Alberta Natural Areas

[ThrowBack]

There's a few so-called "Natural Areas" in the region I'm currently working in. On a land ownership map for the county (Lacombe) they are classed as Crown land. According to the Alberta Government's website everything points to being good to go to hunt rabbit in them. However, I don't want to get in trouble. Does anyone hunt/shoot in these areas?

 

[Suka]

Not certain what you mean by natural areas.

This link gives you location and contact info for leaseholders of crown land: http://xnet.env.gov.ab.ca/imf/imf.jsp?site=rec_access

WMU maps and other reg info here: http://www.albertaregulations.ca/huntingregs/

Between the two you should have your answer.

 

[Pudelpointer]

All natural areas are open to hunting in AB, unless "no hunting" is specifically mentioned in the regulations (IIRC there is only one or two that are).

As long as you follow all the hunting regulations you are good to go.


Post pics.

 

[crazydave]

There's a few so-called "Natural Areas" in the region I'm currently working in. On a land ownership map for the county (Lacombe) they are classed as Crown land. According to the Alberta Government's website everything points to being good to go to hunt rabbit in them. However, I don't want to get in trouble. Does anyone hunt/shoot in these areas?

Some areas called natural areas are open for hunting but do not allow atv use. So by foot only

 

[crazy_davey]

Have a look here:

http://www.albertaparks.ca/hunting-natural-areas.aspx

Natural Areas

Natural areas are protected area lands that have been set aside to support a broad spectrum of recreational activities.

The majority of natural areas are small to medium sized properties and users of these sites can range from hikers, bird watchers, equestrian users, naturalists, organized conservation groups and leaseholders. Many natural areas receive a high level of public use, particularly those near urban centers, rural communities, acreage owners and rural subdivisions.

With the exception of those sites that have grazing leases or recreation oriented leases, natural areas are not intensively managed by the Province. However, many natural areas have Volunteer Stewards who take great pride in maintaining trails and providing general clean up and stewardship of sites. In some cases Volunteer Stewards have erected site signage that identifies areas of no hunting or no OHV use. Hunters are asked to respect the site signage posted by Volunteer Stewards.

 

[ThrowBack]

Thanks for the replies, folks.
It seems like a good way to do some small game hunting/plinking on crown land without the hassle of securing a farmer's permission as would be the case for shooting on private land. I just hope I don't ruffle the feathers of some bird watching group.

 

[Duffy]

At one time there was a "Volunteer Stewardship" program where individuals or groups could sign up and volunteer to look after a "Natural Area". I was one.

I have seen where apparently the volunteer took it upon themselves to put up no hunting signs that were of course not binding.

On the one I "took care of" I found a tree stand and a pile of grain. I took pictures and recorded dates and turned the info over to F&W. They caught the fellow, got a conviction and I got a "Report A Poacher" reward of a couple hundred $.