Environmentalists say Alberta forestry deferral “more than symbolic” for caribou

CALGARY – Environmentalists are praising the Alberta government for putting a one-year hold on logging in a caribou range northeast of Jasper National Park.

There are only about 80 caribou in the Little Smoky range where the habitat is already classified as heavily damaged.

Carolyn Campbell of the Alberta Wilderness Association says the news is particularly good since the government had already placed a temporary hold on energy leases in the same area.

She says a hold on logging is more than symbolic because there is still a lot of timber that could be cut in the area.

Campbell hopes the government will also put a hold on logging in the nearby A La Peche (ah-lah-PESH’) caribou range, which is also struggling.

All 15 of Alberta’s caribou herds have been shrinking rapidly, mostly due to habitat destruction by energy and forestry development.