Standing Up for Rural Hotels & Motels

AHLA has asked the Minister of Forestry and Parks to make a practical amendment to Alberta’s 2026 hunting regulations. The issue affects unguided international game bird hunters who travel to rural Alberta, stay in local accommodations, build relationships with landowners, and return year after year.

 

What happened

The new rule says an unguided international hunter who buys a second seven-day game bird licence cannot hunt in the same Wildlife Management Unit, or WMU, used on the first licence that year. AHLA supports responsible wildlife stewardship, but this rule treats separate spring and fall trips as though they create the same conservation concern.

 

What AHLA asked for

We asked government to allow these hunters to use the same WMU on a second seven-day licence when one trip is during the spring white goose season and the other is during the fall game bird season. Each trip would still require its own licence, and all other hunting rules would continue to apply. This recognizes that spring snow and Ross’s goose hunting helps manage overpopulation and damage to Arctic breeding grounds, while the fall season involves different birds, a different migration, and different wildlife management objectives.

 

Why this matters to members in rural Alberta

For many rural hotels and motels, repeat visitors matter. Hunters often travel in shoulder and off-peak seasons, when every room night counts. Their spending supports accommodations, restaurants, fuel stations, grocery stores, sporting-goods retailers, and other local businesses.

• Rural communities could lose business: If hunters cannot return to areas they know, they may cancel their trips, choose another jurisdiction, or book guided hunts that keep more spending within a single outfitting business. This could affect communities near Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Drumheller, Provost, Wainwright, Camrose, and the areas in between.
• Local relationships support safety and compliance: WMUs can cover hundreds or thousands of square kilometres. Returning hunters know the terrain, understand local access requirements, and have built trust with landowners and local businesses. Forcing them into unfamiliar areas can disrupt those relationships.
• Alberta needs to stay competitive: Saskatchewan permits non-resident hunters to purchase one five-day spring licence and two five-day fall licences. Alberta should avoid rules that make repeat trips harder and send visitor spending to neighbouring jurisdictions.

 

What AHLA is working to achieve

AHLA’s request gives government a practical way to protect wildlife goals while keeping repeat visitors and their spending in rural Alberta. A targeted amendment would support responsible hunting, rural hotels, landowner relationships, local businesses, and Alberta’s broader visitor economy.

 

Read our Submission Here