity. Surface disturbance is not allowed within an Ecological Reserve and can only be accessed by foot.

Wilderness Area – Established to “preserve and protect natural heritage while providing opportunities for non-consumptive, nature-based outdoor recreation”. Alberta has three wilderness areas – Ghost River, Siffleur and White Goat. Travel within these areas is restricted to foot access only and removal of any part of the environment (plants, rocks, fossils, etc.) is prohibited.

Willmore Wilderness Park –was established under its own legislation, the Willmore Wilderness Park Act, in April 1959 which states “The Park is dedicated to the use of the people of Alberta for their benefit, education and enjoyment, subject to this Act and the regulations, and shall, by the management, conservation and protection of its natural resources and by the preservation of its natural beauty, be maintained for the enjoyment of future generations.”

Wildland Provincial Park – “A type of Provincial Park specifically established to preserve and protect natural heritage and provide opportunities for backcountry recreation.” Wildland Provincial Parks are typically larger landscapes with lower levels of developments. Popular activities include equestrian use, backcountry camping, hiking and fishing. Some Wildland Parks have designated trails for off-highway vehicle use.

Provincial Park – Protecting both natural and cultural landscapes and features, Provincial Parks are distinguished from a Wildland Provincial Park by its greater range of outdoor recreation facilities, interpretive and educational programs, as well as generally more support facilities and infrastructure.

Heritage Rangeland – To protect and preserve represent Alberta’s prairies by the continuation of cattle grazing to maintain grassland ecology, while limiting other disturbances such as industrial development. Recreational use is generally limited to foot access.

Natural Area – Intended to protect special and sensitive natural landscapes of local and regional significance, while providing opportunities for education, nature appreciation, and low-intensity recreation. These areas are typically quite small and include natural and near natural landscapes. New Industrial development is not permitted.

Areas with Land-Use Restrictions

Provincial Recreation Area – Often small areas established for outdoor recreation as the primary objective, these areas support a wide range of outdoor recreation pursuits, including motorized recreation, in natural, modified, or man-made settings. Generally, no new industrial development is permitted although sites are typically heavily developed for recreation use.

Public Land Use Zone (formerly Forest Land Use Zone) – Designated under the Public Lands Administration Regulation, it is an area of land to which legislative controls are applied to solve specific land-use problems, and better manage conflicting land use activities in sensitive areas. Generally little/no restrictions as to the types of land uses permitted. Previously, Forest Land Use Zones (FLUZ) were administered under the Forest Act for a similar purpose.

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Other Areas

From our mountains, to boreal forests and grasslands, Alberta has an amazing number of wild spaces that we cherish and take pride in. Unfortunately, many of these areas are not protected and are at risk of being lost. Healthy, protected ecosystems provide us with food, clean water, safeguards from natural disaster, recreation opportunities and economic benefits.

The Porcupine Hills in spring. PHOTO: © K MIHALCHEON

Throughout the years, AWA has identified important landscapes containing key features, and rare or special landscapes. We have worked to maintain the ecological integrity of these areas, keeping them wild. Some of these Wild Spaces are essential, containing regions and ecosystems that have not yet been protected, and that require protection to complete the provincial protected areas network and sustain biodiversity in our province. Other Wild Spaces may function as corridors or transition zones for species between protected areas. Many Wild Spaces require sound management for working landscapes, where economic development can be sustainably integrated with conservation objectives.

See our Wild Alberta map to explore current protected areas (green) and areas AWA has identified for completing Alberta’s protected areas network (gold).

