Lorne Fitch is a Professional Biologist, a retired Fish and Wildlife Biologist and a former Adjunct Professor with the University of Calgary. He is the author of
Streams of Consequence,Travels Up the Creek, andConservation Confidential.

Recent news that Alberta has decided to drop all of the habitat protection requirements for Greater sage-grouse in 74 per cent of their range provides a sense of clarity on biodiversity protection in the province. This was orchestrated at the highest level in Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. You might be forgiven if you thought the mandate of the department was conservation, not industrial development.

To provide some perspective, sage-grouse populations have plummeted nearly 100 per cent in just the last 50 years, in large part due to industrial activity throughout their range in southeastern Alberta. They are designated as Endangered and a recovery plan is in place. Dropping all the protections for the species seems retrogressive.

But the Alberta government has a ready answer for this apparent inconsistency. In a statement sent to CBC News, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas communications director Andrew Livingstone said the changes were made “to simplify regulatory requirements in the sage grouse ranges and to provide greater flexibility and clarity for proponents operating in southeastern Alberta.”

This requires a bit of translation from the spin provided. What Alberta is actually saying is, “the helium industry asked us to drop all these restrictive requirements, so we did.”

“Alberta continues to support a sage grouse recovery program focused on delivering a targeted and effective solution that balances conservation outcomes with the needs of a changing province and economy,” Livingstone said.

In the typical centrifugal word salad the term “balance” needs definition. In the parlance of politicians and business types it means the environment (and sage-grouse) needs to give so industry can profit. The rest is just meaningless puffery.

This abrupt change in direction comes after persistent lobbying by the Helium Developers Association of Canada. The executive director, Richard Dunn, pointed out that removing these protections is part of “the need to balance environmental considerations, economic development and social considerations.” There’s that “balance” word again, but now you know what it means.

Provincial officials contend the province is investing in and expanding recovery initiatives, including brood and nest-augmentation programs, habitat restoration, predator management, stewardship partnerships, and enhanced monitoring.

So instead of protecting habitat, the most fundamental requirement for species recovery and persistence, what the government of Alberta is saying, is they will tinker around the edges with some vanity projects, activities that may not exhibit progress, and assiduously count birds until they are gone.

“Alberta will continue to work with industry and local partners to support responsible resource development while advancing recovery of this endangered species,” said Livingstone.

In the soothing term “responsible resource development” you can count on this—industry and the Alberta government will be responsible for the demise of sage-grouse with resource development. There comes a point where all these political euphemisms are deceptive and code for complicity with industry interests.

Dr. Mark Boyce, University of Alberta ecology professor, has worked on Greater sage-grouse conservation since 1977 and provides a stark observation on the removal of provincial protections. Unequivocally he points out this move by the provincial government puts the remaining Alberta sage-grouse population at direct risk of extirpation. Translation of “extirpation“— wiped out in Alberta, unlikely to be found here again.

“That is typical for the province of Alberta, to side with industrial development over conservation,” Boyce said. “I think that the birds are toast. I think we’re going to lose them all.” This needs no translation.

Sage-grouse have been added to a longer list of troublesome wildlife—caribou, wolverine, grizzly bears, bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, Athabasca rainbow trout, and many others. The current Alberta government displays a malicious consistency when it comes to prioritizing industry interests over biodiversity conservation. This is especially related to species that are at risk and are perceived to impede economic development.