THE ALBERTA FISH AND GAME ASSOCIATION 89 TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATION FEBRUARY 2018 EDMONTON, ALBERTA

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1 THE ALBERTA FISH AND GAME ASSOCIATION 89 TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATION FEBRUARY 2018 EDMONTON, ALBERTA

2 Agenda NWSAR Committee Northwest Alberta Impacts to Area Action to Date Alberta Government Report Presenter: Byron Peters Deputy CAO, Mackenzie County and Lead Admin NWSAR Committee Next Steps

3 The NWSAR Committee: Six NW Alberta Municipalities ~ Mackenzie County, County of Northern Lights, County of Clear Hills and the Towns of High Level, Rainbow Lake and Manning. Organized in the Fall of 2016, after the Province proposed preserving 1.8 million hectares of land in our to protect the Woodland Caribou. Woodland Caribou are listed as a threatened species under the Federal Species at Risk legislation. This designation requires provincial and federal governments to implement protection plans. Over 540 other animals, plants, birds also have this designation including; Grizzly Bear, Wood Bison, Whooping Crane and most recently the Barn Swallow. Working with local stakeholders the Committee; Created a report for the federal and provincial government s to consider when implementing plans to protect the Woodland Caribou. Wants to see protection plans be effective but also consider the socio-economic impacts to our communities, so that we can be prosperous and keep jobs here. The Committee Believes that we can protect the caribou without creating a provincial park and even protect them more effectively without creating a park.

4 Introduction to NWSAR Region Population: 30,000 (approx.) Area: 165,000 km²(approx.) Largest National Park Wood Buffalo National Park Largest Provincial Park Caribou Wildland Park Over 52,000 km² or about 31% of the NWSAR Land Mass is currently protected. That s roughly the size of Nova Scotia! Five First Nations and one Metis settlement Main Industries Energy Forestry Agriculture Hunting and Trapping and related support services

5 Alberta Caribou 16 Populations of Caribou in Alberta: Listed as Threatened both Provincially and Federally. The NWSAR region has 5 of the 16 herds within the land base Covering 39% of the Region Chinchaga, Bistcho, Yates, Caribou Mountains and a portion of the Red Earth herd. Four of our herds are cross-jurisdictional (BC, NWT, Federally or a combination) Alberta Population numbers are estimated at total animals.

6 Impacts to NWSAR Industries The province has recently proposed to permanently protect 1.6 million hectares of land for the caribou, this would sterilize our resources devastating not only our region s economy but also hurting Alberta for generations to come. Forestry impacts 650 jobs are at risk Potential loss of approximately $1 billion of annual revenue associated with the timber harvest. Oil and Gas impacts 54 oil and gas fields within the caribou ranges proven oil and gas reserves of $2.9 billion estimated oil and gas reserves of $90.5 billion Trapping and outfitting, agriculture and the service industry could see significant impacts. Limits the potential of future opportunities such as: geo-thermal, lithium, gravel, farmland expansion and other minerals and land-based economic opportunities. Municipal impact Mackenzie County has estimated a 14.98% reduction; County of Northern Lights estimates a 18.74% reduction; and Clear Hills County a 25.32% reduction.

7 Action to date Over the past year we have engaged with community residents, industries and various stakeholder groups to ensure a broad scope of local voices are incorporated and understood. Numerous local community open houses Industry meetings and discussions Engagement with ENGO s including CPAWs and AWA Meetings with department and elected officials in the Government of Alberta and Government of Canada Industry group and association presentation including; AUMA, AAMDC, AFPA, ACC Online engagement Petition Submitted solutions and recommendations for Caribou Population Recovery to both levels of government.

8 NWSAR Report: Range Management Options Combined local and provincial coordination of future regional and industrial growth Updating range-specific inventories, disturbance, vegetation, population numbers etc current science Mitigating limiting risks posed by other wildlife, ex: diseased bison Establishing locally-led effective predator control and trap-line usage Decreasing industrial asset abandonment and orphan well fund burden of asset liability, by increasing regional economic certainty Targeting orphan well funding and restoration dollars to critical areas Land-use decisions to be based on local knowledge, Indigenous traditional knowledge and robust current scientific data The impact of wildfire should be assessed differently to human disturbance Inter-jurisdictional collaboration is mandatory for caribou recovery

9 Draft Provincial Woodland Caribou Range Plan Overview Goal ~ create 1.6 million hectares of park Restoration of legacy footprint, mainly funded by Industry Create conservation areas that contribute to government s goal of protecting 17% of terrestrial areas by 2020 (down 20% from Denhoff Report in our region) Create caribou rearing facilities although none are proposed for our area Implement Integrated Land Management, Managing Access, Energy and Forestry activities, details still forth coming Conduct social & economic assessments details of what will be included are not being shared, opportunities to contribute are vague and timelines remain vague

10 Draft Provincial Woodland Caribou Range Plan Overview cont.. Recommendation to add 1.6 million hectares of park land NWSAR Committee concerned with the significant negative impacts park space can have by sterilizing economic activity Currently the region has over 52,000 km² of parks that aren t sustaining healthy Caribou populations on their own Parks are not a solution For the most part the NWSAR parks are inaccessible, inhospitable or both. Little to no provincial or federal funding goes into the current park areas. A park is not a range plan, should not be created with a single-species approach and the limitations of parks are extensive. Parks do not remove historic disturbance, only sterilize land base, and have locally proven to not increase caribou populations. Habitat solutions require access and human management and parks do not use all the tools available.

11 Draft Provincial Woodland Caribou Range Plan Overview More details to come Communities and industry will be asked to help inform impact study Current disturbance needs to be reduced, and future disturbance needs to be halted (in new conservation areas) and minimized and managed in remaining range areas AEP will lead a provincial restoration program, paid for mostly by Industry. Industry, Indigenous peoples and municipalities will be part of the Habitat Restoration Committee details to follow Range plans will be updated every five years Integrated Land Management (ILM) and Regional Access Management Plans (RAMP) will be mandatory and mostly the responsibility of Industry details to follow Moratoriums will continue until other measures are in place No direct security of continued recreational and hunting access will be maintained and to what extent and in which ranges

12 Draft Provincial Woodland Caribou Range Plan Overview More details to come Range plans will identify staged development zones, and range specific rulesets for mineral rights outside of the conservation areas. Land sales will then continue outside the conservation areas Forest harvesting strategies will be revised to better mimic natural disturbance (called aggregated harvesting). Outside of conservation areas. Future coal, metallic & Industrial minerals will be potentially accessible with strict restrictions, outside of conservation areas New sand & gravel pits developed within caribou ranges cannot export material out of the range, and only allowed outside of conservation areas. Revegetation of transmission lines and pipelines will be required Conservation areas will minimize or prevent new disturbance (Industrial use of any kind is not compatible with this goal, and these areas will contribute to Alberta s overall goal of 17% protected lands)

13 Next Steps Take Action Provide Provide your feedback to the Government of Alberta through Attend Attend an upcoming Government of Alberta Open House Contact Contact your local MLA and MP to share your concerns Visit Visit the NWSAR Committee website to get more information

14 Questions County of Northern Lights Town of High Level Mackenzie County Clear Hills County Town of Rainbow Lake Town of Manning