Conservation Issues

Conservation Issues

The hard work of lobbying governments to create protected wildlands and of purchasing private lands for conservation purposes always falls to the few. Some of those few are conservative and work closely with business and government while others are more confrontational and attract headlines in espousing their cause. All have one or both of these two key objectives:

preservation of beautiful landscapes for the enjoyment of humans
habitat conservation for the protection of species

Alberta's Parks, regional, provincial and federal, were created by governments, but not out of the blue. Citizens from local towns and from provincial groups like the Federation of Alberta Naturalists, the Alberta Wilderness Association, and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society lobbied for the protection of some of Alberta's lovely landscapes and in some cases succeeded. In the case of Dry Island Buffalo Jump, it was a citizens group from Huxley, Alberta that put together a proposal to protect this lovely landscape and that succeeded in preserving it for us.

Please consider contributing to the organizatons that do this important work. Contributions are easy to make. Simply visit their web page, determine whether their philosophy and approach fit your values, and if they do, send a donation.

In Alberta, the most active organizations are:

The Alberta Wilderness Association
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society: Edmonton Chapter, Calgary Chapter
The Federation of Alberta Naturalists

In the larger Canadian Context, the organizations are:

If you are interested in reading about conservation issues in Alberta, try these webpages:

Meanwhile, go an enjoy these areas. Whether by horse or on foot, because our industrial development has happened later than in much of Canada, we still have some of the world's best wilderness areas. Whether our grandchildren enjoy the same opportunities depends on us.