CPAWS Northern Alberta

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CPAWS Northern Alberta

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Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Northern Alberta Chapter CPAWS is Canada’s pre-eminent, non-profit wilderness protection organization.

CPAWS Northern Alberta has championed the protection of Alberta’s diverse natural heritage since our establishment in 1968 as the first regional chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Together, we are working to keep at least half of Canada’s public land and water wild – forever.

10/08/2026

NEW REPORT RELEASED | 50 MORE YEARS OF SPRAWLING TAILINGS
What will the next 50 years of oil sands tailings look like if nothing changes?

Keepers of the Water, in partnership with CPAWS Northern Alberta, is sharing our latest report, 50 More Years of Sprawling Tailings: Mapping Future Decades of Destruction by Oil Sands Tailings.

Our findings reveal that the approved footprint of oil sands tailings and associated infrastructure could nearly triple by 2070, expanding from approximately 300 km² to 850 km².

This report highlights the long-term environmental risks, impacts on Indigenous communities, threats to our waterways, and the urgent need for government and industry accountability.

View https://www.keepersofthewater.ca/publications

10/02/2026

‼️OUT NOW: Our new joint Sub-regional Plan Engagement Guide is here!

The Red Earth, Caribou Mountains, and Berland Sub-regional Draft Plans are all open for public feedback. We know that these plans are a lot of information to work through, and filling out three separate engagement surveys at once is a lot for YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) to ask.

That's why we've gone through the details and put together an ENGO Engagement Guide (CPAWS Northern Alberta, Alberta Wilderness Association, Nature Alberta) to help you navigate the plans and identify areas where you can provide input.

If three plans feel like too many, try filling out the survey for the region that matters most to you. We encourage you to tie in your own ideas, reflections, and concerns to the process.

Every submission matters! Public feedback is intended to shape how Alberta's forests and caribou recovery are managed for decades to come.

🗓️Mark your calendars! The survey deadline for Red Earth and Caribou Mountains is October 26, while the deadline for Berland is November 12.

🔗View the guide here:https://cpawsnab.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SRPEngagementGuide_Oct2026.pdf

09/30/2026

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A day established to honour all children, families, and Survivors impacted by the Residential School system. A day to reflect on the ways we can uphold reconciliation in our everyday lives and confront the injustices that First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples still face.

🌲As a conservation non-profit, it’s important that we continue to learn from and support Indigenous nations that have stewarded the land for millennia. We must also recognize and work to address the harm that colonial land management has on many Indigenous communities.

Indigenous-led conservation is not only a path to safeguarding lands, waters, and wildlife; it is a critical part of reconciliation. We encourage everyone to spend the day listening and learning. Community events are taking place across the province!🧡

We also encourage conservationists to read (or revisit) the paper “Towards Reconciliation: 10 Calls to Action to Natural Scientists Working in Canada,” and the author’s more recent reflection on these calls to action.🍂

🔗Links to the papers can be found here: https://lnk.bio/CPAWSNorthernAB

09/18/2026

Alberta is currently developing three land-use plans for the Red Earth, Caribou Mountains and Berland sub-regions. Together, these landscapes are home to five woodland caribou populations: Red Earth, Caribou Mountains, Yates, À la Pêche and Little Smoky.

These plans will help shape how Alberta's boreal forest is used, including how much industrial development takes place and how caribou habitats will be impacted.🙌

That matters because woodland caribou are a species at risk and already live in heavily disturbed landscapes. We are concerned that these plans commit to increased oil and gas development and continued logging of remaining habitat, while pushing meaningful habitat restoration much further into the future.⚠️

The choices being made now could shape whether our forests can continue to support caribou and other wildlife for generations to come. 🫶

Make sure that you're following our account for more updates regarding these sub-regional plans and how you can support Alberta's caribou.

🔗In the meantime, you can send a letter for caribou here: https://action.cpaws.org/page/194568/action/1

09/10/2026

After five years of fighting to protect the Eastern Slopes, over 200,000 Albertans demanded that no new coal mines be developed in our invaluable headwaters.💧

ℹ️ Coal leases extend along the length of Alberta's Rocky Mountains, posing significant risks to the , , and watersheds. Our drinking water.

