Alberta's plan to protect caribou not enough: critics

Alberta is bringing in a new policy that it says will protect woodland caribou from dying out in the oilsands region and elsewhere.

The plan comes after conservation groups asked a Federal Court judge to order Ottawa to help ensure that caribou don't become extinct in the province.

Alberta says it will look at setting aside conservation areas, restoring land disturbed by industry and killing predators such as wolves.

Sustainable Resources Minister Mel Knight notes the province is spending $2 million this year on caribou recovery.

Groups including Ecojustice, the Pembina Institute and the Alberta Wilderness Association say the plan is too weak and doesn't call for immediate action.

They say studies have shown caribou need large areas of land free of industrial development if they are not to become extinct in Alberta within 40 years.