Alberta Land Stewardship Act


Pixabay

In order for the province to create and implement the regional plans already discussed earlier in the lesson, the Alberta Land Stewardship Act was created in 2009.

In general, the Alberta Land Stewardship Act states the vision and objectives for that region; it may also outline land-use policies, benchmarks, and actions to be taken. In this way, it creates more certainty for industry to plan their own activities and investments because the Alberta Land Stewardship Act will take priority over any other provincial legislation or plans.  When regional plans are in place, industry will know how their activities fit within that plan.


Click each collapsible row to view more information.

The purposes of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) will be more specifically stated in the next parts of this unit. For now, here are the four major goals of the Act, simply stated:

  • To identify Alberta's economic, environmental, and social objectives pertaining to the use of our forests.
  • To provide a plan to meet the forest-use needs of future generations of all people.
  • To coordinate the decisions made by planners concerning people, resources, and environment.
  • To respond to cumulative effects of human activity on our forests so as to enable sustainable development.


Keeping in mind what you have learned earlier in the lesson (example, Alberta's Land-use Framework), it is important to understand the following four important functions of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act and its accompanying regulations:

  • It establishes the legislative foundation for the Land-use Framework.
  • It provides authority for the development and approval of Alberta's seven regional plans.
  • It establishes a Land-use Secretariat to support the development and implementation of the regional plans.
  • It has an impact on municipal government planning and plans conducted by Forest Management Agreement holders.

The purposes of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) are explicitly stated within subsection (2) of the Act, and are quoted here:

  • To provide a means by which the Government can give direction and provide leadership in identifying the objectives of the province of Alberta, including economic, environmental and social objectives.
  • To provide a means to plan for the future, recognizing the need to manage activity to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of current and future generations of Albertans, including Aboriginal peoples.
  • To provide for the co-ordination of decisions by decision makers concerning land, species, human settlement, natural resources and the environment.
  • To create legislation and policy that enable sustainable development by taking account of and responding to the cumulative effect of human endeavour and other events.

Land stewardship reduces our environmental footprint.
Pixabay


The Alberta Land Stewardship Act respects the property rights of individual land owners.
Pixabay
The Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) applies to all public and privately-owned land in the province, forested or otherwise. Its scope is far-reaching in nature, affecting many other provincial laws. No fewer than 27 of Alberta's legislative acts pertaining to its lands and natural resources were amended to support it.

Regarding privately-owned land, the Alberta Land Stewardship Act supports the strategies in the Land-use Framework: that we all share responsibility for the management of our lands and that we be good stewards of our land and natural resources. However, this does not mean that Alberta's government can act as it likes when dealing with private lands. The Alberta Land Stewardship Act clearly states that:

"In carrying out the purposes of this Act as specified in subsection (2), the Government must respect the property and other rights of individuals and must not infringe on those rights except with due process of law and to the extent necessary for the overall greater public interest."

Additionally, the Alberta Land Stewardship Act’s accompanying stewardship regulations provide clear rules regarding the implementation of regional plans, and make it clear that the government will always respect all existing property rights.

Private landowners have various supports available to them to help restore and protect Canada’s land and water, such as Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, etc.

Previously in the lesson, you learned that, under the Land-use Framework, the Alberta government has created seven land-use regions based on seven watershed regions within the province. For each of these regions, the Alberta Land Stewardship Act stipulates that a land-use plan will be developed. Throughout the development of each plan, there will be consultation with the public, stakeholders, and Indigenous peoples.

In recognition of the unique resources, landscape, and priorities of each region, each plan will set out regional land-use objectives and provide decision-making guidelines pertinent to that particular region; for example, recreational land-use might be a higher priority for forested lands than for agricultural lands.

Government of Alberta


Figure 1
WOLF/Integrated Resource Management
Wildlife requirements, including habitat, must be considered in regional plans where needed. Note the development in Figure 1; care has been taken to allow fish to pass through the barrier.

In addition, the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute monitors more than 2,000 species and habitats, providing information for decision-making about land-use planning.

Pixabay




Forest Facts

You certainly know that homes are made from wood products, but did you know that there are many household items that are also made from wood products?

Click on each picture to discover whether it is made from wood products.

Pop-up title Aspirin contains wood products.

Salicin or Salycitic Acid: A pain-relieving compound called Salicin can be found in Willow Bark. This was often harvested and used by Aboriginal peoples; today, Salicin can be produced in labs and is found in Aspirin.

Cellulose: Cellulose is a combination of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen that make up a plant cell wall. Cellulose is added to medicines, like Aspirin, as a filler to deliver small doses of medicine in pill form.
Asprin Aspirin contains wood products.

Salicin or Salycitic Acid: A pain-relieving compound called Salicin can be found in Willow Bark. This was often harvested and used by Aboriginal peoples; today, Salicin can be produced in labs and is found in Aspirin.

Cellulose: Cellulose is a combination of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen that make up a plant cell wall. Cellulose is added to medicines, like Aspirin, as a filler to deliver small doses of medicine in pill form.

Pop-up title Crayons contain wood products. 
Carnauba: Many crayons are either partially or entirely made from carnauba wax. This wax is collected from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm tree.

Crayons Crayons contain wood products.

Carnauba: Many crayons are either partially or entirely made from carnauba wax. This wax is collected from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm tree.
Pop-up title Crayons contain wood products. 
Carnauba: Many crayons are either partially or entirely made from carnauba wax. This wax is collected from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm tree.

Towels Towels contain wood products.

Rayon: Some towels are a material called Rayon, which is made from wood cellulose. Rayon is soft and has high absorbency, which allows it to hold a significant amount of liquid while maintaining its texture and shape. 

Images courtesy of Work Wild, www.workwild.ca