The Hay-Zama Committee process has helped guide the phase-out of “non-conforming” uses and AWA believes this process is an important management model for other proposed and existing protected areas in Alberta.

By helping the diverse participants work toward resolution through constructive discussion, the Committee has avoided the necessity for an EUB hearing, and has successfully phased out most of industrial development within the area.

The Hay-Zama Committee uses a transparent “bottom-up” process with consensual decision making, and its work is based on the concept that economic activities, environmental sensitivities, and cultural priorities can co-exist. The Hay -Zama Committee stewards the Hay-Zama area, monitoring and managing issues pertaining to land-uses and conservation of this distinctive landscape. Prior to the park’s designation in 1999, the Hay-Zama area was managed by the Hay-Zama Committee, a cohort of representatives from the Dene Tha’ First Nation, Government of Alberta, oil and gas industry, and conservation groups including Alberta Wilderness Association.

Through the Land-use Framework, the Government of Alberta has committed to “addressing cumulative impacts on the environment and to managing social, economic and environmental realities and priorities in a holistic manner” (Alberta Parks 2018). ManagementĬurrently, there is no formal management framework for Hay-Zama, but once completed, this area will fall under the Lower Peace Land-use Framework. Currently, the Hay-Zama Lakes Wildland Provincial Park is the only protected area within AWA’s Hay-Zama Area of Concern, with surrounding landscapes being subjected to multiple land uses including oil and gas, forestry and motorized recreation that are inappropriate given the sensitive nature of this ecosystem. Although this designation confers Hay-Zama’s importance for a waterfowl and shorebird staging and nesting, it does not entail any protective status. StatusĪWA’s Hay-Zama Area of Concern is one of 1,069 sites on a global scale that has been designated under the Ramsar Wetlands Convention on Wetlands of International Significance. Hay-Zama is a northern wilderness that has an extensive history of landscape degradation in relation to industrial developments, logging, and off-road motorized vehicle activity. This wilderness begins west of Wood Buffalo National Park, and is bordered by a number of First Nations reserves such as the Zama Lake Reserve, the Amber River Reserve, in addition to the Hay-Zama Lakes Wildland Provincial Park. Hay-Zama is nestled within Alberta’s Boreal Forest Natural Region, northwest of the town of High Level. This region is internationally significant as it provides critical breeding and staging habitat for many bird species, in addition to providing vital habitat for at risk species such as wood bison, and woodland caribou.ĪWA’s Hay-Zama Area of Concern. Directly north of Rainbow Lake, Hay-Zama is a landscape characterized by a patchwork of forests, marshes, eutrophic freshwater lakes, and floodplain woodlands that have extreme seasonal and annual water level fluctuations. Hay-Zama’s lowlands are home to many wildlife species, and are critical in maintaining the traditions and rights to local First Nations.ĪWA’s Hay-Zama Area of Concern is a lowland situated in the far northwest corner Alberta that boasts a tremendous amount of biodiversity, and a rich First Nations cultural history.

Send a Letter Regarding Provincial Parks Reorganization.

Letter of Concern regarding Alberta’s critically low sage-grouse population.

Send an Email – Coal Mining in the Eastern Slopes.

Awa fish season