Martha Kostuch, a longtime Alberta environmentalist who battled tirelessly to protect the province's air, water and wildlife habitat from the effects of industrial development, has died.
Kostuch, 58, died Wednesday morning, said friend and fellow environmental activist Myles Kitigawa of the Toxic Watch Society.
Martha Kostuch, a respected environmental activist in Alberta for more than 30 years, died Wednesday at the age of 58.
(CBC)
"I can't think of a single person who has been able to literally shape the face of environmental protection in the whole country the way Martha was able to with some of her groundbreaking legal work," Kitigawa told CBC News.
Just this week, the provincial government announced it was setting up a bursary to mark her 30 years as an environmental leader.
Kostuch, who had been suffering from a terminal illness, was too ill to travel from her home in Rocky Mountain House, Alta., west of Red Deer, to attend the luncheon in Edmonton to announce the bursary.
Environment Minister Rob Renner praised Kostuch's ability to work with the government on programs like the Clean Air Strategic Alliance, even though she was a vocal critic of other provincial initiatives.
"She was a true leader when it comes to environmental causes, not only a leader from the perspective of getting the attention of government, but she really pioneered the collaborative approach to problem-solving."
Kostuch, a veterinarian, first moved to Alberta in the 1970s and was one of only a handful of environmentalists.
One of her earliest causes was to fight plans by the provincial government to build a dam across the Oldman River, in southern Alberta, in the early 1990s. The project went ahead, but Kostuch and others forced changes in the project to protect fish and wildlife habitat.
