News

South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP)

July 2014

Following three phases of consultation from November 2009 to February 2014, the Government of Alberta released the final version of the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP) on July 23, 2014. The SSRP is a blueprint to guide land use over the next 50 years.

Some of the highlights of the SSRP include:

  • Eight new and expanded Conservation Areas on provincial Crown land including the 54,588 hectare Castle Wildland Provincial Park and the 34,356 Pekisko Heritage Rangeland.
  • An increase in tenure terms from 10 to 20 years for leaseholders with high-level stewardship management practices throughout any region where protection of intact native grasslands is needed.
  • Air and surface water quality management frameworks to help ensure negative trends are identified and assessed, and the environment remains healthy for residents and ecosystems.
  • Commitment to a Biodiversity Management Framework to support cumulative effects management of important elements of biodiversity that are affected by land uses in the region.
  • Regional trail system plan that will identify and designate winter and summer motorized, non-motorized and mixed-use land and water-based trails, routes, and areas that link communities, neighbourhoods, destinations and tourism areas.
  • Development of approaches to address the climate variability found in the region supporting flood risk management and drought management.
  • Endorsement of the Efficient Use of Land Principles and the release of the Efficient Use of Land Tools Compendium to encourage municipalities to minimize the amount of land taken up by the built environment.

A regional plan is implemented as part of a larger integrated resource management system. All regional plans are reviewed every five and 10 years to evaluate its ongoing effectiveness and relevance to the region.

To access the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan, click here.

To look at a map of the South Saskatchewan Region, click here.

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