An unlikely coalition of ranchers, First Nations, fly fishers, country singers, environmentalists and town councillors is riled up in the heartland of southern Alberta.

The government's attempt to open the door to coal development in the fabulous southwest corner of the province has galvanized right and left voting folks.

The unfolding revolt against the United Conservative Party plan is a cautionary tale about staying in touch with the heartland and respecting the public.  And it's a further signal that the UCP has lost the trust of the very people it would normally appeal to.

The UCP government quietly scrapped a 1976 policy in May which prevented any open-pit mining in a stretch of the Rocky Mountains and their foothills.  Australian and Canadian firms have set their sights on the metallurgical coal in the area.  They are being helped by the powerful Canadian Coal Association, whose president is former Conservative cabinet minister Robin Campbell.

An $800-million proposed Australian mine in the Crowsnest Pass area is wending its way through provincial-federal regulatory processes already.  Although it is not within the specific "Category 2" lands covered by the open pit ban, it is the first active incursion of this scale of mining into the area in decades.

Other coal leases which opened up in May are firmly in the most protected regions.

The struggle here is over the potential pollution danger to southern Alberta's water supply.  Mining is notoriously a source of various dangerous elements.  Coal mining on the B.C. side of the border has been blamed for selenium tainting of rivers flowing into the U.S.

Environmentalists fear damage to critical wildlife habitat, home to cutthroat trout, cougars, elk and grizzly bears from the planned Alberta projects.

Any controversy has two sides.  The Crowsnest Pass municipality, founded on the early 20th century exploitation of the area's coal resource, wants the jobs the mines will produce.  Councillors estimate development will produce 400 new jobs.

And the provincial government is desperate for any resource revenue as the oil and gas sector continues its downhill slide.  The UCP prides itself on its industry friendly policies, particularly its wholesale cutting of red tape.  The elimination of the 1976 coal policy was an example of that policy writ large.

That elimination was rather sneakily done without consultation and announced with no fanfare the Friday before the May long weekend.

A bureaucrat involved in the original creation of the policy during the Peter Lougheed administration said the protections were put on in the first place after dozens of public consultations.

The Kenney administration apparently just talked to the coal lobby before making its move.

This week Energy Minister Sonja Savage announced she had heard the concern expressed about the policy scrapping.  Some recently issued coal leases were cancelled and Savage put coal lease sales on pause.

But the cancelled leases are only a portion of the leases issued since May.  Any projects already in the regulatory review process are exempt.  The Crowsnest Grassy Mountain project is far from dead and exploration continues on leases from earlier in the year.

Meanwhile signatures on petitions, outrage on social media and radio talk shows, and messages to the government continue to mount.

Some of the most heartfelt words spoken on the subject have come from country singer Corb Lund, who along with fellow singers Paul Brandt, Terri Clark and Jan Arden, has jumped into the fray on the side of ranchers worried about the water they need for their livelihoods.

Lund is a sixth generation southern Albertan.  He has met with the Alberta's energy and environment ministers on this issue.

"I asked them why this is a good idea.  I wasn't satisfied with the answers," he said in an interview.

"They're basically asking us to trust them but I don't trust anyone on this stuff."

The coal policy is also being challenged in court.  This week a judge was hearing a bid by the province to shut down ranchers seeking a judicial review.

Some First Nations are looking to intervene and phrases like "duty to consult" are popping up.

Even proponents of the mine admit the government screwed up consultation and communication on the coal policy from the get go.

Coal is just the latest in a long list of Kenney policies that have raised the hackles of big swathes of the Alberta population.  Once trust is gone, it can take a very long time to regain.

Photo Credit: Alberta Venture