The following principles guide AWA’s vision for protected areas:

A complete protected areas network includes representation of all Natural Regions, landscape features, and rare and special landscapes.
Core areas need to be set aside as the foundation of the system. These must be large, natural, and interconnected.
Corridors are needed to provide connections among the cores. These must allow for the movement of wildlife and natural processes.
Buffer zones should surround the cores to insulate them from the negative effects of nearby development.
Working landscapes throughout the province should incorporate management objectives for the maintenance of natural values. Because protected areas alone are not enough, environmental protection should be at the forefront of all land-use planning initiatives.
Free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples in the creation and management of protected areas provides inherent value as well as significant opportunities to meet conservation objectives. We must uphold reconciliation commitments and meet Target 18 under the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, so that “traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at all relevant levels”.
It is appropriate for government to be the primary responsible body for achieving Aichi Target 11; however, Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs) such as private land conservation easements can play an important role in complementing and enhancing government established protected areas network, provided they meet IUCN protection requirements for OECMs. Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) will also play a central role in the completion of Alberta’s protected areas network.

Meeting international biodiversity commitments

In 2015, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments committed to conserving at least 17 percent of Canada’s lands and inland waters by 2020, otherwise known as Canada Target 1, established under the Aichi Biodiversity Targets:

By 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial areas and inland water, and 10% of marine and coastal areas of Canada are conserved through networks of protected areas and other effective area-based measures.

In keeping with this national and international commitment, the Government of Alberta has also committed to protecting 17 percent of Alberta’s landscape.

At the end of 2016, 10.6 percent of Canada’s terrestrial areas and only 0.96 percent of its marine territory are protected. As Canada’s National Advisory Panel Report noted this is “an increase of only 1 percent since 2010; therefore, much needs to be done to achieve 17 percent by 2020.”

As of June 2018, 14.6 percent of Alberta is protected:

8.2 percent as National Parks
6.4 percent as provincial protected areas

In order to meet the Canada Target 1, protected area systems must protect each Natural Region, include areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystems, and be well-connected.

Many of Alberta’s protected areas allow industrial development, which undermines their protection value. In addition, most provincial protected areas are small and isolated within a highly developed landscape. These areas will not support wildlife, viable ecosystems, or landscape-scale natural disturbances over time.

AWA is requesting that the federal and provincial governments keep moving forward with their commitment to biodiversity. You can help by sending a letter requesting that:

By 2020, 17 percent of Alberta’s overall land base will be protected, with additions to the protected areas network focusing on landscapes which are currently underrepresented and provide habitat for species at risk.
By 2020, the Alberta government will have identified and committed to the protection of specific areas that will achieve 17 percent protection in each of our six natural regions. In regions that are heavily developed, such as the Parkland Natural Region, Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) will need to play an important role in enhancing a government established protected areas network.

Representative protection

While some of Alberta’s Natural Regions, like the Rocky Mountains, are relatively well protected, many of Alberta’s other Natural Regions – such as Grasslands, Parkland and Foothills – are poorly represented in the current network. A lack of representative protection has led to widespread declines in wildlife. The Grasslands Natural Region is less than 2 percent protected and more than three quarters of Alberta’s species at risk rely on prairie habitats (Alberta Environmental Protection 1997).

Insufficient management and enforcement

Many of Alberta’s protected areas lack formal management plans, without which the cumulative effects of individual land-uses can diminish the wilderness values that the protected areas intended to protect.

A lack of enforcement in protected areas can cause extensive damages from activities such as poaching, garbage dumping and illegal off-highway vehicle (OHV) use.

Recreation and Commercialization

Although recreation, and specifically non‐motorized recreation is indeed “critical to the quality of life we experience as Albertans” (Questions and Answers on the Proposed New Parks Legislation, 2010), Albertans also recognize that recreation is not, and should not be, the top priority within protected areas. The 2008 public survey found that 70.8% of Albertans believe the top priority for Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation should be to set aside more land and leaving it in an undisturbed state.

Threats to protected areas from recreation include:

Overdevelopment of facilities leading to urbanization of wilderness environments.
Permitting activities which are incompatible with conservation objectives, such as the introduction of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in areas where such use was historically prohibited.
Inappropriate developments such as commercial recreation, including downhill ski operations, golf courses, and alpine villages.
Overuse and overcrowding – when protected areas reach visitor carrying capacity and it is effectively impossible to manage human-wildlife conflicts.

October 18, 2011