The province wants to come up with land-use and planning policies with caribou populations in mind. Environment Minister, Jason Nixon, formed three sub-regional caribou task forces. The Bistcho Lake committee will be chaired by Peace River M.L.A. Dan Williams. “From LaCrete, Fort Vermillion, Zama City, Rainbow Lake, all the way south to Peace River and area, it’s very important to find a solution that integrates a healthy population of caribou. We also have to consider the impacts it will have on our economy and recreation and future land uses,” said Williams.
Nixon also announced the creation of task forces in the Cold Lake and West-Central Alberta as well. Nixon says there are 15 sub-regions and this project will allow the government to better prepare policies for the other regions. “We’ll see based on how well those (these three) go this year to determine timelines for the remaining 12 regions.”
The Bistcho Lake task force will have 15 members including First Nation’s leaders, municipal politicians as well as representatives from the private sector. The government says it hopes the Northwestern sub-region will present its findings by the summer. Click here to see a list of task force members. Click here to see the sub-regional map.
