In its first comprehensive watershed-wide review, the North Saskatchewan River watershed has received a “generally fair” grade of health. The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA) noted in their State of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Report 2005 – A Foundation for Collaborative Watershed Management several areas for improvement, along with 18 recommendations to address these needs. The 15 criteria used in their assessment were selected and ranked by NSWA members, which include environmental and recreation organizations, First Nations groups, oil and gas companies, agriculture, health authorities, local residents and key government offices.

Human activities are the biggest single influence on the health of the watershed, according to the report. Land use activities, wetland loss and the health of the critical vegetation lining rivers, lakes and creeks in the watershed impact water quality in the tributaries and main stem of the North Saskatchewan River.

According to NSWA Manager, Sharon Willianen, a State of the Watershed Report was prepared to “assess where we are now so we will be able to track our progress in improving watershed health in future years.” Funding partners for the report are diverse and include Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Beef Producers, Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission, Alberta Conservation Association, EPCOR Water Services, Alberta Eco-Trust, Alberta Environment, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northeast Capital Industrial Association and Mountain Equipment Co-op.

You can download the report in PDF format below, or also order it on CD by contacting the NSWA as outlined in the Contact Us section.

State of North Saskatchewan Watershed Report, 2005
• Click here to view. (PDF - 16.2mb)

Sub-chapters of the SoW Report, 2005

• Beaver Hill (PDF - 1.03mb) • Beaver Hill Map (PDF - 3.2mb)	• Frog (PDF - 833kb) • Frog Map (PDF - 3.7mb)	• Ribstone (PDF - 909kb) • Ribstone Map (PDF - 4.8mb)
• Bigstone (PDF - 980kb) • Bigstone Map (PDF - 4.6mb)	• Iron (PDF - 925kb) • Iron Map (PDF - 5.1mb)	• Sounding (PDF - 1mb) • Sounding Map (PDF - 2.3mb)
• Blackfoot (PDF - 928kb) • Blackfoot Map (PDF - 1.2mb)	• Modeste (PDF - 923kb) • Modeste Map (PDF - 5.5mb)	• Strawberry (PDF - 968kb) • Strawberry Map (PDF - 1.9mb)
• Brazeau (PDF - 980kb) • Brazeau Map (PDF - 4.5mb)	• Monnery (PDF - 794kb) • Monnery Map (PDF - 0.8mb)	• Sturgeon (PDF - 899kb) • Sturgeon Map (PDF - 2.0mb)
• Clearwater (PDF - 815kb) • Clearwater Map (PDF - 2.8mb)	• Paintearth (PDF - 861kb) • Paintearth Map (PDF - 2.9mb)	• Vermilion (PDF - 852kb) • Vermilion Map (PDF - 3.7mb)
• Cline (PDF - 953kb) • Cline Map (PDF - 23.9mb)	• Ram (PDF - 927kb) • Ram Map (PDF - 3.4mb)	• White Earth (PDF - 982kb) • White Earth Map (PDF - 2.9mb)

Other chapters of the SoW Report, 2005

• Appendix (PDF - 970kb)	• Glossary (PDF - 509kb)	• References (PDF - 495kb)
• Conclusion (PDF - 763kb)	• Methodology (PDF - 908kb)	• Report Overview (PDF - 701kb)
• Data Gaps Discussion (PDF - 511kb)	• North Saskatchewan (PDF - 678kb)	• State Of North Sask (PDF - 1.09mb)
• Executive Summary (PDF - 577kb)	• Recommendations (PDF - 478kb)