Albertans show they care about land stewardship

Public had big role in plan for headwaters, says

The public lands of Alberta’s Porcupine Hills and Livingstone region, in the headwater of the Oldman River, need better care.

Two newly released land use plans offer hope that they might be about to get it. If so, it will be because government teamed up with grassroots Albertans to get it right.

Commitments to properly care for Alberta forest reserves go back decades. But lack of funding, appeasing special interest groups, insider politics and simple inaction and neglect frequently got in the way of results. Degraded landscapes and damaged streams are the result.

Public demands for better stewardship of our public lands have steadily increased. The previous government finally responded with a new South Saskatchewan Regional Plan in 2014.

Noting our public forest lands not only produce most of southern Alberta’s water, but sustain important fish and wildlife and outdoor recreation, the plan promised detailed strategies to manage the land disturbance footprint and manage recreational use, starting with public lands south of Kananaskis Country.

In 2015, our current government wisely decided to follow through on those commitments.

The government’s planners consulted both the science literature and knowledgeable Albertans, including off-highway vehicle groups and area residents, to assess how much activity the lands and waters can handle. They consulted repeatedly with a wide variety of interested stakeholder groups and hosted open houses and workshops in nearby communities.

Rather than draft the plans behind closed doors, in May 2017, the planning team invited grassroots Albertans to help them by way of a Southwest Alberta Recreation Advisory Group that met several times throughout the summer.

The advisory group included First Nations, rural municipalities, forest companies, the oil industry, cattle ranchers, local residents, offhighway vehicle users, snowmobilers, hunters and anglers, mountain bikers, backpackers and hikers, outfitters and equestrian groups, stewardship organizations and nature enthusiasts. All advisory group participants were invited to present their views and concerns, table information and contribute ideas for the plans.

As the meetings progressed, it became clear that planners were using suggestions from everyone to help shape the plan. It was a fair, balanced, inclusive and truly meaningful process; collaborative planning at its best.

The draft footprint management and recreation management plans appear to be pretty convincing proof that government planning officials can get things right when they make a real effort to engage effectively with Albertans.

The mountains, foothills, trout streams, grasslands and forests of Alberta’s Eastern Slopes are provincial treasures. They need, and deserve, careful stewardship.

No government should assume it has all the answers. No single interest group should be able to dominate discussions about the future of land and waters that belong to all of us. All of us have a vital stake in ensuring that land use brings out the best of our public lands — and of ourselves.

And it looks like we just might see that happen. The draft plans appear as comprehensive and well-thought through as the process put in place to draft them. Once finalized, Albertans may finally see some of our best wild places made whole again.

Those public forest lands — and future generations — deserve nothing less.

We encourage all Albertans to review and comment on the draft plans available at https:// talkaep.alberta.ca/livingstone-porcupine-hillsfootprint-and-recreation-planning#draftlivingstone-porcupine-hills-land-footprintmanagement-plan-survey-1

Deadline for comment is April 26.

John Lawson is writing on behalf of the Alberta Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Alberta Hiking Association, Antelope Butte Ranch, Blue Ridge Outfitting and Guiding, Burton Cattle Company, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-Southern Alberta Chapter, Great Divide Trail Association, Livingstone Landowners’ Group, Municipal District of Ranchlands, Outdoor Recreation Council of Alberta, Porcupine Hills Coalition, Porcupine Hills Stock Association and the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society.

All of us have a vital stake in ensuring that land use brings out the best of our public lands.