Public outreach is a focus for Minister Coutts

Sustainable Resource Development Minister David Coutts took the opportunity to participate in program work and public events undertaken or sponsored by the ministry during the summer, 2005. Reaching the public with information about wise resource use is a priority made all the more important by the numerous challenges facing the wide diversity of Alberta's renewable natural resources.

On July 6, the minister assisted Sustainable Resource Development staff in restocking Upper Kananaskis Lake with 10 000 live cutthroat trout.

The trout were loaded into a stocking truck at the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery in Calgary, transported to Upper Kananaskis Lake in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and offloaded into a water-filled inflated raft, then scooped up in nets and deposited into the lake itself.

Minister Coutts was among staff from the ministry’s Fish and Wildlife Division who donned hip-waders and safety equipment and took turns scooping the trout into the lake.

The Minister noted that stocking fish in smaller water bodies near communities is important to provide increasing opportunities for sport fishing, and to reduce the impact of sport fishing on naturally reproducing populations of sport fish.

Working for the future of Alberta’s natural resources was also on Minister Coutts’ agenda the following day, July 7, when he formalized a partnership agreement between Sustainable Resource Development and the Metis Association of Alberta that provides for youth to become involved in the Aboriginal Junior Forest Ranger program.

"Today’s ceremony is about promoting sustainable development with today’s young people, who will be the resource managers of tomorrow," Minister Coutts said in signing the partnership agreement.

The program provides young Metis Albertans with fun activities that are also life-long learning opportunities, he said, noting that their participation imparts a range of skills and knowledge emphasizing the importance of natural resource management and conservation, cultural heritage and local communities.

The Aboriginal Junior Forest Ranger program includes seven crews in 2005 that will employ 55 Aboriginal youth from across the province.

Another opportunity for youth to learn about Alberta’s outdoors was provided on July 16 in Blairmore, when Minister Coutts participated in Going Wild, an exhibition by fish and wildlife groups.

The event, featuring more than 40 booths and displays by 16 outdoors organizations, was a fund-raiser for the Crowsnest Boys and Girls Club and presented in partnership with Sustainable Resource Development. Activities included opportunities to see live hawks and owls, learn about bear safety, be informed about anti-poaching programs, study a variety of mounted animals—grizzly bear, moose, elk, deer, wolf and cougar—and meet two Karelian bear dogs.

"This is a great opportunity to learn more about some of our most valuable natural resources, and it’s very important to teach children about conservation and get them involved," Minister Coutts said in inviting Albertans to attend the event.

On July 20, Minister Coutts participated in the banding and release of three small peregrine falcon chicks at the University of Alberta. The event highlighted the increasing number of the birds found in Alberta since a decline that peaked in the 1970s, when only three pairs were known to exist in the province. Today, Alberta’s peregrine population is estimated at 50 pairs.

Minister Coutts called the recovery "a success story in environmental conservation," noting the rebound is a sign of improving environmental health and effective Species at Risk programs underway in the province.

The comeback of peregrine falcons in Alberta is mainly attributed to a captive breeding and release program conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Service and the Alberta government from 1970 to 1997. Five pairs of peregrines now nest within Edmonton city limits.

A complete province-wide survey is being conducted this year as part of the national peregrine falcon recovery plan.