Greater Sage Grouse

The population of the greater sage grouse has been dwindling in Alberta since the 1960s. The Progressive Conservative government was first elected to the Alberta Legislature in 1971. The PCs have had over 40 uninterrupted years of governance to deal with the issue of declining sage grouse population and nothing has been done. Only when the federal government took action by issuing an emergency protection order under the federal Species at Risk Act did the province take notice. Because of this PC inaction, the emergency protection order threatens the economic well-being of ranchers, local oil and gas companies, and our communities.

All of Alberta’s species must be protected, and the best way to protect these species is by taking advantage of years of expertise in rangeland management and the economic growth of the region. Ranchers are the greatest protectors of the sage grouse as they are the best stewards of our heritage grassland. Oil and gas can play a part as well as by executing sound management plans with the returns from activity. Instead of working with these groups to protect the sage grouse population, the provincial government is now backpedaling, reacting to the measures taken by the federal government. This backpedaling will cost ranchers $200 million over the next 20 to 30 years, and oil and gas the same amount in less than 10 years.

In the preparation of the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan, the Regional Advisory Council called for a 4,200-square-kilometre expansion of conservation area in Cypress-Medicine. This expansion did not make it into the final draft of the plan but will be placed by default by the emergency protection order—a result I believe favored by the Minister. The PCs have had long enough to address this problem.

On the other side of the aisle, my Wildrose colleagues and I have always put property rights at the forefront of conversation.  The uncertainty and potential economic loss for our area caused by the protection order need to be addressed, and rather than an approach that is forced down from the top governmental bodies, the solutions need to come from the constituents.  The ranchers and local people are the best stewards of the land.  I know that some good discussions have already happened at the local level, and in the coming weeks, I look forward to listening to local suggestions, and ensuring that the hard-working people around our area will not suffer because of PC government inaction.