SAPAA members and Stewards are associated with numerous organizations. On this page you can find Protected Area partners, Government contacts, and organizations with similar interests.
Welcome to the Affiliates and Protected Area Reading Room page. Find here inks for similarly minded organizations. The reading room contains book titles we have used in compiling our website and/or we think are worth reading to promote understanding and appreciation of our protected areas. Finally, the ‘Year in Review’ lists links that were of interest for a particular calendar year. Starting in 2023, they provide a listing of what we consider relevant to protecting Alberta’s natural treasures, as well as other miscellaneous material of interest.
- SAPAA – A Nature Alberta Affiliated Club
- Government Contacts & Resources
- Resources and The Protected Area Bookshelf
- SAPAA Members – Partners in Protected Areas
- A Year in Review
SAPAA – A Nature Alberta Affiliated Club
SAPAA extends its heart felt thanks to Nature Alberta and is proud to be an affiliate club. Beyond providing practicalities such as insurance, Nature Alberta provides excellent guidance and support to all of its affiliates. If you or your club is not already a member of Nature Alberta, SAPAA strongly encourages you to join today and be part of this strong and critical environmental community
Government Contacts & Resources
| Site/Page | Uses and Last Accessed |
| Land Reference Manual | Alberta Parks | A complete listing of lands under the administration of Parks Division of Alberta Environment & Parks. |
| Environment and Protected Areas | Alberta.ca | One of the two ministries responsible for protected areas (see 2023 Year in review). |
| Forestry, Parks and Tourism | Alberta.ca | One of the two ministries responsible for protected areas (see 2023 Year in review). |
| Government staff directory | Alberta.ca | Look up a department or a GoA employee (2023-03-03). Note, due to a system change, updates have fallen behind. |
| Accessing provincial grazing reserves | Alberta.ca | Overview of the provincial grazing reserve system. An important tool as many PNTs have a lease. |
| Grazing Lease – Recreational Access Map | Interactive map for grazing leases. |
| LAT Overview | Alberta.ca | Overview of the landscape analysis tool. |
| Landscape Analysis Tool (LAT) – Online Map | Interactive map of Crownland dispositions (Landscape Analysis Tool). |
Resources and The Protected Area Bookshelf
SAPAA acknowledges and thanks numerous organizations and government entities who have made invaluable content available for free. The following online resources have been used on this site:
| Resource | SAPAA Acknowledgment & Uses |
| Google Maps | THANK YOU Google for making available an amazing and easy to use mapping tool. Everyone knows what a Google Map is, but just in case – Google Maps – Wikipedia |
| Wikipedia | Like Google Maps, Wikipedia provides for a good “layman’s” view on a topic. |
| Toporama | Provided by the Government of Canada, SAPAA often references and displays still images of this excellent resource. |
| 1928 – Names | Geographic Board of Canada. Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Published for the Geographic Board by the Department of the Interior, 1928. |
The Protected Area Bookshelf
The following are referenced on this site and will make a great addition to any bookshelf.
| Resource | SAPAA Acknowledgement & Uses |
| Place Names | Aubrey, Merrily K., ed. Concise Place Names of Alberta. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2006. Used extensively for the origin of a site’s name. Also see this online resource: Peel 5240: Geographic Board of Canada, Place-names of Alberta (1928) (ualberta.ca) |
| Alberta Lakes | Sadly, out of print and no longer available online. This is a resource in desperate need of a re-make; Mitchell, Patricia, and E. E. Prepas. “Atlas of Alberta Lakes.” Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 1990. |
| Alberta Geology | Now nearly 20-years old but still an excellent resource, occasionally used on SAPAA pages. Mussieux, Ron, and Marilyn Nelson. A Traveller’s Guide to Geological Wonders in Alberta. Repr. Edmonton: Provincial Museum of Alberta, 2005. |
Further Reading and Resources
What is that plant, is that a coyote track, which bird is making that sound? If you have questions about what you see, hear, touch, or smell in a Natural Area, there are no shortage of resources. The following were developed by a SAPAA member, are a local Alberta resource, are considered a gold standard, or are just plain cool. Usual cavets apply here. SAPAA does not necessary endorse any that are outside of our website (unless we say we do).
SAPAA Content
The following content is from our newsletter archive. They are presented in reverse chronological order and in a practical application of the Linnaean system (botanists and scientists, feel free to cringe here – but hey its practical).
Plants
SAPAA Members – Partners in Protected Areas
The following organizations are paid members ★ and/or provide contributions in-kind.
