Is Alberta going to help save woodland caribou?

News stories today are confirming that the terms of reference provided by the Alberta Cabinet to the first Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) established under its new Land Use Framework direct the RAC to identify in excess of 20% protection for the Lower Athabaska. This decision breaks a deadlock on the establishment of new protected areas in Alberta and opens up the likelihood that the advice of the Woodland Caribou biologists - the Alberta Caribou Committee -will be heeded. Could Alberta be the first province to implement new protected areas to respond the new science of Woodland Caribou critical habitat? Is it snowing anywhere unlikely?

Read early news coverage, Alberta opens door to wilderness conservation in oilsands region