UPDATED: September 4, 2015 – 1430 CST – The Alberta government has stopped commercial forestry in the Castle Special Management Area of southwestern Alberta, a region where development and recreation demands have created controversy for years.
A process has been launched to designate the area in part as a provincial park and expand area designated as a wildland provincial park.
Provincial environment and parks minister Shannon Phillips announced today that all forestry operations have been halted in the Castle area and no new oil and gas leases will be allowed.
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Existing leases for oil and gas as well as grazing will be honoured, according to a government news release, but no new ones will be approved and no tenure will be sold for metals, minerals, coal or surface resources.
Existing leases for metal, mineral and coal will be cancelled.
“Protecting the Castle is critically important for the biodiversity and water quality of this entire region,” said Phillips in a news release.
The Castle mountain area, comprising about 257,000 acres, has been the focus of protests against logging because of potential damage to ecology, wildlife and river headwaters.
It is a popular recreation area for campers, fishers, off-roaders, snowmobilers, hikers and skiers and is culturally significant to First Nations.
Designation as a provincial park “will allow government to focus on stewardship, protecting and enhancing biodiversity, and boosting the local economy by promoting the area as an outdoor destination for Albertans and out-of-province visitors.”
Alberta’s opposition Wildrose party was critical of the announcement, saying it erodes the property rights of land and business owners. It referred to Bill 36, a controversial piece of legislation introduced by the former Progressive Conservative government that was widely criticized.
Pat Stier, MLA for the Livingstone-Macleod constituency that includes the Castle region, said property rights should have been protected before changes were made.
“The NDP are going to have to negotiate fair market compensation for land, lease, and license holders affected by this move,” Stier said in a news release.
“With the NDP ending new natural resources industries in the Castle, Wildrose can only hope the development of the tourism industry can offset the economic impact of these decisions.”
Phillips said consultation on the future of the Castle special management area begins today and will be open for 30 days. Input can be provided at albertaparks.ca/consult.
