Motives of provincial survey questioned by critics [Video]

Conservation groups are raising concerns about an online survey that will be used to inform strategy on the Alberta government’s nature policy.

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative said the online engagement missed an opportunity to potentially increase nature space in the province.

Tara Russell, program director for CPAWS Northern Alberta, said she was worried creating a nature strategy based on this survey would mostly just highlight ongoing government efforts.

“To be frank, the current activities that we do have going on in the province aren’t good enough at this point, and we are seeing this pretty rapid decline in natural conditions and species populations across the province,” Russell said.

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She pointed to one question on where the province is making progress in terms of conserving, managing and restoring nature. Among the options were continuing to build …