Alberta outlines province’s new priorities for conservation and outdoor recreation

In September, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith sent a mandate letter to her Minister of Forestry and Parks outlining the province’s priorities for conservation and outdoor recreation. Seizing the opportunity, the Alberta Wildlife Federation aims to work with Minister Todd Loewen over the coming months to ensure the voices of hunters and anglers are considered in any resulting policy decisions.

AWF CEO Kelly Carter says the federation will focus on two key areas of the mandate letter: public access and wildlife management. Specifically, Smith’s letter directs Forestry and Parks to complete the Alberta’s new Recreation and Conservation Strategy, designed to expand public access to natural spaces in an environmentally responsible manner. Carter says the AWF is “very happy” to see letter also calls on the ministry to “continue to ensure all ministry practices related to fish and game management maintain healthy populations using a common sense approach based on ecological knowledge and science.”

According to Carter, the AWF has previously highlighted discrepancies in the province’s wildlife management practices, including those surrounding game tag allocations. “The last official policy was done in the 1980s, and since that time, there have been a lot of changes in society, and some of the founding principles haven’t been adhered to,” he says.

In particular, Carter cites the gradual drift of tag allocation to favour outfitters over resident hunters. He also notes Alberta does not have a moose management plan, and hopes that’s another area where common sense and science will prevail. “We’d like to see this completed, because in some WMUs (wildlife management units), moose populations are crashing because of mismanagement,” he says.

Regarding the Recreation and Conservation Strategy, Carter says the AWF wants to ensure public access is protected while also reducing barriers, and increasing access for hunters and anglers. “We understand there’s an important balance to be maintained,” he says. “We want to see that all Albertans are treated fairly, and that no one group has priority rights over another.”

Learn more about the AWF at www.albertawildlifefederation.ca.