Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Northern Alberta (CPAWSNAB)

💬 The fallacy of “first-in-class technology and safety standards” from the oil and gas industry itself insinuates that if disastrous accidents happen (and they do) they would be dealt with swiftly to minimize and mitigate harm. 🚫   🚩 The pattern that is unfolding shows that when #oilsands tailings leak, spill, or when processes fail, companies are slow to respond to the point of negligence and fines for harm done are often arbitrarily reduced.  An extremely example of slow response to incidents would be the Imperial Oil Kearl leak and spill. In this blog, penned by Nicole Doll, we dive into the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) 's investigation into CNRL when islands formed in their tailings ponds.

The latest edition of our newsletter is out! 🎉 This month we are focusing on an opportunity to STOP harmful coal developments in #Alberta. Along with other #ENGOs, we are asking folks to send a letter to Environment and Climate Change Canada requesting a Federal Review of Coalspur's Vista Coal Mine. 🏔 ⏳ Time is limited before a final recommendation report is assembled and the decision will be made. You can use our template here: https://bit.ly/3YhiW1q Later in October, we are hosting an event we are very much looking forward to with the SNAP Art Gallery. Join us October 24th for some linocut printmaking and to learn about caribou conservation in the province. 🎨 Linocut, also known as lino printing, is the art of carving designs into a linoleum sheet. The sheet is then layered with paint and impressed onto paper or fabric. If you read through to the end, we even have a handy discount code for your ticket (valid until the 14th) Stay tuned for next month's edition where our team recounts their time in Cali, Columbia for #COP16 🌎 🌿

The Government of Alberta has released a survey soliciting public feedback on the creation of an #Alberta Nature Strategy (which we have also developed a handy survey guide for - linked in the comments below!) In line with the Global Biodiversity Framework that resulted from the Kunming-Montreal Agreement at #COP15, nations around the world are putting forth their own National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). Provinces and Territories across Canada must work together to align themselves to this international effort to protect nature. 🌎 🌿 Our team (Tara Russell and Wesley Bell) presented on what a nature strategy for Alberta * should * look like, if we hope to halt and reverse #biodiversity loss, at our AGM in September. The recording of that presentation can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gwUTAKVq Stay tuned for much more content on this topic over the coming weeks as we travel to Cali, Colombia for the Convention on Biological Diversity's 16th Conference of the Parties (#COP16) with our colleagues from CPAWS · SNAP Canada, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Southern Alberta, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society Manitoba Chapter and SNAP Québec - Société pour la nature et les parcs

Members from our team Kecia Kerr and Jo-Mary Crowchild-Fletcher were honoured to attend the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Buffalo Treaty last week on the Blood Tribe in Stand Off 🧡 ❔What is the Buffalo Treaty? The Buffalo Treaty was first signed in 2014 at the BlackFeet Reservation in #Montana. It is a Treaty signed by First Nations recognizing the importance of the relationship with #buffalo, viewing them as a relative. The Treaty is a commitment to "honor, recognize and revitalize" the relationship with buffalo and to welcome it back onto the land. Put in beautiful words from Buffalo Treaty "The Buffalo is keystone to the maintenance of life ways of cooperation, kindness, renewal, and sharing amongst and between peoples." The Treaty, and the celebration, underscores the cultural and ecological importance of buffalo.

🌿 Join us for an inspiring evening with SNAP Gallery “Caribou Tracks and Prints: #Art and Conservation”, where your creativity meets commitment to nature conservation in Alberta. 🖌️ 🕑 WHEN: Thursday, October 24th 6-8PM 💫You will have the opportunity to create your own #linocut print, which you’ll be able to take home with you, with supplies and direction from SNAP staff while CPAWS staff will host programming on caribou #conservation in Alberta. Get your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/gSMkB6UV

