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The Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas of Alberta (also commonly called Alberta Environment and Protected Areas) is the Alberta provincial ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta responsible for environmental issues and
policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...
as well as some, but not all, parks and protected areas in Alberta.


Ministers

The first Minister of the Enviroment was Jim Henderson, appointed by Premier Harry Strom in 1971. He was succeeded by William Yurko from 1971 to 1977. Ian Reid was the minister in 1988 and 1989 Ralph Klein was the minister from 1989 to 1992. The ministry was renamed Environment and Parks on May 24, 2015. On June 28, 2022, Whitney Issik was appointed Environment and Parks Minister, replacing Jason Nixon.


Acts

* Natural Resources Conservation Board Act (NRCBA) Natural resource refers to "the subsurface, land surface, water, fauna and flora resources of Alberta, but does not include an energy resource as defined in the Responsible Energy Development Act." Environmental impact assessment (EIS) reports are ordered under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Industrial mineral projects are defined in the Mines and Minerals Act. * Alberta Land Stewardship Act * Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act * Public Lands Act: Land Stewardship and Fund Regulation


Agencies

Environment and Parks as a ministry of the Government of Alberta, consists o
Alberta Recycling Management AuthorityAlberta Used Oil Management AssociationBeverage Container Management BoardClimate Change and Emissions Management Fund
nvironmental Protection and Enhancement Fundbr>Land Compensation Board
and Stewardship Fund or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a bool ...
br>Land Use SecretariatNatural Resources Conservation BoardSurface Rights Board


Alberta Recycling Management Authority

The Alberta Recycling Management Authority, established in 1992, a not-for-profit association that manages Alberta's recycling program which includes recycling of tires, paints and electronics. Alberta Recycling Management Authority reports to the Minister of Alberta Environment.


Alberta Used Oil Management Association

Alberta Used Oil Management Association (AUOMA) manages the "Alberta province-wide Recycling Program for Used Oil, Used Oil Filters and Plastic Oil Containers."


Beverage Container Management Board

Beverage Container Management Board (BCMB), a not-for-profit association, was established in 1997 under the Beverage Container Recycling Regulation section of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.


The Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund


Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC)
established in 2009 by the Province of Alberta, is an independent organization that establishes or participates in "funding initiatives that reduce GHG emissions or improve our ability to adapt to
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
." CCEMC is aligned with and builds on Alberta's 2008 Climate Change Strategy and Carbon Capture and Storage Development Council, and "seeks to complement decisions made on large carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects." In December 2014 Environment Minister Kyle Fawcett attended the
2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP20 or CMP10 was held in Lima, Peru, from December 1 to 12, 2014. This was the 20th yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention o ...
in Lima, Peru where conference delegates held negotiations towards a global climate agreement with the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
(GHGs) as the overarching goal. In line with this, Fawcett described how his key goal was to build networks with other "sub-national jurisdictions", Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia and California — to potentially work on new agreements on carbon offset — across provincial and national borders as part of the province's climate change framework.


Environmental Appeals Board


Environmental Protection and Enhancement Fund

The Environmental Protection Security Fund operates under the Environment Protection and Enhancement Act. Published by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development covering the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014. The Environmental Protection Security Fund collects for activities such as "coal and oil sands, mining operations, landfills, hazardous waste, recyclable projects, quarry activities, waste management facilities, sand and gravel operations and metal production plants", and holds security deposits to "assure satisfactory land reclamation will be carried out according to the Environment Protection and Enhancement Act." When reclamation is completed partial refunds or credits may be made. Alberta's Treasurer administers the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Fund as part of the Consolidated Cash Investment Trust Fund. By March 2012 Fund total cash deposits (with interest), bonds and guarantees were $1,314,392,292 and by March 2013 they were $1,503,038,440. According to the Environment and Parks (then named Environment and Sustainable Resource Development) 2012-2013 report, by 31 March 2014, the only activities that had contributed only in guarantees with no cash or securities collected were those engaged in oil sands development. For example, the Fund had collected $11,647,586.67 in cash and $340,836,116 in guarantees from companies engaged in coal development activities and no cash but $967,585,501.63 in guarantees from companies engaged in oil sands development activities.


