It would be easy to stay quiet on the issue of coal mining in Alberta. Honestly (naively….) we thought this fight was over - or at least on pause for awhile longer - but in December 2024 Brian Jean, Alberta’s Minister of Energy and Minerals lifted the moratorium on coal which means the Eastern Slopes are once again at risk and Albertans need to once again speak up.  

The recent history of coal in Alberta is confusing and many of the decisions about coal seem (to put it mildly) questionable. From our perspective, the bottom line is coal exploration/mining will impact water quality, fish, and habitat. It will affect the areas anglers frequent. It will impact protected species like the bull trout and species-at-risk like Westslope Cutthroat trout.

To paraphrase The Temptations....  "Coal (war) What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!!!" Especially from a Trout's perspective. 

What About The Fish? What if the fish could ask the Alberta government and the AER to consider the irreparable damage that coal exploration and coal mining in the Eastern Slopes -from the Castle River in the south all the way north to the Peace River system - would do. We know the trout would say a hard NO to coal mines.  

Businesses like ours rely on folks from all walks of life for our livelihood and for the livelihoods of our staff. We get it.... there need to be viable options for employment. But the short-term jobs of coal mines simply isn't worth the long-term impacts to the environment from coal mines. 

Society is divided. Politically, ideologically, environmentally. It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of news feeds and choose to focus on big fish pictures. But if we don’t take the time to write letters, connect with our elected officials, speak out against coal mining in Alberta's Eastern Slopes we risk the habitat where some of our favorite finned creatures live, the water quality of millions of Canadians, and recreational area for ours and future generations. 

Please take the time to learn about this issue and get involved. 

Here's an in-depth article that's worth the read. 

Organizations who are actively speaking out against coal exploration and mining (aka ways to get involved.) 

• Canadian Parks and Wilderness SOciate (CPAWS) Southern Alberta 
• Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA)
• Save Our Slopes 

We also encourage you to take the time to write emails or letters to your elected provincial and federal representatives.