24 June 2025
The following letter was sent by SAGE to the Honourable Todd Loewen, Minister of Forestry and Parks, regarding the Plan for Parks engagement process.

The Southern Alberta Group for the Environment (SAGE) appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the Plan for Parks engagement process.

There are many positive aspects of the Plan for Parks document, with a clear indication of the importance of sustaining natural spaces for ecological health. Though we understand the dual role that parks have in our society – that is, ecological sustainability and recreation – SAGE encourages that the emphasis be put on preservation and restoration with low-impact, nature-based recreation.

SAGE particularly supports Outcome 2.1 (“Parks conserve nature in-place to maintain biodiversity and ecological processes”) that emphasizes the conservation of ecosystems, monitoring and assessment of ecosystem health, restoration of parks for ecological function and biodiversity, and the importance of expanding under-represented ecosystems like grasslands. The importance of carbon sequestration, migration corridors, the environmental interaction with contiguous land, and the impact of forestry management practices might also be addressed in the decision-making processes noted in the Plan for Parks.

Our greatest concern in the Plan for Parks is the absence of a reference to the All Season Resorts Act. The notion that the designation of currently protected provincial parks, provincial recreation areas, wilderness areas, ecological reserves, natural areas or heritage rangelands may be rescinded or ignored on the recommendation of the Minister of Tourism and Sport to make way for an all-season resort contradicts the Plan for Parks Vision and Enduring Goals.

Installing all-season resorts in protected areas will diminish habitat for species at risk, disrupt wildlife with greater numbers of visitors, and increase linear disturbances that lead to ecological damage. The focus on encouraging tourism by creating attractions belies the spirit of the Plan for Parks that supports low environmental impact, nature-based experiences. Furthermore, the language of the Act is troubling as it appears to limit, if not bypass, environmental review processes that might normally be expected for significant changes in the land-use of protected lands. Environmental review is meant to evaluate if the negative impacts and cumulative effects of development are in the public interest – it is not a barrier (or ‘red tape’) to overcome.

With that caveat in mind, SAGE supports the intent of the Plan for Parks to provide
opportunities for nature-based experiences while preserving, restoring and expanding the integrity of the natural environment and the ecosystem functions we all rely on.

For more information, see CPAWS Plan for Parks Survey Guide.