Chinook Group
Stop the Logging of the Castle Wilderness Area!
You can make a difference. You have leverage as a voter while all the political decision makers are in election mode and working in the Legislature. It's URGENT to use your leverage today to help local residents and businesses who bravely maintained a picket-line and camp in the Castle Special Management Area for three weeks to holdback clear-cut logging from starting in this Government of Alberta designated, Special Place protected area.
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Support Protesters at Castle Wilderness! Phone in your support!
Stop the destruction of the Castle Wilderness!
The following is an excerpt from an article from the Tyee. It is posted here to summarize the situation that protesters are facing right NOW in the Castle Wilderness area. They are facing arrest and eviction on Wednesday. The Premiers office does not have an answering machine service set up, and their office closes at 5pm MST. They re-open at 8am, and the Premier has asked for a head count on how many people call up in support of this issue! Please take a moment to call: 780-427-2251
"Government enforcement actions against citizens opposed to logging in a world famous Alberta watershed will likely cost taxpayers more money than total timber revenue.
"This is clearly an example of government waste," says Gord Petersen, a local resident and member of the ad hoc Stop the Castle Logging Group.
The Alberta government has responded with a massive enforcement effort against mostly senior citizens trying to respect water and wildlife," adds Petersen.
Since Jan. 12 scores of protestors, including grandmothers and two 77-year-old ranchers (all supported by thousands of Albertans), have sought to prevent the removal of 3,750 truckloads worth of timber by Spray Lake Sawmills from the core of the Castle wilderness area. The region is located south of Crowsnest Pass along the BC border.
Local foresters estimate the logging permit will generate no more than $100,000 worth of income for the government from stumpage fees and that only 60 per cent of the timber slated for cutting can be turned into dimensional lumber.
"That revenue won't even cover the damage to the public roads," suspects 56-year-old Petersen. "It's welfare logging that benefits a private company at the expense of the public interest."
After peaceful protestors stood in front of logging machinery last week on a public road, government officials issued a flurry of legal paper including a development notice, a trespass notice, an enforcement order and now a court order.
The enforcement order, which the group is appealing as an infringement of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, even banned protestors from occupying or using "any other public lands in the Province of Alberta unless otherwise authorized to so."
(Andrew Nikiforuk, http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Environment/2012/01/31/Alberta_Launches_Legal_Attack/)
Help support the protesters who are protecting this important area of the Prairie ecosystem!
Call Premier Redford immediately and tell her to stop the logging of the Castle Wilderness Area! Call as early as you can, as the enforcement order is for Wednesday!
Premier Alison Redford
307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B6
PH: 780-427-2251
premier@gov.ab.ca
Honourable Frank Oberle
Minister of Sustainable Resource Development
420 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B6
PH: 780-415-4815
srd.minister@gov.ab.ca
Honourable Evan Berger
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
MLA Livingstone Macleod
228 Legislative Building
10800 - 97 Avenue, Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B6
PH: 780-427-2137
livingstone.macleod@assembly.ab.ca
Honourable Diana McQueen
Minister of Environment & Water
425 Legislature building
10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B6
PH: 780-427-2391
environment.minister@gov.ab.ca
Backgrounder:
- The Castle is part of the headwaters for the Oldman River, which feeds over two million people across the prairies - The Castle contains core habitat for Alberta's threatened grizzly bears - Protecting the Castle will help protect the entire Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, and fight the effects of climate change - The Castle Special Place is a unique region of irreplaceable spiritual, recreational and ecological values - This area is becoming increasingly degraded. Logging the Castle will affect local tourism operators, as the land is cleared of the beauty that attracts touristshttp://www.sierraclub.ca/en/blog/bradford-duplisea/castle-blockade-update
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/01/17/calgary-winter-castle-logging-protest.html
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Environment/2012/01/31/Alberta_Launches_Legal_Attack/
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Anti+logging+protesters+have+until+Wednesday+leave+face+arrest/6076316/story.html
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation serves Shell Canada with intent to sue over tar sands projects
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation serves Shell Canada with intent to sue over tar sands projects
November 30th, 2011
Calgary– On the eve of the 17th UNFCCC, the world’s climate summit, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and allies rallied outside of Shell Canada corporate headquarters in downtown Calgary. The Chief and Council served Shell executives papers with intent to sue for failure to meet contractual agreements made between Shell and the First Nation regarding existing tar sands projects within ACFN traditional territory and Canada’s pristine Athabasca, A UNESCO heritage site. This event was followed by a press conference at the Kahanoff Center is Calgary, Alberta.... Read more »
ACTION ALERT: Stand in Solidarity with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation as they serve Shell Canada
CALGARY - Tomorrow morning join Sierra Club Prairie, Greenpeace and Keepers of the Athabasca as they stand with the Chief and Council of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) while they present Shell executives with a "gift" regarding unmet agreements made between Shell and the First Nation regarding existing tar sands projects within ACFN traditional territory and Canada’s pristine Athabasca, A UNESCO heritage site.
These agreements were meant to ensure Shell would provide measures to lessen impact of these mines on ACFN, including agreements to address environmental issues and mitigation. Shell failure to meet these agreements with ACFN has led to harmful impacts on the environment and ACFN’s constitutionally protected rights and culture. Shell is also proposing to massively expand one of these existing projects, and also has plans for a completely new project in an area that is very important to ACFN’s traditional way of life.
Come Join ACFN as they rally outside of Shell headquarter and deliver Shell their gift!
Wednesday November 30, 2011 - 9:30 am
Serving of Papers
Shell Canada Corporate headquarters
400 4 AVE SW,
Calgary, AB
FOLLOWED BY A PRESS CONFERENCE WHERE THE CHIEF AND ALLIES TAKE QUESTIONS
10:30 am Press Conference
Press Conference
Kahanoff Center
1202 Centre Street South
Calgary, AB
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO IF I CAN'T COME OUT?
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FUN ALERT: Calgary Screening of White Water Black Gold
The film, White Water, Black Gold will screen in Calgary at the Plaza Theatre (1133 Kensington Road N.W.) on Friday, November 25th
“Whether it’s a dam breach that could destroy the third largest watershed in the world (the Mackenzie), tailings ponds that are approaching the size of a great lake, or tanker traffic on Canada’s pristine west coast: it’s clear that our country’s water is in trouble,” said David Lavallee, Director of White Water, Black Gold. “Most people do not know that the tar sands impacts actually span half the country.”
Director David Lavallee worked as a hiking guide in the Columbia Icefields for 15 years. He saw profound changes to the mountain landscape as Alberta ramped up growth in the extremely water-intensive tar sands industry downstream. Lavallee’s burning curiosity to find out why took him on a three-year journey across Western Canada that resulted in the production of this film.
“I wanted to make this film to tell the story of water and how the tar sands are impacting an element essential to all life on this planet,” said Lavallee. “I hope that audiences will listen to the voices in this film, to see the impact the tar sands are having and be moved enough to become advocates for an energy future that does not pose such a great risk to our water resources.
The documentary is narrated by Peter Coyote.
Come out and see a great documentary!!!!
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