CALGARY — A wilderness group says the sage-grouse bird is on the brink of extinction in Alberta and blames the oil and gas industry.
Nigel Douglas with the Alberta Wilderness Association says there are just 13 male birds left in the province.
He says the birds are very sensitive to industrial disturbance in their habitat.
Douglas says the Alberta government needs to ensure there isn’t any more development in the sage-grouses’ environment.
He also says the province should phase out developments where the endangered birds have disappeared from.
The group is holding an emergency summit with leading North American sage-grouse scientists on Wednesday and Thursday to develop recommendations to halt the demise of the species.