ALBERTA — Impending clear-cutting of treasured hiking and biking areas near Bragg Creek will be done responsibly, Alberta’s minister of environment and protected areas said Tuesday. But conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts say they have their doubts, and insist logging two large blocks in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas is also economically dubious. Forestry company West Fraser said it’s going ahead in the fall of 2026 with logging what could be nearly 900 hectares of forest in a recreation zone less than an hour from Calgary. They have provincial government sanction to do so under a 20-year forestry management plan, but only under sustainable conditions, said Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz. “My department is concerned with ensuring we are protecting the environment, that environment standards are upheld, that we’re looking at impacts to water, wildlife, air and biodiversity — so those are the kinds of things we look at before projects move forward,” she said. 

Related coverage in CBC: West Fraser to host open house on contentious logging plans