Joint ENGO Letter to Alberta Re: Bistcho Lake & Cold Lake SRP Regulatory Details

June 18, 2024

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• Bistcho
• Caribou
• Primrose-Lakeland
• Uncategorized

CPAWS Northern Alberta, Alberta Wilderness Association, Pembina Institute, and The Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society wrote to Alberta Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz to provide feedback on the draft regulatory details for the Bistcho Lake and Cold Lake Sub-Regional Plans.

Our primary concerns with the draft regulatory details are as follows:

1. The draft regulatory details include numerous exemptions, vague definitions, and highly discretionary decision-making powers, and therefore, they do not guarantee that the required undisturbed habitat targets will be met.
2. The draft regulatory details permit increased habitat disturbance within caribou ranges that do not meet or come close to undisturbed habitat targets.
3. The models upon which the plans are based assume the full restoration of seismic lines and PNG disturbance within 10 years. However, there is no mechanism to require, or fund, this restoration within the timeline, thus rendering the models and the plans unrealistic in terms of reaching the undisturbed habitat target.
4. The exclusion of wildfire disturbance from habitat projections for both SRPs and regulations means that undisturbed habitat targets will not be met

Click the link below to read our letter in full:

20240618_lt_engos_to_epa_min_rschulz_bistcho_cold_lake_srp_regs