Alberta says it will proceed with sale of land used by endangered caribou

EDMONTON – The Alberta government says it will proceed with selling off some of the last remaining habitat for two endangered caribou herds.

Opposition politicians, environmentalists and scientists have called for at least a temporary halt to the sale of 1,700 hectares north of Grande Cache for energy development.

But Alberta Energy spokesman Mike Feenstra says the sale is proceeding as planned.

He says rules for energy companies on caribou ranges limit disturbance to the herds, but critics say if those rules were working, caribou wouldn’t be disappearing.

The herds involved were recently assessed as being in immediate danger of vanishing by a federal scientific panel.

Feenstra said Alberta is unlikely to call for new moratoriums on lease sales until the details have been worked out for one already declared on the ranges of two nearby herds.

A draft range plan for the Little Smoky and a la Peche herds was supposed to be complete in January.