Joint Feedback on the Draft South Athabasca Sub-regional Plan

April 10, 2026

• •
• •
• •

• Boreal Forest
• Caribou
• Energy
• Forests
• Land Use
• Oil Sands
• Species at Risk

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Northern Alberta, Alberta Wilderness Association, Nature Alberta and the Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society wrote to the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas to provide feedback on the Draft South Athabasca Sub-regional Plan (SASRP).

The sub-regional planning process was initiated to meet legal obligations to recover woodland caribou to self-sustaining levels across Alberta, as outlined in the 2020 Canada-Alberta Conservation Agreement under Section 11 of the Species at Risk Act. While the agreement expired in October of 2025, its intent remains fundamental. The draft SASRP represents a clear departure from these commitments. It focuses almost exclusively on providing extensive allowances for industrial growth and intensification, while failing to outline concrete, measurable actions to achieve caribou conservation and recovery or show consideration for the planning region’s ecological integrity. In particular, the draft plan does not present a commitment or pathway to meet minimum habitat requirements for species at risk.

Our main concerns are that the draft SASRP:

• Allows for industrial disturbance that will make it impossible to reach the minimum 65% undisturbed caribou critical habitat threshold identified as necessary for boreal woodland caribou survival and recovery will not be possible during the time period projected in the plan.
• Will prevent restoring or maintaining the mature and old forests that make up the biophysical critical habitat that boreal woodland caribou need to survive and recover.
• Enables expanded oil and gas development, including in-situ projects at the expense of the environment while relying on vague references to long-term restoration and water management, which are uncertain and unenforceable.
• Fails to manage cumulative effects, one of the main purposes of land-use planning, resulting in increased disturbance footprint rather than reducing it.
• Does not limit access or disturbance in the areas of highest industrial activity, further threatening wildlife and intact landscapes.
• Lacks meaningful constraints or management provisions for developing in-situ oilsands leases.
• Lacks clear and enforceable habitat and landscape targets.
• The described rate for restoration and densities for new developments is not associated with ecological rationale nor meaningful landscape targets. The plan requires clear and enforceable habitat and landscape targets, including meaningful management of new disturbance and restoration timelines.
• Ultimately, the SASRP will further impede caribou recovery and degrade the environmental condition of the region.

Read our joint feedback on the Draft South Athabasca Sub-Regional Plan.