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In Alberta’s vast boreal forests covering the top half of the province all the way to the Northwest Territories, threatened woodland caribou and the province’s oil and gas ambitions are set to collide.

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With public engagement windows open until the end of October and middle of November, the provincial government is asking Albertans to weigh in on three new draft land-use plans for Alberta’s north country.

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The government says it’s attempting to codify land-use rules in resource-rich pockets of the province to help Alberta reach its goal of doubling oil and gas production, while preserving critical habitats.

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Conservation groups, however, worry the province’s changes would prioritize industrial development at the expense of species-at-risk and their home territory.

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“[Investors] seem to have noted though that these plans perhaps strike an updated balance that recognizes how modern oil and gas development takes place, while still adhering to caribou conservation,” said Jeremy McCrea, managing director of oil and gas equity research at BMO Capital Markets.

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Cheryl Bozarth Soll, president of Nature Alberta, on the other hand said the draft plans miss the point, citing what she calls the government’s “refusal to recognize what wildlife needs to be self-sustaining in their habitats.”

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The sections of land at the centre of this clash span a combined 118,000 square kilometres of wilderness. One region, called Berland, features rolling foothill landscapes, forests, lakes, wetlands and major river systems.

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It also features oil and gas activity, which is a significant economic driver for the region. According to government figures, oil and gas activity in the Berland contributes approximately $3.96 billion to Alberta’s GDP and supports a labour force of about 5,000 people. Forestry, meanwhile, contributes around $365 million to GDP and supports close to 2,000 jobs.

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But the Berland is also home to threatened caribou populations. Caribou habitat in the region includes the À la Pêche southern mountain caribou range and the Little Smoky boreal caribou range. Both are located in west-central Alberta within the Upper Peace and Upper Athabasca regions, lying east of Jasper National Park along Rocky Mountain foothills.

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The two other regions — called Caribou Mountains and Red Earth — are also home to sensitive habitats. Caribou Mountains extends from the Northwest Territories border in the north to the Peace River in the south, and the Red Earth area is situated immediately south of the Peace River. These corners of Alberta are home to multiple at-risk species—woodland caribou, wood bison, grizzly bears, sharp-tailed grouse and trumpeter swans.