Since 2009, the Vermilion River Watershed Management Project (VRWMP) Steering Committee has been working to create a locally-developed and supported watershed plan that balances social, economic, and environmental needs of the watershed community. 

In collaboration with the VRWMP Steering Committee, the NSWA has now published a “Discussion Paper for the Development of a Watershed Management Plan for the Vermilion River Watershed in Alberta” (October 2011).  It summarizes the planning process over the last three years, the current legislative and policy context, technical studies and conditions in the watershed.  The Paper presents draft recommendations in the form of five goals, 20 watershed management directions and 56 specific actions on a wide range of water, land and development issues.  The recommendations incorporate stakeholder interests expressed to date and present an implementation strategy.

The NSWA now seeks further public and stakeholder input on the draft recommendations.  To that end, the NSWA has produced a short survey and a longer questionnaire.  These form the core of the consultation and engagement process over the next four months and give all parties an opportunity to share their views and help shape the final recommendations.  The NSWA aims to prepare the final Watershed Management Plan to submit to all project partners and stakeholders in the spring of 2012.

We are seeking your review of the draft recommendations by requesting you to prepare a response to the survey and/or the long questionnaire. The short survey seeks feedback on stakeholders' priorities for watershed management directions and overall interest in participating in implementation, while the long questionnaire seeks detailed stakeholder feedback on priorities and interest in implementing actions. We also invite any other points of concern, guidance or support.

The short survey form has been prepared as a web form, and has also been included as a tear-out section in the Discussion Paper. The longer questionnaire is a Microsoft Word document that may be filled out electronically and emailed to water@nswa.ab.ca, or printed and mailed to the address below. We would like your completed responses by March 3, 2012.