ED STRUZIK, JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Edmonton, The Edmonton Journal, February 16, 1999
If linked to Wood Buffalo National Park, the proposed site would make up one of the largest wilderness areas in the world. But some resource firms have other plans
A forestry company wants the Alberta government to create what could be the largest Special Place wilderness area in the province.
Remote and largely unknown, the Birch Wabasca region in the far north has become a rare example of co-operation between environmental groups and multi national forestry corporation.
The trouble is that petroleum, diamond and other timber firms have moved in and are arguing for smaller protected zones.
Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Ltd. first proposed the Liege Valley region as a protected area of about 1,400 sq km under the province’s Special Places program about four years ago.
The Liege Valley is within Al Pac’s forest management area but environmental groups are hoping for even a larger area – 8,000 sq km joining Wood Buffalo National Park to the north.
Together with the national park, the wilderness could be one of the largest in the world, the groups say.
They point to the Birch Wabasca as an area with extensive lakes, rivers, woodland caribou habitat and plant diversity.
Al Pac isn’t opposed to a large protected area but wants one that would keep out petroleum and other industrial interests, says Brent Rabik, Al Pac’s science environment co-ordinator.
That’s because the company wants to set aside an undisturbed, pristine "benchmark" region that could be compared to logged areas for environmental research, Rabik says.
NO NOTICE FOR CUTTING
As matters stand, petroleum companies can apply for and quickly receive permits that allow them to cut seismic lines through forested areas without notifying Al Pac or any other company.
"Right now, you can have oil and gas come in within 10 days," Rabik ;notes.
"The companies can cut seismic one day and the next day they’re out."
That could interfere with any research projects in what should be undisturbed wilderness, he says.
"We understand the need for large areas where industrial activities are precluded."
However, some petroleum and diamond exploration companies have moved into the region.
It’s a situation that the provincial government has allowed to develop as a way of creating conflict that could block protection, says environmentalist Peter Lee.
"When Al Pac first proposed the Liege area, there were hardly any oil and gas dispositions," says Lee, Alberta regional director of World Wildlife Fund Canada.
That was about four years ago, Lee says, after which the province issued permits that could expand industrial activity in the region.
If the government had refused the permits when Al Pac first proposed the area, the current conflicts wouldn’t have arisen, Lee says.
Even the organization representing oil and gas firms believes these kinds of industry conflicts could have been minimized if the province had set up a co-ordinated planning process.
"The absence of land use planning has hampered Special Places," says David Luff, vice president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
That kind of planning would have allowed petroleum, forestry and other industries to sit down together to help determine where protected areas should be considered, Luff says.
IMPACT OF DIAMOND MINE
But diamond explorer Don Dabbs says preventing industrial activities in huge proposed protected areas would severely reduce economic opportunities.
"It would be the same as saying in 1947 that the whole Devon formation area should be set aside as a park," says Dabbs, a director of Birch Mountain Resources Ltd.
The Devon formation was where the first major oil well of the post war era was found near Leduc.
"One diamond mine occupies a very small area but its economic impact would be as great as another Suncor oil sands project," Dabbs says.
His Calgary company is exploring for diamonds in the Birch Mountain region, an area he says shows promise.
Dabbs believes some areas of the mountains need protection.
"There are magnificent places there." But the province should only consider areas dealing in hundreds of square kilometres rather than thousands, he says.
Also interested in the Birch Mountains area is Northlands Forest Products of Fort McMurray, a company that wants to expand its logging operations for a sawmill.
The company is proposing a forest management area right next to Wood Buffalo National Park, says Garry Ehrentraut, Northlands’ woodlands manager.
The company doesn’t support the large area proposed by environmental groups because it would intrude into the logging that Northlands wants, he notes.
"It’s just too much land base, and it duplicates what’s occurring in Wood Buffalo."
There are other conflicts in the Birch Wabasca, however – notably between petroleum firms and First Nations groups.
Indian bands have started court action demanding that the provincial government consult extensively with them before approving industrial activity in the region.
The Northern Alberta Athabasca Tribal Council has filed a lawsuit against Rio Alto Exploration Ltd., Environment Minister Ty Lund and Energy Minister Steve West because of its concerns over that activity.
"There is activity that limits the ability of our people to hunt and trap in that area," says Jim Boucher, chair of the council and chief of the Fort McKay First Nations band.
Aboriginals have so far bowed out of the Special Places process because they feel it isn’t addressing their needs, Boucher adds in an interview.
But something needs to be done to preserver wilderness areas that maintain food sources for natives, says the chief of the 500 member band.
The Birch Wabasca Special Place proposal is in an early stage of consideration.
While it has been recommended as a protected area by a provincial co-ordinating committee, local municipalities are still to appoint a local committee that will hear from interested groups and individuals.
Government officials are withholding comment on the area while it is being reviewed by Premier Ralph Klein’s office.