The business plan for the three years commencing April 1, 2006 was prepared under my direction in accordance with the Government Accountability Act and the government's accounting policies. All of the government's policy decisions as of February 23, 2006 with material economic or fiscal implications of which I am aware have been considered in preparing the business plan.

The Ministry's priorities outlined in the business plan were developed in the context of the government's business and fiscal plans. I am committed to achieving the planned results laid out in this business plan.

[Original Signed]

David Coutts, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development
February 28, 2006

THE MINISTRY

Alberta's lands, forests, fish and wildlife benefit present and future Albertans.

Sustainable Resource Development encourages balanced and responsible use of Alberta's natural resources through the application of leading practices in management, science, and stewardship.

Maintaining Alberta's dynamic economy over the long term is the direct result of the sustainable management of the province's natural resources. This management requires balance among the environmental, economic and social benefits that Albertans receive from these resources. Viewing natural resources and environment as inter-related parts of a system is key to achieving success in sustainable resource management.

Challenges influencing the strategic direction of the Ministry include:

• Alberta's Busy Landscape: A broad… consensus exists that the once-open frontier has closed, that Alberta's finite land base and its stock of natural capital are under mounting pressure from population growth and economic development and that the pressure will only intensify in the years to come.¹

  Resource development will continue to be a vital part of the Alberta economy into the foreseeable future. To support their economic viability and growth, many industry sectors (oil and gas, forestry, agriculture, tourism) require increasing and secure access to public land and the associated natural resources. At the same time, the public has an interest in accessing public land for a spectrum of non-consumptive and consumptive (such as fishing and hunting) recreational activities.

  Alberta's current land use policies were developed in a period of resource abundance. Current growth trends in industry sectors and in Alberta's population put considerable pressures on the finite public resources challenging the Ministry's ability to reach and support informed, integrated resource management decisions. The forecast for continued growth has created a need for the Government of Alberta to adapt the province's land use framework. This will provide the tools to resolve an increasing and often conflicting competition for the allocation and use of public lands, and to value natural resources according to their ecological, social and economic contributions to Alberta.

• Natural Environmental Trends: Sustainable Resource Development is constantly challenged to adjust its programs and management strategies to address changing environmental conditions over which the Ministry has little or no control. Recent flooding across the province has affected fish and wildlife populations and their natural communities. The severity of pest outbreaks such as mountain pine beetle, spruce budworm, and grasshoppers are dependent on climate variability and will have significant impact on how the Ministry manages the landscape.
  A significant natural challenge is the mountain pine beetle, the most destructive insect pest of mature pine forests in North America. Mature pine forests along the eastern slopes, especially by the Alberta/British Columbia and Alberta/United States borders, are most vulnerable to mountain pine beetle attack. The mountain pine beetle's impact has become a landscape issue, extending into the areas of natural resource industry, biodiversity, watersheds, wildfire management and public land use. In addition to infesting the lodge pole pine, there is a significant probability that, without a major effort to control and mitigate the entry of the mountain pine beetle into the province, the insect could attack other conifer species (i.e., jack pine) and spread across the country into Eastern Canada.

• Resource Sector Sustainability: Natural resource industries require regulatory regimes to ensure reliable and fair market access. A significant trend in the world marketplace has been the requirement for resource industries to demonstrate the sustainability of their business practices. Within the forest sector, this trend has translated into requirements for certification that demonstrate sustainable forest management practices. A challenge for the Ministry is to ensure that its policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks support and facilitate progress to ensure natural resource industry sustainability. These efforts should capture the principle of stakeholder engagement and provide information about how companies and communities can work together to design successful and mutually beneficial projects.

Arising from these challenges are opportunities to demonstrate leadership in managing Alberta's public natural resources to support vibrant communities, competitive industry, and a healthy environment.

Opportunities that Sustainable Resource Development will explore in 2006-09 include:

• Shared Outcomes: Sustainable Resource Development, in co-operation with Alberta Energy and Alberta Environment, will implement the Sustainable Resource and Environmental Management Framework to achieve government-wide sustainable resource and environmental management outcomes. Innovative partnerships, processes and tools will be identified to deliver the actions that best contribute to the desired outcomes and objectives of sustainable resource management.
• Integrated Policies, Standards, Information Systems and Responsibility: Through the use of integrated management approaches like the Sustainable Resource and Environmental Management Framework, Sustainable Resource Development will:
  • minimize the industrial footprint on the landscape, support future resource-based opportunities, and maintain ecological integrity and biodiversity;
  • harmonize sustainable resource and environmental management standards that use an integrated cross-ministry approach and a formalized stakeholder consultation process;
  • provide environmental and resource information systems within government and with external information providers that enable easy access to data and information required across government by industry, stakeholders and the public; and
  • assign responsibility, authority and accountability for the full lifecycle of each natural resource project/activity to a single regulator.
• Public Education and Outreach: Sustainable Resource Development will pursue an outreach program to provide Alberta's youth, educators, resource sector clients, the media and the general public with information on sustainable and responsible resource management and use practices, Ministry programs, and changes in legislative requirements.

