Shortly after the January 2018 NWSAR open houses, the decision was made to launch a petition against the Provincial government’s plan for Boreal Caribou in Northwest Alberta, until a robust socio-economic assessment had been conducted. In conjunction with the petition, NWSAR also produced a series of videos to highlight the region’s concerns regarding Caribou, to provide contextual information about the NWSAR region, and to showcase the wealth of opportunity that exists here. NWSAR’s petition was signed by almost 9,400 people, which equates to a third of the NWSAR region’s population, and approximately 50% of our adult population!!    

• On February 22nd 2018, NWSAR were invited to speak at the Alberta Forestry Alliance “Jobs and Caribou” rally on the front steps of the Alberta Legislature.
• On March 6th 2018, 1,500 people from the NWSAR region attended the Government of Alberta’s open house on Boreal Caribou Action Planning in High Level. This significant level of attendance sent a message to the Provincial government, that Northwest Albertans care about land-use changes, environmental management, and future local social and economic prosperity. Following the Provincial open house in High Level, NWSAR released these videos and planned their trip to the Alberta Legislature to watch the tabling their petition.  
• On March 19th 2018, NWSAR Committee members were introduced in the Alberta Legislature, and watched as the Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks announced the Provincial government’s plan to pull back on their Caribou Action Plan (specifically the establishment of 1.8 million hectares of permanently protected areas), pending assistance from the Government of Canada to conduct a socio-economic assessment.