Located in west-central Alberta, the Upper Smoky covers more than 13,000 square kilometres south of Grande Prairie. It contains rolling hills, mountains, forests and glacial valleys, with a wide range of wildlife calling it home. Every day, the area is used for many activities, including energy, forestry, recreation and traditional Indigenous land use. Land-use planning will help direct what activities take place in the future across this unique area.
Alberta’s government has developed a draft sub-regional plan, along with associated regulatory details, based on discussions with residents, Indigenous communities, local governments, industry and others. Starting on March 27, all Albertans are invited to have their say and help determine how land in the Upper Smoky should be used.
“The Upper Smoky is a diverse and breathtaking part of our province. It’s also the heart of many of our key industries and Alberta’s economy. We want to hear from anyone living in the area who is passionate about creating jobs, growing rural communities and supporting sustainable conservation in the area, so we can create the best plans possible to meet these demands.”
Sub-regional plans help provide opportunities for Albertans to work and play, improve the overall landscape and enable Indigenous traditional land uses. Part of the Upper Smoky plan includes work to restore caribou habitat, which is a specialized activity that helps create local jobs. The draft plan also identifies conservation areas and potential direction for forestry, grazing, recreation, energy development, tourism and many other activities.
The plan is not final, and the content proposed in the draft materials is designed to help generate input and detailed feedback from those most impacted. Public engagement opens on March 27 and runs until June 25 and can be completed online.
The input from Albertans will be used to finalize the plan and ultimately, support economic growth, environmental stewardship and strong communities in the Upper Smoky sub-region.
Alberta’s government will continue working with Indigenous communities and organizations, local governments, industry and others as the Upper Smoky sub-regional plan is finalized and then implemented.
Quick facts
- The Upper Smoky sub-region is located south of Grande Prairie and encompasses Grande Cache, Kakwa Wildland Park and about half of Willmore Wilderness Park. It is adjacent to Jasper National Park and covers 13,216 square kilometres.
- The draft sub-regional plan and associated regulatory details are not final, and they are designed to help generate input from across the province.
- The Upper Smoky sub-regional plan is the third of 11 plans covering 15 caribou ranges being developed in Alberta.
- Significant progress has been made toward caribou habitat restoration in west-central Alberta, particularly in the Little Smoky and A La Peche caribou ranges, where more than 2,600 kilometres of seismic lines have been treated and assessed since 2020, and 1.8 million trees have been planted.
- The sub-region contains natural resources including timber, petroleum and natural gas, coal, metallic and industrial minerals, sand and gravel, and livestock grazing forages.
- Approximately $21.2 billion of Alberta’s gross domestic product (GDP) was derived from this sub-region in 2020, which is about 6 per cent of the province’s GDP.
Related information
- Upper Smoky Sub-Regional Plan engagement
- Sub-regional planning engagements
- South Saskatchewan regional planning