A Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Industry Advisory has been in circulation, in regards to the logging scheduled for June 2011, in the Castle Special Management Area. So far, 23 businesses have signed on to this advisory, in an effort to halt the logging.
The purpose of the advisory is to inform Alberta businesses and prospective businesses to be aware that the land base in the tourism and outdoor recreation sector in Alberta is not secure, even under the pretense of presumed protective designation, such as areas zoned critical wildlife, prime protection (ie. watershed protection) and general recreation. Such lands have to be legislatively protected if businesses want to be certain that these lands won’t be sold for resource development without public notice or consultation, by the Government of Alberta. Presently facing such a threat are local businesses making use of the Castle Special Management Area. These businesses span from the Crowsnest Pass to Lethbridge and beyond. Land areas such as the castle, that are not protected by legislative designation exist all over Alberta, and could also be slated for commercial logging or other such development, thus drastically impacting the natural settings that local tourism and outdoor recreation businesses rely on for their livelihoods.
You can assist the businesses that are issuing the attached Tourism & Outdoor Recreation Industry Advisory regarding Alberta, by:
- Signing onto the advisory, if your are also an Alberta tourism or recreation business.
- Asking Premier Stelmach premier@gov.ab.ca to stop the pending block-cut (commonly called clear-cut) logging in the Castle Special Place / Special Management Area.
- Asking Premier Stelmach to generally provide more certainty of protection for the natural landscapes that the tourism and recreation industry depend upon.
Click here for a copy of the Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Industry Advisory.
Stop Castle Logging 