| Alberta has 24 plant and animal species that are at risk of extinction and 298 species that may be at risk of future extinction according to a new provincial wildlife status report. Fifty-six per cent of wildlife in the province is considered secure, which means at no risk of becoming extinct. Habitat loss due to industrial activity such as forestry, agriculture and oil and gas, are common reasons listed for species decline.
Animals considered to be at risk of extinction include the trumpeter swan, greater sage-grouse, burrowing owl, lake sturgeon, Ord’s kangaroo rat, swift fox and woodland caribou. Grizzly bears, long-tailed weasels and prairie rattlesnakes are listed as "may be at risk" of extinction.
Ted Morton, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, says in a media release the report is "proof positive" that "Alberta’s co-operative approach to conservation is working."
Alberta environmentalists aren’t convinced. Cliff Wallis, an environmental consultant and former president of the Alberta Wilderness Association, says the province isn’t doing enough to protect the habitat of species at risk.
"What we can say is the majority of the boreal forest is fragmented or degraded in some way. We can say we’ve lost 75 to 90 per cent of the grasslands, depending on what region you’re talking about. I don’t feel very good about things and just because species haven’t stepped off the edge, if we’ve lost 90 per cent of them, to me that’s a huge concern," says Wallis.
"The problem is there’s more species being added to the list and very little money and action to deal with it."
Wallis says Alberta needs more protected areas and conservation corridors that connect the protected areas so animals can safely travel between them. There also needs to be more government funding to implement species recovery plans, he says.
"I always get nervous when governments come out and pat themselves on the back and say what a wonderful job we’re doing because that means there’s no commitment or concern about the real dangers facing our ecosystems," says Wallis. "The response from the Alberta government has been no plan, more development and destruction of habitat."
Nigel Douglas, Alberta Wilderness Association conservation specialist, agrees that habitat protection for species at risk is inadequate.
"There’s an incredible reluctance to do anything to protect wildlife habitat," he says. "The best example for me is the woodland caribou where we have a caribou recovery team. We have a caribou recovery plan and yet we’re still logging caribou habitat. We’re still selling oil and gas leases in habitat of caribou herds which are identified as being at risk of extirpation."
Douglas is also concerned about the status of grizzly bears. The province will soon release new grizzly population surveys and Douglas has been hearing rumours that the numbers are down.
Douglas says Alberta also needs to create new endangered species legislation with teeth.
"What we’ve got in Alberta is the Wildlife Act, which is quite an old piece of legislation which is basically to do with allocation of wildlife for hunting," he says. "We still treat wildlife as another resource to be exploited." |
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