A world-renowned environmental group is shutting its doors in St. Albert.
City resident Rob Powell revealed this week that the World Wildlife Fund would be closing its Mackenzie River Basin office in St. Albert effective immediately. Powell was the director of that office.
“We will still have a presence in St. Albert but not an office,” he added, as he’s staying in town.
Budget cuts have prompted the WWF to lay off eight workers, Powell said, including the other staff members at the St. Albert office, and to close the office they had rented above Hair F/X on Perron Street. He himself would continue to represent the group in St. Albert, addressing Alberta issues such as water allocation, climate change, and oil and gas development.
It’s unfortunate, Powell said of the closure, but you can only cover so many issues. “I think Alberta needs more WWF. There are a lot of environmental issues here.”
The WWF set up shop in St. Albert in 2007, according to the Gazette’s archives, focusing most of its efforts on the oilsands. The St. Albert office helped co-ordinate activities such as Earth Hour, Clean Up the Sturgeon and the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
This is a huge loss to the city, said Pat Collins, chair of the Big Lake Environment Support Society, both in terms of expertise and taxes.
“The good work that WWF has done, not just in this region but all over Canada and the world, is enormous.”