Land Compensation Board

''Moved to Municipal Affairs in 2018.''


Land Stewardship Fund

The Alberta Land Stewardship Fund, established in 2010 under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act, and the Alberta Land Trust Grant Program "focuses on conserving ecologically important areas to prevent habitat fragmentation, maintain biodiversity and preserve native landscapes."


Land Use Secretariat


Natural Resources Conservation Board

The Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB), an arms-length agency of the Government of Alberta that reports to Alberta Environment, was established in 1991 under the Natural Resources Conservation Board Act (NRCBA). The NRBC reviews "proposed non-energy natural resource projects."


Surface Rights Board

''Moved to Municipal Affairs in 2018.''


Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD), AER and ERCB

In March 2014 the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) became the single regulator for energy development in Alberta taking over enforcement of environmental laws and issues including environmental and water permits for energy developments, formerly responsibilities of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. Prior to the establishment of the AER, an arms-length corporation, Alberta Environment and the now-defunct Energy Resources Conservation Board conducted investigations separately, but, with the creation of a single regulatory body for energy developments, the Alberta Energy Regulator now conducts investigations and inspections to ensure compliance with all regulatory, environmental, and safety requirements.


Related agencies

Environment and Parks played a significant role in the development of Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures (AITF) which brings together academics, governments and industry to foster innovation. The AITF is a government research agency established in 2010 as a "Provincial Corporation operating under the authority of the Alberta Research and Innovation Act. AITF supports research and innovation activities targeting the development and growth of technology-based sectors in alignment with Government of Alberta priorities." The AITF, the Royal Alberta Museum, the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...
, and the
University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...
jointly run the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI). ESRD consults ABMI reports in regards to enforcement of environmental laws. Data and information on air, water, biodiversity and toxicology used in Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) report was "partially funded through the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM) program, a joint federal-provincial environmental monitoring program established in 2012." The CEO is Stephen Lougheed.


Fish and Wildlife Division

Fish and Wildlife Division includes a number of departments, including Fish & Wildlife Fisheries Management. Fisheries Management alone had a budget of $6.4 million to be used over three years to "help restore flood-affected fisheries and aquatic habitats in southern Alberta." Alberta Fisheries Management Round Table, Alberta's Fish Conservation Strategy, Commercial fishing in Alberta, Fish management plans and Fish Management Zones and area fisheries management Fisheries Management operate under Fisheries Management.


Boreal woodland caribou recovery

Environment and Parks works in collaboration with the Aseniwuche Nation, the Foothills Landscape Management Forum (FLMF), and the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk on projects such as caribou monitoring. Dave Hervieux, Regional Resource Manager, Peace Region, is the woodland caribou management coordinator with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development's fish and wildlife division. "Alberta Environment estimates that the province’s caribou population has declined by nearly two thirds since the 1960s, including the extinction of herds roaming Alberta’s southern slopes. Sixteen herds remain in the province, totaling roughly 3,000 animals." According to the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI), an agency that monitors and reports on
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...
status throughout the province, by 2014 all six herds of caribou, including the threatened boreal and the endangered
mountain caribou A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...
, "have suffered annual rates of decline ranging from 4.6% to 15.2% from 1993 to 2012" in the oil sands region (OSR) as oil and gas production booms in northern Alberta. As these herds in the oil-sands region are "genetically distinct" from other boreal caribou populations, the ABMI report concludes that, "It is therefore unlikely that populations in the (region) will gain new members from caribou populations in other parts of the province." In a
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
article Dawson observed that, "The report comes amid controversy over Alberta's recent sales of oil and gas development leases in areas populated by both boreal and mountain caribou."


