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Letter to the Premier (Web Version)

Premier Ed Stelmach                                                 

Alberta Legislature Bldg.
10800 – 97 Ave.
Edmonton, AB  T5K 2B6
FAX (780) 427-1349 

Dear Premier Stelmach:

 

RE: Protection of the Little Smoky, Kakwa and Bighorn Endangered Foothills Forests

 

             With less than 2% of Alberta’s Foothill Natural Region of the Boreal Forest protected in any type of Park, and industrial pressures encroaching on this area, the time to act is now.  In this, Alberta’s Centennial year, I am writing to encourage you to take timely and decisive action to expand the current provincial parks and protected areas system to include the foothills of the Little Smoky, the Kakwa and the Bighorn. Will you ensure the survival of the threatened Caribou herds, Grizzly Bear and Bull Trout by protecting their habitat before it is too late? 

            The Endangered Foothills Forests are magnificent foothills and mountain wildlands; all located within the public’s crown forest land and four Forest Management Agreements.  Portions of the Little Smoky, those forests closest to the established Wildland Park have relatively little industrial distur­bance, but industrial roads, clearcut logging, and oil and gas activity are starting to move in, changing it forever. It is worth far more to Alberta as a protected wildland for wildlife, outdoor recreation, education and ecotourism than as roaded and logged forests.  We need a large area in the foothills protected to balance off all the extensive resource activity to the north and the east, where no sizable intact forest remains.

            The Little Smoky Endangered Foothills Forests contain some of the last, intact Woodland Caribou habitat left in the province.  This species is currently listed as threatened but is nearing endangered status or being extirpated from Alberta completely.  With your government’s commitment to establishing a caribou recovery plan, the protection of the Little Smoky should naturally follow.  I’m looking forward to a response from you before the industrial roads, logging plans and oil and gas drilling proceed any further.

 

Sincerely,

 

  

cc: Hector Goudreau, Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture

     Ted Morton, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development

 

 

Personal note:

 

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The organizations affiliated with the Alberta Foothills Network use various strategies to achieve the universal intent of protecting and restoring the Alberta Foothills and promoting environmentally sustainable development in this region. However, the organizations operate independently, and are not responsible for the actions and tactics of the other groups in the Network.