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Part of Berland Sub-regional Plan engagement

Berland Sub-regional Plan public survey

Albertans can participate in this public survey to provide input on the draft Berland Sub-regional Plan and regulations.

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  • Berland Sub-regional Plan public survey

Introduction

The Government of Alberta wants to hear what you think about the draft Berland Sub-regional Plan, its regulatory details and its approval under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.

The Berland sub-region is located in the Upper Peace and Upper Athabasca Regions, both of which currently do not have an approved regional plan.

Recent amendments to the Alberta Land Stewardship Act enable the government to establish sub-regions and approve stand-alone sub-regional plans without the need for inclusion in a regional plan in these circumstances. The draft Berland Sub-regional Plan and its regulatory details are proposed to be approved as a standalone plan under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act until a regional plan in this area comes into effect.

This draft plan and its regulatory details are intended to guide land and resource management in the Berland sub-region of Alberta. The Berland Sub-regional Plan brings together approaches for land management, including landscape restoration, energy, forestry, access management, and recreation and tourism to achieve the following outcomes:

Outcome 1 – Support economic opportunities that provide benefits to local municipalities, Indigenous peoples and all Albertans. 

Outcome 2 – Consolidate and manage development to support landscape intactness and self-sustaining plant and wildlife populations, with a focus on species at risk. 

Outcome 3 – Support recreational, cultural and traditional land uses, including the practice of constitutionally recognized rights in the sub-region, for the benefit of local people, Indigenous Peoples and all Albertans. 

Your feedback will help us understand how the proposed approaches may affect you and identify opportunities to improve the plan before it is finalized and approved under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.

Learn more:

All questions are optional. Answer the ones most relevant to you.

The survey takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes to complete and closes November 12, 2026.

Survey

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Section 1 - Your feedback on specific aspects of the plan and its regulatory details

Landscape restoration

The Berland Sub-regional Plan outlines a long-term approach to restoring disturbed landscapes. The draft plan relies on clear restoration outcomes and timelines, with a focus on restoring legacy, abandoned and inactive footprint to create larger, intact areas of habitat over the coming decades.

Learn more:

How supportive are you of managing coal development in this way?

Well-based energy and minerals

The Berland Sub regional Plan uses zonation and access management to enable future energy developments and provide flexibility for well-based energy resources. manage well based energy and mineral activity.

To support caribou habitat recovery, the plan limits new disturbances to essential infrastructure and requires that new projects increasingly demonstrate progress on restoring older, inactive sites.

Key components include prioritizing the restoration of unproductive land and managing linear features, such as roads and pipelines, to minimize fragmentation and encourage vegetation regrowth. 

Learn more:

How supportive are you of managing the energy industry in this way?

Coal

The Berland Sub-regional Plan will manage coal development by following Alberta’s existing coal policies and the ongoing Coal Industry Modernization Initiative, which sets clear rules for where and how coal exploration and extraction can occur. While some coal exploration programs exist within the Berland sub-region, there are no active coal mines today and any future proposals must go through strict environmental reviews and follow provincial requirements. Only 6.4% of the sub-region is covered by coal tenure, and the plan emphasizes that restoration requirements will ensure the land is reclaimed after any coal activity, helping the landscape recover over time.

Learn more:

How supportive are you of managing coal development in this way?

Forestry

The Berland Sub-regional Plan introduces a shift toward modified aggregated harvest, which focuses harvesting into larger areas within the same decade to create more intact forest patches for caribou recovery.

Additionally, the plan provides clear guidelines for salvage harvesting after wildfires or insect damage and increases the focus on wildfire mitigation to protect local communities.

These changes aim to manage the location and timing of forestry activities to support caribou habitat without increasing the overall rate of harvest.

Learn more:

How supportive are you of managing forestry in this way?

Access management

The Berland Sub-regional Plan establishes a long-term primary road network to coordinate permanent access to resources while concentrating new development along these existing corridors to minimize land disturbance.

These changes aim to create larger areas of intact habitat by ensuring that only essential, long-term infrastructure remains on the landscape.

This strategic approach to access management provides a clear framework for future development while prioritizing environmental recovery objectives.

Learn more:

How supportive are you of the proposed access management approach?
Place pins on the map to identify any road classification concerns you have with the primary road network. Roads within in situ project areas or within the White area are not included in the road network.
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Recreation and tourism

The Berland Sub-regional plan establishes and Public Land Use Zone recreation management areas to prioritize trail planning and tourism while protecting sensitive environments. It emphasizes Indigenous-led tourism to create economic opportunities and increase cultural awareness while maintaining the natural landscape.

Additionally, the plan aims to minimize environmental impacts by managing motorized use and trail locations to support caribou habitat recovery and biodiversity.

These components work together to ensure residents can continue to enjoy activities like camping and off-highway vehicle use while safeguarding unique landforms and wilderness areas.

Learn more:

How supportive are you of managing recreation and tourism in this way?

Section 2 - Tell us about you

The following questions will help us better understand the input that we receive.

Of the following sources of information about the draft Berland Sub-regional Plan, which one has been your primary source of information?
What is your connection to the Berland sub-regional planning area?
Are you completing this survey as a representative of your company, organization or community?
Do you identify as Indigenous?
How was your experience sharing your input today?
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