Who We Are

The Southern Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s mission is to conserve the vital ecological functions of Southern Alberta’s public lands and waters, including our parks and protected areas, in collaboration with Albertans, and in a way that advances reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

We envision a future where Albertans appreciate and value the public lands and waters and take meaningful conservation action on their behalf. The landscape is well-managed, includes an abundance of parks and protected areas, and is ecologically sound, supporting biodiversity and sustainable communities.

What We Do

Founded in 1967, CPAWS Southern Alberta works with other non-profits, First Nations, government, industry and individuals throughout this region to safeguard our lands and waters. We believe that nature, wilderness and wild places have intrinsic value – and that healthy ecosystems have a positive impact on human wellness. When ecosystems are healthy, functioning, resilient and diverse, nature is thriving – and so are we!

To that end, we’ve supported the construction of the now world-famous wildlife crossing structures in Banff National Park, protected 175 provincial parks and recreation areas from being removed from Alberta’s provincial park system, and helped to reverse the cancellation of the 1976 Coal Policy.

Moreover, we recognize that decolonization and social justice are the future of conservation: If we want to protect Alberta’s landscape, we need to see inclusive conservation efforts and commit to reducing barriers and amplifying diverse voices in conservation.

How You Can Help

We appreciate general donations that support our work, and which allow us to direct funds where they are needed most, but if you’d like to support a specific project, please consider one of our current initiatives.

Protect Our Headwaters in the Eastern Slopes from Coal Mining

In the middle of the January 2025 hearings on Grassy Mountain, the Minister of Energy and Minerals quietly directed the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to remove the moratorium on coal mine development and exploration across the Rocky Mountains and Eastern Slopes, which has been in place since early 2022. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of NEW coal exploration and development could commence THIS spring.

The proposed coal mines in Alberta’s Rockies are neither responsible nor sustainable. They will utilize open-pit and strip mining at a scale unprecedented in Alberta. These projects threaten water security across the Canadian prairies, impact fish and wildlife populations, and put some of Alberta’s last remaining wild places at risk. Coal, including that used for steel making, is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and is driving much of our current climate crisis. The companies promoting these mines are largely foreign-owned; Albertans will gain few benefits while bearing both the immediate and long-term social and environmental costs.

More than 50 organizations, municipalities, and businesses signed on to community-led A Coal Policy for Alberta – 2022 and Beyond based on publicly available feedback submitted to the Coal Policy Committee. It provides a clear path forward to the end of coal in Alberta.

Repeal the All-Season Resorts Act: Protect Alberta’s Parks and Public Lands

Last December, the Government of Alberta passed Bill 35, turning the All-Season Resorts Act (ASRA) into legislation.

Tourism development should be pursued as part of creating a sustainable, diversified provincial economy, which requires it to be implemented within a broader land management approach, and the land-use planning framework. This includes ensuring equitable, ecologically responsible access to recreation and tourism opportunities for current and future generations through long-term land management. However, this Act achieves none of this.

The Act exempts any tourism development in ‘all-season resort zones’ from the normal environmental land-use planning, review and approval processes applied to all other public land use activities, circumventing and undermining the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) and the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPA).

Critically, ASRA exposes parks, protected areas, and public land – beloved by Albertans and crucial to biodiversity conservation and ecological integrity – to the development of year-round privatized resorts. It also threatens our parks with being DE-LISTED and privatized.

and exposing our parks to delisting and our public land to privatization. This was profoundly undemocratic and unethical, and we did not agree to it. Alberta’s parks, protected areas, and public lands belong to ALL of us. Full stop. We will not stand idly by while the ASRA strips us of the beloved places that belong to all of us — let’s take action, together.