Now, the Government of Alberta is busy developing a new coal policy for the province. To date, only industry has been consulted about its development. ⚠️

While it is frustrating that Albertans have had to repeat themselves, persistent public pressure is an essential part of creating policies that actually reflect public concerns. 📣

Know that when you raise your voice, thousands of other Albertans are alongside you! 🫶

🔗Take Action by sending a letter here: https://action.cpaws.org/page/195940/action/1

09/08/2026

✨You are invited✨ to our 2026 virtual AGM to reflect on the conservation work that has kept our chapter busy this past year! 🌲

We'll highlight our ongoing campaigns and discuss the environmental challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. 🙌

The evening will include a feature presentation from Dr. Wesley Bell, our Conservation Policy Analyst, entitled “Building Wildfire Resilience in Alberta: The Science Behind Safer Communities and Healthier Forests”. 🔥

Thank you to the Albertan's whose continued support is what makes conserving and protecting nature in the province possible. We can’t wait to see you there!🫶

🔗Register for our AGM here: 81d4f7bb-0165-4933-b23c-8ce8b58ca6b8@b4e14ffc-32ca-4ef6-b021-01880a2bca72" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/81d4f7bb-0165-4933-b23c-8ce8b58ca6b8@b4e14ffc-32ca-4ef6-b021-01880a2bca72

09/03/2026

🔥Curious about some of the impacts forestry has on wildfire behaviour?

As the industry that has the largest direct human-caused disturbance in Canadian forests, there are several different pathways that forestry practices can influence wildfire behaviour.

This includes:
1. Changes to microclimates
2. Modifications to fuel characteristics
3. Increased number of ignition points
4. Shifts in patterns of landscape cover
5. Changes in forest stand structure and species composition

While conventional forestry practices that prioritize timber production have been linked to increased fire activity, more ecologically informed approaches have the potential to reduce wildfire risk and contribute to long-term forest resilience.

Visit our StoryMap using the link below to learn more about this research and our wildfire recommendations: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/009db8d7bba1467a8fefe416ac0b943a

09/01/2026

🐟 Meet the provincial fish of Alberta: the bull trout.

💧This Threatened species is an important indicator of healthy freshwater ecosystems. Because they depend on cold, clean, well-connected waters, their presence (or absence) can tell us a lot about the health of our rivers and headwaters.

🤝 Healthy headwaters mean healthy bull trout.

08/26/2026

Three new sub-regional draft plans prioritize industry development over the recovery of and herds with already limited remaining habitat.

ℹ️ Within a short timespan, YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) has released the Caribou Mountains, Red Earth, and Berland draft sub-regional plans for public engagement.

⚠️ All of which support the continued destruction of critical habitat, while promising restoration and recovery efforts decades into the future.

⏲️Restoration cannot replace the protection of old growth forests that caribou need TODAY. The drafts lack evidence to show that restoration alone (which takes decades) is enough to support recovery.

🗣️ Albertans deserve sub-regional plans with credible and measurable pathways toward recovering species at risk.

🔗 Learn more by reading our joint statement https://cpawsnab.org/all-news/albertas-sub-regional-plans-continue-to-put-industrial-development-ahead-of-caribou-survival-and-recovery/

08/20/2026

🦬 Wood Buffalo National Park is facing mounting pressure - and this month, an international team is back to assess whether enough is being done to address it.

The 2026 Reactive Monitoring Mission is examining the state of Canada's largest national park and following up on the 17 recommendations issued after the previous mission in 2022.

💧At the heart of the concern is water. The Peace-Athabasca Delta has been a life-giving place that supported Indigenous communities and thriving ecosystems for millennia.

Now, the Delta is on life support - with more frequent dry periods, decline in biodiversity, changes to water quality, and more risks on the horizon, like climate change and growing oil sands mines.

⚠️ With environmental safeguards being removed and growing pressure to build new infrastructure upstream of the Park, your voice is needed.

✉️ Let federal and provincial Environment Ministers know that you care about the future of Wood Buffalo National Park by sending an email.

🔗 Find the template here: https://cpawsnab.org/all-news/wood-buffalo-action/

Address

Suite 627, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square (Milner Public Library)
Edmonton, AB
T5J2V4

Website

http://www.cpawsnab.org/

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