Posts

How Do UCP Environmental Policies Stack Up?

By Rick Schneider / 10 April 2023

BY RICHARD SCHNEIDER

One thing almost all Albertans will agree on is that it’s important to take good care of our environment, both for our own well-being and for the generations that will follow. So how are we doing on the environmental protection front? In this article we will review how past and present governments have sought to balance resource development with environmental protection.

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Parks Canada Review

By Rick Schneider / 1 February 2023

Parks Canada wants to hear from you. The Minister’s Round Table on national parks is now soliciting feedback on how parks are being managed. Be sure to lend your voice to this discussion.

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The High Cost of Freedom

By Rick Schneider / 14 January 2023

BY RICHARD SCHNEIDER

Premier Danielle Smith’s sovereignty legislation has nothing to do with establishing Alberta’s “rightful” place in Confederation. It is simply a unilateral decision to ignore federal rules the premier doesn’t like. The flaw in Premier Smith’s reasoning is that the rules she is proposing to ignore are not Ottawa’s rules. They are Canadian rules. Most of them involve environmental protection, which is something Albertans value highly.

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Delta Dawn with the Wolves of Wood Buffalo National Park

By Rick Schneider / 13 January 2023

BY ERIN MCCLOSKEY

Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922 to protect what remained of Canada’s wood bison. Today, exactly 100 years later, the park supports a population of approximately 3,000 bison, which coexist alongside their natural predator, the wolf. The core range of the park is quite possibly the only place where bison are wolves’ primary prey.

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Exploring the Amazing World of Ants

By Rick Schneider / 13 January 2023

BY JAMES GLASIER

Ants are an integral and ever-present part of Alberta landscapes. Besides being resilient, ants are diverse, numerous, and ecologically important. In this article we take a deep dive into the ants of Alberta.

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The Recovery of Trumpeter Swans in Alberta

By Rick Schneider / 12 January 2023

BY NICK CARTER

Historically, trumpeter swans were found throughout Alberta. But by the early 1900s, the species was near extinction, mainly because of overhunting. Through concerted conservation efforts, the population is now well on its way to recovery – an amazing conservation success story.

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Citizen Scientists Come to the Aid of the Tenacious Franklin’s Ground Squirrel

By Rick Schneider / 11 January 2023

BY GILLIAN CHOW-FRASER AND RICHARD SCHNEIDER

In Alberta, the status of Franklin’s ground squirrel has still not been determined. The provincial government maintains that there is not enough information to say whether the population is stable or imperiled. In the spring of 2022, Nature Alberta initiated a citizen science project to help fill some of the data gaps. The results are presented here.

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The View From the Water

By Rick Schneider / 4 January 2023

Surprisingly for a land-locked province, much of Alberta is only easily accessible by water. Paddling offers views of wildlife, native plants, and spectacular scenery that even backcountry hikers or cyclists don’t get to see.

Read tips for nature-based paddling by well-known educator, Mark Lund.

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Common Lichens of Edmonton

By Rick Schneider / 11 December 2022

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Seeing Red Over Red Tape Reduction

By Rick Schneider / 5 September 2022

BY LORNE FITCH

Founded in political ideology, the provincial government’s current red tape reduction efforts have created a boondoggle of confusion, weakened protections, and, ironically, more red tape. The red tape being “reduced” hobbles land-use protection on public land, the land held in trust for Albertans.

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