¹ Canada West Foundation, Managing Prosperity: Developing a Land Use Framework for Alberta, July 2005

A provincial Land Use Framework will be developed with a new approach to land management that allows the government to ensure that the province's land base is used as effectively as possible, recognizing traditional and different possible users, for the benefit of all Albertans.

The framework will achieve outcome-based management systems, integrated sustainable resource and environmental management policies, and streamlined regulatory processes. Key components of the framework include:

Resource Information Systems – Integrate environmental and resource information systems to enable easy access to data and information required across government by industry, stakeholders, and the public.

Integrated Land Management – Develop and implement policies, guidelines and practices that work towards minimizing the industrial, commercial and recreational footprint on public lands.

The Ministry will enhance its promotion of a stewardship ethic with partners, shareholders and industry through public education and outreach programs.

Alberta's Rural Development Strategy will provide a framework for initiatives, programs and policies that will help sustain the province's rural communities. The Ministry will work to maintain or improve Alberta's air, water and soil for the well-being of current and future generations through essential policy, legislation, information and services related to soil conservation, water quality, range management, climate change, and biodiversity.

Alberta's natural advantage will be maintained through the development of an Alberta approach to biodiversity and endangered species management.

The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development delivers four core businesses. The Department of Sustainable Resource Development is responsible for three core businesses: Lands, Forests, and Fish and Wildlife. These three core businesses are delivered through the divisions of Forest Protection, Fish and Wildlife, Public Lands and Forests, and Strategic Forestry Initiatives, with support from Strategic Corporate Services, Policy and Planning, Human Resources, and Communications.

Core Business 1, Lands, integrates leading planning and management practices to develop common goals for the use of Alberta's public lands that cross multiple stakeholders and demands. This "place-based" stewardship approach to natural resource management combines the efforts of other ministries toward achieving the goal of sustaining the benefits Albertans receive from their natural resources.

Core Business 2, Forests, ensures the multiple benefits received from the province's forests are realized by utilizing a combination of leading forest management, forest wildfire protection and forest industry practices to provide leadership and oversight in the management of Alberta's forests.

Core Business 3, Fish and Wildlife, manages fish and wildlife species based on the best available science and integrated decision-making processes that generate new information for informed, future decision-making. The sound stewardship of fish and wildlife resources facilitates consumptive (fishing and hunting) and non-consumptive recreational opportunities compatible with healthy, diverse fish and wildlife populations.

Core Business 4, Land, Access and Compensation Boards, is the purview of the Ministry's three boards, which are guided by specific legislation that provide them with their mandates. While these boards report to the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, they make their formal decisions independently, in accordance with their governing legislation. The Natural Resources Conservation Board conducts independent public reviews of projects that may affect the natural resources of Alberta and also regulates new or expanding confined feeding operations. The Surface Rights Board conducts hearings when an operator and a landowner or an occupant fail to reach an agreement regarding entry or compensation related to resource activity on privately owned or occupied public lands. The Land Compensation Board is responsible for policies and procedures for situations where a landowner's property is expropriated by a public authority.

Alberta's public lands are managed to optimize their current and long-term economic, environmental and social values within the context of sound resource management decision-making to facilitate the optimum balance of the multiple activities occurring on it. Activities include energy development, forestry, recreation and other uses.

1.1 Provide an integrated, balanced approach to land use through a land management policy, legislative and regulatory framework that optimizes the benefits Albertans receive from these resources.

1.2 Develop and implement policies, guidelines and practices that mitigate the footprint of industrial and commercial development on public land.

1.3 Encourage Albertans in leading practices in stewardship on Alberta's public lands and rangelands through education, outreach and monitoring.

1.4 Ensure dispositions for the use of public lands are issued in a timely, effective manner with the appropriate and relevant conditions.

1.5 Monitor existing dispositions to ensure the sustainability of public resources for other users.

1.6 Provide an efficient and effective information management system for dispositions on public lands.

1.7 Ensure that Alberta's livestock industry has access to long-term, secure public rangeland grazing.

1.8 Support sustainable range management practices and decisions through coordinated inventories, knowledge transfer and applied research programs.

Wildfire management protects the multiple benefits received from forests within the Forest Protection Area of the province by working cooperatively with municipalities, industry, and other stakeholders; supporting outreach programs that promote responsible forest management; and using the best science and technology available to prevent and suppress wildfires.

2.1 Provide a preparedness framework that enables the province to respond to wildfires in the Forest Protection Area of the province. Key elements of the framework include effective policies, readiness, training, prevention, detection and early response.