Alberta Environment and Kananaskis Country Golf Course flood damage

On 16 July 2014 the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development finalized and signed an agreement with Kan-Alta Golf Management Ltd., a company with alleged connections the provincial government to rebuild the Kananaskis Country Golf Course, as a result of the 2013 Alberta floods damage. The deal "resulted in over $5.4 million" paid to Kan-Alta Golf "to cover business losses and other expenses." During the June 2013 Alberta floods, Kananaskis Country "sustained the most extensive damage in its 36-year history." and 32 of the 36 holes at the Golf Course were damaged. The Kananaskis Country Golf Course was built by the Alberta Government in 1983 as part of economic diversification using money from the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund. In 2011 the facility showed a province wide net economic impact of $14 million, 175 full-time equivalent jobs sustained province wide, a total of $4.4 million federal and $1.9 million provincial and $800,000 local taxes generated. The Alberta government committed $18 million to rebuild the Course and to protect it from future flood damage.


Proposals for provincial parks (new and expanded)

In November 2018, Alberta's provincial government under Premier
Rachel Notley Rachel Anne Notley (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019, and has been the leader of the Opposition since 2019. She sits as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for ...
proposed "four provincial parks, including the Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park, plus four provincial recreation areas and a new public-land-use zone in the area on the eastern slopes of the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
, west of Nordegg." as one way among many of "diversifying Alberta's economy through tourism". The Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park is a proposed
provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to t ...
that would be situated near Rocky Mountain House. The proposed area to be set is "about the size of
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...
" and is the largest of four proposals for "new or expanded" parks.According to a January 7, 2019 '' The Globe and Mail'' article, with the oil industry in the early stages of a recovery following several years of a deep downturn, the Alberta provincial deficit is "projected at $8.8-billion". The proposed region, situated between Banff National Park and
Jasper National Park Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains spanning . It was established as a national park in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its locatio ...
, would provide a vast and critical
wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat (ecology), habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of i ...
for numerous wildlife species, including sensitive species, such as
bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a Salvelinus, char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the "Dolly Varden trout, Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was re ...
—Alberta's provincial fish, wolverine, and grizzly bears, that would extend from
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is border ...
in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...
in the south to the
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
in
Northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories and ...
. According to a January 7, 2019 article in '' The Globe and Mail'', some residents of Rocky Mountain House, a town of 7,000, led by
United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Part ...
(UCP) Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sing ...
(MLA) for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Jason Nixon, oppose the creation of the park. Nixon has made unfounded claims that the plan is a "foreign-funded plot to wall off the back country to Albertans who call the region home". On January 5, 2018, following alleged bullying and intimidation of Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park supporters, Minister Phillips issued a statement announcing that public consultations that were planned for Drayton Valley,
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...
,
Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
, and
Sundre Sundre is a town in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Mountain View County. It is approximately northwest of Calgary on the Cowboy Trail in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Sundre takes its name from a town in Norway, the o ...
, would be cancelled.


Optimizing Alberta Parks

In "Optimizing Alberta Parks" published in March 2020, Parks Alberta announced that in 2020, about a third of the province's parks and protected and recreation areas would be closed or handed over to third parties in a cost-saving measure. In a March 5, 2020 statement entitled "Optimizing Alberta Parks", the Ministry of Environment and Parks under Minister Jason Nixon, announced a cost-saving program that would have an immediate impact on a third of the province's parks and protected and recreation areas in 2020. Citing an annual expense of $86 million and a revenue from these spaces of only $36 million, Nixon said that the UCP government would "fully or partially close" "20 provincial parks" and was "planning to hand over 164 others to third-party managers". The statement also mentioned that the government might potentially sell Crown land. Concerns were raised and Nixon said, "We are not selling any Crown or public land — period", according to a March 5 ''Calgary Herald'' interview. The government listed a 65-hectare plot of land east of Taber in a March 31 auction with a starting bid of $440,000, according to a March 17 ''Global News'' article.


Notes


References

{{Authority control Alberta government departments and agencies
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
Environmental agencies in Canada Environmental organizations based in Alberta