| Site/Page | Uses and Last Accessed |
| ★ Nature Alberta (NA) | NA is a long standing partner with SAPAA including providing the association’s insurance. NA’s current focus is on helping Albertans learn about, experience, and protect our native wildlife and ecosystems. In collaboration with our clubs, NA also host a Nature Network that promotes nature education and stewardship across the province. |
| ★ Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) | AWA is both a member and a contributor of content to the SAPAA website (2023-03-03). |
| ★ Big Lake Environment Support Society (BLESS) | BLESS’ major objective is the conservation of the Big Lake wetlands, through advocacy, public education, stewardship of Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park and data collection programs. BLESS is a regional organization, with membership coming mainly from each of the four municipalities bordering the Big Lake wetlands. |
| ★ Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Northern Alberta (CPAWS) | Established in 1968 as the first regional chapter. Working in a way that respects the sovereignty and leadership of Indigenous nations, CPAWS is focused on conserving nature to respond to the dual crises of accelerated biodiversity loss and climate change. Its vision is that at least half of land, freshwater and ocean in Canada is permanently protected to sustain nature and people for current and future generations. |
| ★ (JJ Collett) Natural Area Foundation | The JJ Collett NA is located in rural central Alberta and consists of 635 acres of Aspen Parkland. Over 18 km of maintained trails wind through it. The foundation was established in 1985, as a provincial volunteer steward group to help preserve, maintain and provide environmental education for this ecologically diverse habitat. Local organizations, schools, post secondary institutions, First Nations, and fitness groups are among those who use the area on a regular basis for studies, orienteering and field trips. |
| ★ (Wagner) Natural Area Society | Known to naturalists since the 1940s, the Natural Area was named for William Wagner, the owner of the property, who was instrumental in having the Alberta government give the original property of 129.5 hectares ( 320 acres) formal protection in 1975. Subsequent land purchases by the Alberta government and the Nature Conservancy of Canada have extended the protected area to 251 hectares (620 acres) covering a range of vegetation communities. |
A Year in Review
The following links and downloadable content were relevant for the year(s) noted in the heading. The are generally presented in reverse chronological order.
2025
- SAPAA is featured in the April 2025 Nature Alberta magazine.
- Implement iNaturalist on the website.
- 2022 pdf based application form retired and replaced with a Google form.
- February, SAPAA was featured in the Nature Alberta magazine (pending).
- Miistakis Report – January 30 Debrief.
- January, Athabasca Watershed Council requested members to serve on a working group; Frank P. will attend.
- True North Geomatics reached out to enquire about Welch Creek NA; email forwarded to GoA by Frank P.
- Jan 03/04 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporatian (CBC), in cooperation with SAPAA, produced a set of programs – online report, TV broadcast and radio piece (no record available) – covering the legacy Alberta Stewardship Program, SAPAA’s past and its future directions. Also mentioned in the broadcasts was the 2022 Miistakis report on the Volunteer Steward Program and Evaluation and
- Visioning commissioned by the Government of Alberta, obtained by CBC through a FOIP request.
2024
- This application is based on SAPAA’s 2023 updated inspection forms.
- 2.) develop a vision for the future of the SAPAA organization and their activities.
- This included a townhall with SAPAA members where they could express their ideas
- April 4, Presentation of the Capstone project of the University of Alberta’s Community Service Learning (CSL) program, students presented a phone application to collect site inspection data from SAPAA members and citizen-at-large. Good discussion on both this proof of concept and the potential for the future.
- March, Jenny Burgess, Ecologist, Land, Ecosystem and Conservation, Forestry and Parks, named Acting Manager for John Mahoney.
- March, John Mahoney, Manager, Land, Ecosystem and Conservation, Forestry and Parks, retires.
- March 6, Discussion held on moving the Volunteer Stewardship program from the Government of Alberta to a consortium composed of SAPAA, Nature Alberta, and the Canadian Birkebeiner Society. While participants were in agreement with the concept, no concrete actions to move forward with this idea. Further discussions were agreed to by all parties. PowerPoint with the concepts of the program.
2023
- December, the Volunteer Stewardship site inspection report was removed from alberta.ca website.
- November 25, SAPAA Annual General Meeting.
- Fall: pilot program with the Government of Alberta included six site visits.
- August 31: an Online survey from the Wagner Natural Area Society closed. This survey informed the society’s renewal of its management plan.
- August 30: SAPAA and members attend a pilot session for the stewardship program.
- August 17: Response from Hon. Todd Lowen in response to SAPAA’s letter of congratulation send on June 27 (see below).
- July 24: Response from Hon. Rebecca Schulz in response to SAPAA’s letter of congratulation send on June 27 (see below).
- July 17: Beaverhills Biosphere releases an expression of interest to keep like minded organizations informed about what is going on. Survey closed, July 17, 2023.
- July 10: Mandate letter issued to the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas. Unfortunately, it is silent on biodiversity, sustaining or expanding protecting areas. A mandate letter has not yet being issued to the Minister of Forestry and Parks.
- July 5: Cross promoted the Franklin’s Ground Squirrel observation project both via a post and on Facebook. Dr. Haines’ website is a great resource for information about these ‘critters’: Dr. Jessica A. Haines – Conservation and Education (jess-haines.com).
- July 4: Congratulations sent to relevant shadow cabinet members of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition from the President of SAPAA.
- June 27, 2023:
- SAPAA Sends an Introduction Letter to the new Ministers.
- Official Opposition Names Shadow Cabinet.
- Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse – Environment, Parks & Climate Resilience
- Sarah Elmeligi – Tourism, Sports & Recreation
- Marlin Schmidt – Resource Stewardship Committee Deputy Chair
- Heather Sweet – Deputy House Leader, Agriculture, Forestry & Rural Economic Development
- June 9, 2023; Alberta’s Cabinet Sworn In:
- Minister of Environment and Protected Areas – Rebecca Schulz.
- Ministry of Forestry and Parks – Todd Loewen.
- Building more campgrounds and trails across Alberta | alberta.ca
- Supporting safe, accessible trails across Alberta | alberta.ca
- Discussion on the organizational structure of the former Alberta Parks’ Ministry.
SAPAA 