Bighorn Proposal Survey on behalf of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)

Survey Questions for Selected Results

Login The Government of recently announced its plan to create a new provincial area, called Bighorn Country. We are interested in your opinions on this plan.

This project is not being conducted for the provincial government; we will reveal the sponsor on the last page of the survey.

Please note that if you get interrupted while completing the survey, you can click on the same link to pick up right where you left off.

I The Government of Alberta recently announced its plan to create a series of new provincial parks and recreation areas called Bighorn Country. Bighorn Country includes the brown, grey, and purple shaded areas in the image below. Please click the arrow below to continue.

1 of 5 December 2018 I Similar to Kananaskis Country before it, the Bighorn Country area will create a network of new wildland parks, provincial parks, and multiple-use recreation areas for hunting, camping, fishing, and off-highway vehicle (OHV) use.

Recognized for its scenic beauty and natural diversity, the area includes:  Mountains and foothills  Rare plant communities  Sensitive wildlife The headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River and Red Deer River are located within Bighorn Country, providing drinking water to over one million Albertans in downstream communities, as well as Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while also providing natural mitigation for flood and drought conditions.

Additionally, the area provides key habitat for numerous species, including those identified as rare or at risk such as grizzly bear, wolverine, harlequin duck, Athabasca rainbow trout and bull trout.

Source for this and the following background (opens in new window, so if you click on this, you'll need to come back to this survey window):talkaep.alberta.ca/bighorn-country (https://talkaep.alberta.ca/bighorn-country) Please click the arrow to continue.

I The proposal has plans for three parts of Bighorn Country:

1. West Country Public Land Use Zone 2. Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park 3. Kiska-Willson Public Land Use Zone The next three pages will give you a quick overview of each of these areas.

Please click the arrow below to continue.

2 of 5 December 2018 I West Country Public Land Use Zone (brown) This area is, and would continue to be, a busy landscape with active forestry, oil and gas, grazing, and a variety of recreation occurring throughout.  Recreational users take part in a range of activities, including hiking, hunting, fishing, cycling, skiing, camping, water-based activities, passive activities (e.g., nature enjoyment, birdwatching) and motorized recreation.  Future recreation management planning would allow Albertans to work together to thoughtfully manage impacts of recreation on other land uses and the environment. Please click the arrow below to continue.

I Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park (purple) Intended to conserve the wild backcountry and critical headwaters.  Facilities in this wildland park would be limited, providing high-quality, rustic recreation including hunting, fishing, hiking, horse trails, and backcountry camping, with motorized use on designated trails.  Opportunities would range from multi-day challenges for those highly experienced in the backcountry, to day-use options with trails closer to staging areas and access points. Please click the arrow below to continue.

3 of 5 December 2018

I Kiska-Willson Public Land Use Zone (grey)

 Albertans and other visitors accessing this area would continue to be able to take part in the outdoor recreation activities they currently enjoy on the land.  Outdoor enthusiasts would be able to use off highway vehicles (OHVs) and snowmobiles on designated trails, canoe, kayak, jet boat, horseback ride, hike, bike, dog sled, hunt, fish and experience the wilderness by backcountry camping.  Exploration for, and development of, natural resources would continue to be supported.

Please click the arrow below to continue.

Q Note: to eliminate order bias, half of respondents saw “oppose or support” and the response level order below, while the other half saw “support or oppose” and the response levels in the reverse order Now given what you know, do you oppose or support the government’s decision to create Bighorn Country?

❍ 1 Strongly oppose ❍ 2 Somewhat oppose ❍ 3 Neither oppose nor support ❍ 4 Somewhat support ❍ 5 Strongly support

4 of 5 December 2018 Q To eliminate order bias, the response levels were shown in a random order (different for each respondent) There are a number of reasons to create Bighorn Country, some of which are listed below.

Please rank these from most to least important to you.

To rank, just click on an item. If you want to change the order, just click on an item again.

_____ Protecting headwaters _____ Protecting fish and wildlife _____ Creating recreation opportunities for Alberta families _____ Diversifying the local economy

Q Which party would you vote for if an election was held today?

❍ 1 led by ❍ 2 led by Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes ❍ 3 Liberal Party of Alberta led by ❍ 4 New Democratic Party led by ❍ 5 United Conservative Party led by ❍ 6 Other (specify) ______❍ 7 Don’t know yet ❍ 8 Do not plan to vote/not sure if I’ll vote ❍ 9 Prefer not to answer

Demographics Asked age, gender (male/female/another), region (respondent provided either first three digits of postal code or identified the closest community to where they live), and how long they’ve lived in Alberta.

End We sincerely thank you for your feedback and hope you found this survey interesting.

This survey was authored by, and was conducted on behalf of, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

(http://www.cpaws.org/)

5 of 5 December 2018