Katie Morrison

Alberta's United Conservative Party government has moved on a proposal to split wildlife management responsibilities in the province, creating a new department of hunting and fishing in the Forestry, Parks and Tourism Ministry.

A southern Alberta town has become what it says is the first municipality to endorse a community−developed policy that calls for a permanentban on new coal exploration and development in the Rocky Mountains.

"Environment Canada got pushback," said Bill Donahue, an environmental scientific consultant and former head of monitoring for the Alberta government. "It dramatically reduced the proposed standards in terms of their stringency."

The federal government says the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project in southwestern Alberta cannot proceed.

The company behind a proposed open-pit coal mine in Alberta's Rocky Mountains has filed a request to appeal a decision by a review panel that rejected the project as being not in the public interest.

In its 680-page report released Thursday, the joint federal-provincial panel questioned the ability of Benga Mining, owned by Riversdale Resources, to control the release of selenium from its proposed Grassy Mountain mine. 

Road-building approvals for coal exploration already exceed legal limits in some parts of Alberta's Rocky Mountains and foothills, suggest documents from the province's energy regulator.

Alberta's energy minister has promised people will be able to say "no" to coal mining in the Rocky Mountains during upcoming consultations.

Coal mining is already having an impact in Alberta's Rocky Mountains even as debate intensifies over the industry's presence in one of the province's most beloved landscapes.

At least five popular recreation areas in southern Alberta are surrounded by coal exploration plans and one of them has been partly given over to an exploration lease, raising questions about their future with lovers of the outdoors.