A Strategy to Improve Wetland Management in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed
Wetlands are invaluable assets on our landscapes, providing pivotal services for overall watershed health and function. Knowing this, the NSWA has developed our Strategy to Improve Wetland Management in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed.
The Strategy is a product of multiple workshops and conversations held since 2021 with municipal staff, government employees, and non-profit organizations in the NSR watershed. In February 2024, the strategy was approved by the Steering Committees of the subwatershed alliances, including the Headwaters Alliance, the Sturgeon River Watershed Alliance, the Vermilion River Watershed Alliance, and the NSWA Executive Committee.
Policies can be tough to navigate at the best of times, and so, along with these partners, NSWA has co-created a strategy that best aligns with municipal policies and plans, providing greater capacity for restoration and conservation efforts.
Our Wetland Goals
Together with our partners, we built 34 goals to address gaps in knowledge and capacity identified during workshops.
These fall under four strategic areas:
- Collaborate and Take Action
- Build and Mobilize Knowledge
- Optimize Planning, Policy, and Financial Programs
- Implement Wetland Monitoring.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to:
- Increase the amount of wetlands in the NSR watershed
- Improve overall condition of wetlands in the basin
- Build upon ongoing wetland management through collaboration and capacity building
Snow Geese by Steve Ricketts
Resources
Red-necked Grebes by Roger Kirchen
Resources
Strategy to Improve Wetland Management in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed (2024)
Summary of the Strategy to Improve Wetland Management in the NSRW
What We Heard – Developing a Wetland Strategy for the NSR 2021
Funding Acknowledgement:
Funding for the development of this Strategy was provided by the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Community Partnership Grant in partnership with the Summer Village of Summer Sands.
Next Steps
The NSWA will be engaging with partners and any interested communities or organizations over the next year to build an Implementation Plan to accompany the Strategy.
This plan will layout a road map for completing the goals identified within the Strategy over a 10-year period.
We encourage anyone interested in collaborating on this effort to please reach out and express your interest in being a part of the efforts to improve wetlands within the NSR watershed. Please keep an eye out for further announcements on our newsletter, social media, and events page.
Wetlands in the NSR – Airscapes 2015
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
The Integrated Watershed Management Plan for the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta (IWMP) (2012) is one of the guiding documents for Watershed Planning Initiatives by the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance.
The IWMP outlines five Goals related to water quality, instream flows, aquatic ecology, groundwater, and land use and identifies 20 watershed Management Directions to guide actions for each goal. The IWMP identifies and outlines the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in an implementation strategy that is based on both voluntary and statutory activities.
Specifically, under Goal 3: Aquatic Ecosystem health in the NSR watershed is maintained or improved, Watershed Management Direction 3.2 is to “Maintain and restore wetlands considering their number, areal extent and function.”
