North Saskatchewan Regional Advisory Council

Status: Online survey is now open untill May 4, 2018.

Albertans are invited to provide their input on the Regional Advisory Council’s recommendations to help government develop the regional plan. The online survey will be open until May 4, 2018. Complete the online survey now.

The Government of Alberta has established a Regional Advisory Council (RAC) for the North Saskatchewan Region to provide strategic advice in the development of the North Saskatchewan Regional Plan (NSRP). Members of the RAC are appointed by Cabinet through a public and transparent nomination process, which included apublic advertising campaign.

RAC is composed of a cross-section of individuals who live, work, recreate and/or have an interest in the region, and are able to strategically consider what is best for the entire region at a holistic level. Members are expected to provide their expertise and perspectives of the region and not represent their respective company or organization’s position.

For additional information about this campaign or the Council, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Regional Advisory Council.

Terms of Reference

The RAC provides advice to the Government of Alberta based on a terms of reference for each regional plan. The Terms of Reference for Developing the North Saskatchewan Regional Plan provides guidance on the scope of the regional plan and outlines key areas where the RAC’s advice is sought.

These areas include:

- The vision, outcomes and strategic directions proposed for the North Saskatchewan region;

- Continued growth of Alberta Industrial Heartland and Capital Region as a value-add energy sector and supporting growth of the Lower Athabasca region;

- Enhancing transportation, transmission, pipelines and access to markets;

- Maintaining agricultural lands and meeting demand for agriculture and agri-food products;

- Enhancing recreation opportunities to meet growing demands for off-highway vehicle use and random camping;

- Enhancing information sharing and building stronger relationships with Aboriginal peoples;

- Promoting inter-municipal planning;

- Increasing cumulative footprint of communities and the need to use land efficiently;

- Achieving an appropriate balance for lakes in the region between a healthy environment with the current and future pressures and uses, including recreation, municipal, industrial and agricultural activities;

- Identification of potential new conservation areas to support biodiversity, specifically the identification of new potential conservation areas that are managed to protect sensitive habitats and maintain ecological systems and processes;

- Improving the way working landscapes are managed to maintain ecosystem function and biodiversity; and

- Recognizing private landowners for their stewardship and conservation and opportunities to increase private landowner awareness and use of voluntary tools.

North Saskatchewan RAC Meeting Minutes and Agendas

November 25-26, 2014	Minutes 8: Review of the Draft Recommendations Report - RAC's advice to the Government of Alberta	Agenda 8 - NSRP-RAC
October 21-23, 2014	Minutes 7: Review of RAC's draft Recommendations to Government report	Agenda 7 - NSRP-RAC
October 7-9, 2014	Minutes 6: Full review of all recommendations and advice from sessions 1 - 5	Agenda 6 - NSRP-RAC
September 23-25, 2014	Minutes 5: Strengthen relationships and aboriginal involvement, enhance collaboration, maintain agricultural land base, attract tourism investment	Agenda 5 - NSRP-RAC
September 9-11, 2014	Minutes 4: Recognizing private landowners for stewardship/conservation initiatives, voluntary tools on private lands, new or expanded conservation areas and strategic directions	Agenda 4 - NSRP-RAC
August 26-28, 2014	Minutes 3: Industrial access management, ecosystem function and biodiversity, fragmentation of landscapes, reclamation, conservation areas	Agenda 3 - NSRP-RAC
August 12-14, 2014	Minutes 2: Consultation, including Aboriginal process/feedback, recommendations on water and watersheds	Agenda 2 - NSRP-RAC
July 29-31, 2014	Minutes 1: Regional planning, decision-making process, regional drivers and state of the environment	Agenda 1 - NSRP-RAC