A series of industrial projects are threatening the environment and a way of life in Southwest Alberta.  

Our Southern Eastern slopes are too important to risk.

Alberta’s southern Rockies, in the upper drainage of the Oldman River, is an important place. The benefits provided by the area are well recognized by Albertans and visitors alike. The Southern Eastern Slopes are the water source for Canada’s prairie cities, towns, irrigation districts and water wells. They provide unique and essential habitats for many species of flora and fauna. The area has provided unsurpassed beauty, refuge, and bounty for generations. 

We believe the future of the Southern Eastern Slopes belongs to those who cherish and rely on the landscape for clean water, abundant fish and wildlife, outdoor adventure and the sustainable economy it supports. Its fate should not be determined by those looking to exploit and sacrifice this land simply for limited, short-term, and uncertain financial benefits. 

The Threat 

Four large Australian-owned coal mining companies are in various stages of regulatory approval for multiple extensive mountain top removal coal mines in southwest Alberta. If approved, these mines could blanket the region between Kananaskis and the Crowsnest Pass with a series of 40-50 kilometre long swaths of industrial destruction.  

In the summer and fall of 2020, three companies (Montem, Elan and Cabin Ridge) were granted exploration permits to build at least 235km of new roads and 724 exploration drill pits in southwest Alberta. It is expected that more exploration will continue in this region this summer. It is inappropriate that this activity continues damaging the landscape. All exploration permits and activities should be cancelled, and a new stronger policy needs to be created that prevents new exploration and mining in Alberta’s Rockies. 

The total area under coal exploration and development permits is twice the size of Castle Provincial Park.

What we are fighting for?

AN IMPORTANT PLACE

When you think of Alberta ranching country, you probably picture this place. Driving south down the famous Cowboy Trail (Highway 22), the snowy peaks of the Livingstone Range rise to the west, standing guard over rare native grasslands and near-pristine trout streams. These mountains and their foothills are landscapes steeped in Alberta’s ranching, hunting, fishing, outfitting and renewable resource management history. This place is the headwaters of the Oldman River, named for Napi, an important cultural figure to the Pii’kani, one of the Indigneous groups who have called this area home since time immemorial. 

Behind the peaks of the Livingstone, lies some of Alberta’s best remaining natural, unprotected pieces of public land. Although its lack of protection has caused many challenges over the years, the approximately 1,400 km2 of the Livingstone Range remains a vitally important area for large mammals like grizzly bear and elk. The streams draining its fragile soils provide critical habitat for the threatened west slope cutthroat trout and send clean, healthy water to the 200,000 people downstream. It's a hunting and fishing mecca, and helps sustain the region’s ranching traditions.

But the days may be numbered for this idyllic landscape. Foreign investors — mostly Australian mining interests — are planning no fewer than 4 coal mines in the Livingstone Range.

WHO WE ARE

The Southern Alberta chapter of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Livingstone Landowners Group are working together with other Albertans to ensure a sustainable future for the region. The partnership of CPAWS and LLG combines experience and perspectives in conservation and local rural values, allowing us to support each other and build a strong alliance. We are committed to informing Albertans of the scale and nature of mining activities coming in our direction, what the impacts of that may be for all of us, and what might be done to protect our treasured landscapes from irreversible harm. 

All Albertans have an interest in sustaining the streams, landscapes and future we rely on for our well-being and which help define us as a people. In fact, anybody who cares about coal’s contribution to the climate crisis has a stake in this issue.