2.2 Reduce the risk and damage caused by wildfires by incorporating FireSmart practices and principles in cooperation with the public, industry and local governments.

2.3 Respond to wildfires through a management regime that quickly contains and suppresses wildfires within the Forest Protection Area to minimize related losses.

2.4 Encourage wildfire prevention in Alberta's forests through education, outreach and monitoring.

The multiple benefits received from the province's forests and forest landscapes are protected by collaborating with stakeholders; supporting education and outreach programs that promote responsible use and effective management; and utilizing leading policy, regulation, legislation and science.

3.1 Provide a clear, balanced approach to forest and forest landscape management through a policy, legislative and regulatory framework that optimizes the benefits Albertans receive from forests and forest lands.

3.2 Manage infestations of insects, disease and weed pests in Alberta's forests through effective detection and management strategies that recognize shared responsibility with industry, and municipal and federal governments.

3.3 Ensure sustainable forest management through adaptive forest management planning and practices by government and industry, coupled with appropriate compliance, assurance and reporting mechanisms.

3.4 Encourage leading practices in stewardship in Alberta's forests through education, outreach and monitoring.

The Ministry effectively manages Alberta's forest issues and strategic initiatives, including handling trade matters, finalizing the strategy for the remaining unallocated timber in the province, and tenure renewal. A strong commitment to strong, healthy Alberta communities is demonstrated through the promotion of existing efforts and pursuing new opportunities for sustainable economic growth within the forest sector.

4.1 Support the forest industry with increasing knowledge and research capacity required to expand opportunities for value-added processing.

4.2 Work with International and Intergovernmental Relations and other jurisdictions to resolve the softwood lumber trade dispute.

4.3 Ensure Albertans receive an economic return for use of fibre produced on forested public lands that is consistent with the valuation of the resources.

Alberta's fish and wildlife resources and natural communities are conserved, restored and enhanced for the benefit of current and future generations through a comprehensive set of strategies for managing the province’s aquatic and terrestrial environments.

5.1 Provide a clear, balanced approach to fish and wildlife management through a policy, legislative and regulatory framework that optimizes the benefits Albertans receive from these resources.

5.2 Ensure Albertans receive benefits from consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wild species.

5.3 Encourage leading practices in habitat conservation, maintain up-to-date management plans and implement species-at-risk initiatives through expanded partnerships with conservation agencies, industries, government and academia.

5.4 Maintain high levels of compliance and ensure timely and effective responses to non-compliance with fish and wildlife legislation by delivering appropriate public education and outreach, prevention and enforcement programs and monitoring the use of fish and wildlife resources.

5.5 Minimize adverse human-wildlife interactions resulting in threats to human safety or property damage by providing assistance and information to landowners and the general public.

5.6 Detect, diminish and manage threats from wildlife diseases and invasive alien species through collaborative mechanisms with appropriate stakeholders.

5.7 Consult Albertans on biodiversity as part of the Land Use Framework.

5.8 Maintain and protect the province's aquatic ecosystems by delivering the Ministry's commitment to Water for Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability.

The Natural Resources Conservation Board reviews proposed, major, non-energy, natural resource-related projects under the Natural Resources Conservation Board Act to ensure that the social, economic and environmental needs of the public are addressed. The Board also regulates confined feeding operations under the Agricultural Operation Practices Act by reviewing applications, ensuring compliance with the Act and permit conditions, and conducting appeals of decisions issued at the operational level.

The Surface Rights Board is an arbitration board authorized to allow entry on private and public land for energy activities. The board also sets the compensation payable by the energy company to the persons affected by the entry.

The Land Compensation Board is an arbitration board authorized to determine the amount of compensation payable to a landowner or a tenant whose land is taken by an authority such as a municipality or the province for public works or projects.

6.1 Ensure resources are available to undertake Natural Resources Conservation Board Act reviews in a timely fashion.

6.2 Support an efficient process by enhancing communications with stakeholders to ensure all participants understand the Natural Resources Conservation Board Act review process.

6.3 Improve the Natural Resources Conservation Board Act review process though solicited feedback.

6.4 Facilitate, in coordination with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, an effective confined feeding operation extension program.

6.5 Streamline the confined feeding operations application process to reduce delays in issuing decisions.

6.6 Increase the use of facilitation and mediation to resolve confined feeding operations issues.

6.7 Implement a risk-based approach to confined feeding operation complaint response with priority where there is a potential for environmental risk.

6.8 Issue Right-of-Entry Orders to energy companies permitting activity on private or public lands.

6.9 Determine compensation for right-of-entry and review compensation throughout the lifetime of the energy activity.

6.10 Settle disputes and determine compensation for damages arising from energy activities.

6.11 Recommend payment of compensation to landowners where operators default.

6.12 Assess compensation amounts payable to landowners.

6.13 Enhance public awareness and openness of Land Compensation Board proceedings by developing an information website and online access to board decisions.