Alberta's proposed Milk River Dam will destroy world class prairie ecosystem
Wildcanada.net Action Alert - 098
Thursday January 23, 2003

Synopsis

Alberta's Environment Minister, Hon. Lorne Taylor, is pushing forward with a
feasibility study of the Milk River Ridge dam. The dam would affect an area
that was designated a provincial Heritage Rangeland to protect the mixedgrass
prairie ecosystem. Important homes for endangered species such as the
ferruginous hawk and the burrowing owl, as well as pronghorn antelope and
leopard frog will be destroyed if this dam is built. The Milk River contains
rare fish and important riparian habitats that will be impacted upstream and
downstream of the dam. The Milk River Ridge area contains some of the last
intact mixedgrass prairie in North America.

Background

A similar project planned for the Milk River was halted due to the public's
concerns in the late 1980s. Just last year, in part due to pressure from
Wildcanada.net's Network Participants, Minister Taylor was forced to scrap plans
for the Meridian Dam on the Saskatchewan River because of similar concerns.

The Alberta Cabinet has not endorsed the Milk River Ridge project. The public
has a chance to stop further studies for this dam by taking action today. The
area is already designated as a 'protected' Heritage Rangeland--let's keep it
that way!

Take Action

Please call or write Alberta's Premier and ask that feasibility studies for this
dam be stopped. Tell him that the Milk River is too important to even consider
constructing a dam. Contact:

Hon. Ralph Klein, Premier
Legislature Office, #307, 10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton AB T5K 2B6 Canada
Email: premier@gov.ab.ca
Phone: (780) 427-1349
Fax: (780) 420-6952

Please send a copy of your letter or notification that you have phoned the
Premier to the Alberta Wilderness Association at awa@shaw.ca

For more information on the Milk River Ridge area, see the Milk River Ridge page
under Issues on Alberta Wilderness Association website www.albertawilderness.ca

From WWF site.