We're back again with another #MeetTheTeam post! Meet Jo-Mary Crowchild-Fletcher, who has joined our chapter as the Indigenous-led Conservation Support Coordinator 🌿 Sizi Jo-Mary Crowchild at’a. Sizi-tii Undilo at’a. Sinajunagha Tsuut’ina uwa ik’oholi at’a. Tsa to tsisgo guts’i anist’a/i at’a.  🏔 Raised by the mountains, Jo-Mary grew up in Golden, BC where their love for the land was nourished. They are Tsuut’ina on their mother’s side, and French & Scottish on their father’s. Culturally, they were taught from a young age that they had an obligation to care for the land and that teaching continued forward.  🌱 Their passion for the land was still vividly apparent throughout their life, but their career path headed down Indigenous policy within child welfare for almost 10 years. During this time, they built their relationship with Indigenous communities and continued their own reconnection journey to their own culture. They went back to school for an Environmental Practice degree through Royal Roads University and knew they had to switch directions in their career.  ➡ Heading home to their own territory in Treaty 7 in 2020, Jo-Mary spent years learning the Tsuut’ina dialect of Dene and returning to the environmental sector doing a two-year dendrochronology study within the Kananaskis area. They now call Amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton) home where they are assisting CPAWS Northern Alberta with building their relationships with the Indigenous Nations in Treaty 6 & 8. They look forward to meeting more of the CPAWS community. 💫

Curious to know how forest management impacts caribou habitat and recovery? Here is some food for thought from Dr. Serrouya's September 16 Webinar "At the Intersection of Caribou and Forestry": 🌲Net change in caribou habitat is an honest and important measure to track: this is the difference in net disturbed and net recovery 🌲There are no commitments to adjust harvest in caribou habitat in instances of catastrophic wildfire, real-time offsets in logging are needed 🌲Interim measures such as policy changes and wolf culls, though effective, are bandaid solutions if we are not improving caribou habitat Thank you Dr. Serrouya and Melanie Dickie, from Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute for lending your expertise, and to all who were able to join us and engaged so thoughtfully in the Q&A period. Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/gJR_DX-j 💡Stay tuned for more webinars in collaboration with Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Southern Alberta

📰 In our most recent newsletter, we announce the release of our newest forestry resource on our website: https://lnkd.in/gubWCUyH , which goes into the nitty gritty of FMAs, FMUs and FMPs. 🌲 📢 We also give a shout out to our colleagues from Wildlands League with their excellent podcast, #TheClearCut. 👉 #ICYMI we also hosted a webinar on Caribou and Forestry with Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Southern Alberta. You can view the recording on our youtube to catch up on what you missed: https://lnkd.in/gdwYbVTa ✨ This edition focuses on Alberta's forests and forestry issues.

In the boreal region, #wildfire is a natural occurrence that is necessary for the forest to regenerate and to foster #biodiversity. 🌲 Forestry practices CANNOT replicate the ecological benefits of wildfire. We are concerned that the Government of Alberta may permit expanded harvest in Alberta’s #forests under the guise of wildfire mitigation, and this could ultimately weaken forests and watersheds, diminish their ability to buffer against floods and drought, and further impact species at risk. Conservation Policy Analyst with our chapter, Wesley Bell wrote more on this topic. Read more below ➡

Learn about the scientific research going on at Elk Island National Park with a special forests week Parkbus Ride 🚌 sign up here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gHqQsb_Q We, the Northern Forestry Centre (Canadian Forest Service), Parkbus, and and Elk Island National Park (Parks Canada) are all banding together to offer a special day of guided educational hikes for #NationalForestWeek on Saturday, September 21st. 🌲 🥾You can choose between two guided hikes led by forestry researchers! 🥾 🌿 In the Tawayik Lake area we will be showcasing some study sites that are helping us learn about the impacts of fire and #bison on the park’s landscapes, vegetation and #ecology. 🌿 In the Astotin Lake area, we will be leading a #biodiversity walk to observe and learn about the native plants, mosses, and birds that call Elk Island home.