Under Alberta's Water for Life strategy, Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) have been established for each of Alberta's major watershed basins. These councils are regional, multi-stakeholder, not-for-profit organizations that assess watershed health and work with their greater watershed community (partners, citizens, governments, First Nations, academia, industry, and non-government organizations) to develop plans, make recommendations for policy to decision-makers, and engage in adaptive management actions to benefit the health and sustainability of the watershed.
Alberta WPACs do not have regulatory authority, but through deeper engagement and sharing of information with their watershed communities, they build support for and provide recommendations to decision-makers for water and watershed policy improvements. These groups are tasked with preparing a State of the Watershed Report, highlighting the current conditions of their watersheds. They will also prepare Integrated Watershed Management Plans which will achieve the goals set out in the Water for Life Strategy.
The Oldman Watershed Council is one of eleven Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) located across Alberta. The other WPACs are:
The Elbow River Watershed Partnership also works on watershed issues in Alberta.
Watershed Stewardship Groups
Unlike the regional scope of WPACs, Watershed Stewardship Groups (WSGs) have a local focus on protecting the watershed. WSGs are volunteer-led community groups actively involved in environmental stewardship of the watershed. Members include individuals, organizations, industry, agriculture, municipal, and other forms of local government that are participating in grassroots projects which are making a very positive impact on the quality and quantity of our water and are demonstrating good land-use practices.
Watershed stewardship groups in the Oldman River watershed are made up of volunteer citizens who take the initiative to protect their local creek, stream, stretch of river, or lake. Watershed stewardship groups proactively develop on-the-ground solutions to ensure the protection of the Oldman River watershed.
WSGs in the Oldman watershed include:
Chinook Area Land Users Association
Drywood/Yarrow Conservation Partnership
Lee Creek Watershed Group
Lyndon Creek Watershed Conservation Partnership
If you are interested in joining or forming a watershed group in your area, please contact us for more information.
REPORTS
The 2016 WPAC Summit in Calgary showcased the valuable and diverse work occurring across the province to improve the health of our watersheds. The WPACs of Alberta Booklet highlights some of the vital projects WPACs are leading.
You can also view the Alberta Government Environment and Parks Annual Report.
Conversations Around the Water-Table
Conversations Around the Water Table is a six-part interview and blog series led by the Project Blue Thumb team. They reached out to thirteen multi-stakeholder practitioners to hear their thoughts about the future of water in Alberta and potential directions.
Project Blue Thumb is a multi-stakeholder social lab co-convened by the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance and Alberta Ecotrust Foundation that takes a whole system approach to protect water quality in the Red Deer River watershed.
The series on the Alberta Water Portal Society site features our own Shannon Frank and Sofie Forsström:
Part Two: New Water Paradigms
by Amy Spark and Josée Méthot
"We’re speaking with people in their comfort zone. It’s about knowing your audience, instead of making assumptions about them."
—Shannon Frank
Part Five: Municipalities
by Amy Spark
"There have been some very successful environmental campaigns to get people to think about responsible home and garden use, but it hasn’t translated to backcountry recreation yet."
—Sofie Forsström
