Unit 2 - Alberta's Forest Land Issues
Access Management
When thinking about access management on Alberta’s forest land, you might think about some of the more recent issues involving the use of ATVs or quads on public land.
Access management involves much more than this one issue, and fortunately the Alberta government has policies and legislation to deal with the issue of access management.
Access management involves much more than this one issue, and fortunately the Alberta government has policies and legislation to deal with the issue of access management.
Image Source: Pixabay
Image Source: Pixabay
The Alberta government defines access management as: “The placement, management and reclamation of linear infrastructures (i.e., roads) and the associated impacts arising from the use of that infrastructure by industry and all other public groups.”
In other words, access management involves a process of examining roads, oil and gas pipelines, seismic lines, transmission lines, etc., and how they will affect the forest land in Alberta.
When new developments in a forested area begin, road access is needed . Roads increase the amount of human activity but also alters such things as:
- The physical environment, such as soil density, water content, stream crossings, etc.
- The chemical environment of soils and water.
- The plants and animals who make water their home; erosion, sediment, and chemicals are all a threat to aquatic plants and animals.
- Wildlife habitat; animals can be killed by construction equipment and vehicles with the increased traffic. Wildlife may need to change their location to avoid this disruption to their home ranges.
- The spread of non-native plants, animals and other organisms; vehicles can alter habitat, disturb the soil, remove the forest cover, transport seeds, etc. which can increase the dispersal of exotic and non-native plants, insects, and diseases.
Historically, resource development in Alberta was managed in a “reactive” manner, meaning there was no plan in place ahead of the development. This often caused unnecessary disturbances, and, in fact, many different companies created their own roads without consulting each other.
A collaborative approach to access management by industry, offers many advantages, such as reduced costs, sharing of inventory and other information, better management, avoiding duplication, sharing new knowledge and innovation ideas, less risk, and better government relations.
Land use plans, which include access management plans, are started as early as possible to ensure that public lands are managed according to provincial government laws, regulations and policies.
One successful access management plan is the Berland Smoky Regional Access Development Plan 2011 (BSRAD Plan); this plan is a working example of access management because of its success in recruiting participation from industry, government, research agencies, public groups, and others.
You don’t need to read the Berland Smoky Reclamation Plan in its entirety, but a brief review of the plan will give you an idea of the details covered in such a plan.