Oldman Watershed Council (OWC)
319 - 6 St South T1J 2C7 Lethbridge, AB, Canada

YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) has launched a "Connect with the Coal Policy Committee" engagement tool. We encourage you to complete the input form and share this with your network. https://your.alberta.ca/coal-policy-committee

YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) is gathering input on a draft plan to protect and support the recovery of bull trout, Alberta’s provincial fish. Bull trout were once widespread in Alberta, but their populations have declined and stayed low for decades. In 2014, bull trout were listed as Threatened under Alberta’s Wildlife Act. The draft Alberta Bull Trout Recovery Plan focuses on bull trout conservation issues and recovery strategies. ... The survey closes June 13, 2021. https://www.alberta.ca/bull-trout-recovery-plan-engagement.

The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada is offering a two day course in July to learn about endangered whitebark pine and limber pine trees that are declining because of a disease called blister rust. A very practical field course to learn how to assess trees, and how to help them recover. There are 2-day field training sessions offered by the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada. There are 2 sessions in AB and 1 in BC. The July 21/22 is focused on nonprof...it staff at about half the rate as the other sessions, with reduced registration for WPEFC members (individual or institutional). There is an intro providing context about the species, biology, ecology, recovery actions and options, and background about specific protocols to follow. Attendees will learn to identify blister rust and other health agents, and work through various tree and stand assessment methods and data collection. There will be a section on cone and seed handling and collection, documentation, and provincial rules for registration, transport, and use of seed (for Crown land). This is not a tree climbing course. Professional development credits are available for registered professional biologists and foresters based on actual learning time. For more information and to register: https://whitebarkpine.ca/our-work/education/

Looking amazing!

Do some citizen science this weekend:

Meet our fantastic team of 2021 Outreach Assistants: Jessica, Sydney, Randy, and Brandon. We're excited to have them join us for the summer and look forward to all of the great things they will accomplish. Watch for them throughout the watershed over the next few months! oldmanwatershed.ca/blog-posts//5/4/2021-outreach-assistants

The final video and component of our 2020 restoration series is now available! In the video, we look at a restoration event at Dutch Creek in the fall of 2020, discuss why it has been the site of many restoration events over the years, and talk about some of our partnerships. https://youtu.be/pkD64kgThfE

We are now accepting applications for the 2021 intake of the Watershed Legacy Program (WLP). As one of OWC’s flagship programs, WLP offers financial support and resources for on-the-ground restoration and stewardship projects located within the Oldman watershed. If you are a landowner or stewardship group with a project that will directly enhance the health of our watershed, fill out the application form located at: https://oldmanwatershed.ca/wlp-whats-being-done. Please share with your networks, colleagues, friends, and neighbours. All applications must be received by February 1st, 2021.

Our new blog is up! In it, we look at some of the challenges we face moving into the year ahead and kick off our new blog series "Navigating Our Future". https://oldmanwatershed.ca//navigating-our-future-whats-in

Public engagement for these 18 flood studies will run until January 15, 2021. Provide your feedback and have your voice be heard.

The final video and component of our 2020 restoration series is now available for your viewing pleasure! In the video, we look at a restoration event at Dutch Creek, discuss why it has been the site of many restoration events over the years, and talk about some of our partnerships. In case you missed it, you can catch up with the final blog potion of the series here: https://oldmanwatershed.ca//headwaters-restoration-part-33

Part 3 of our Restoration Blog series is now up! This is part three of a three-blog series focused on OWC’s restoration process, from concept to completion. Our projects at Beaver Creek serve as a sort of ‘case study’ to illustrate these steps. We hope it will shed some light on the hard work that goes into our restoration sites, and inspire you to volunteer at a future event! Read the final instalment of here:... oldmanwatershed.ca//headwaters-restoration-part-33-bioengi See more

Have you heard about the new course being provided by the University of Lethbridge called Conversational Indigenization"? It is open to both student and community members and sounds like a much-needed and worthwhile offering. Check it out! -- University of Lethbridge teacher and researcher Don McIntyre from the Dhillon School of Business has spent years creating safe space for conversation around a topic that has sometimes been associated with uncertainty. Now McIntyre, a m...ember of the Wolf Clan from Lake Timiskaming First Nation, and the University of Lethbridge are making available his Open Studies course, Conversational Indigenization: Reconciling Reconciliation to students and communities at large. More information: https://stories.ulethbridge.ca/conversational-indigenizati/

YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) Alberta Environment and Parks is considering a proposed disturbance standard under the Public Lands Administration Regulation. A disturbance standard is a flexible tool that can allow an activity to occur on public land, subject to certain requirements. This disturbance standard would create a general permission for users to place and use a temporary seasonal dock, boat lift and associated mooring structures on the Crown-owned bed and shore... without obtaining individual authorization. It allows AEP to better manage the placement of temporary seasonal docks and other mooring structures on the beds and shores of Crown-owned water bodies that are subject to the Public Lands Act. They are now seeking additional input from Albertans on a revised draft disturbance standard. Visit www.alberta.ca/mooring-standards-engagement.aspx to learn more. This survey is open to input until December 14, 2020

The Alberta Energy Regulator is seeking public feedback on proposed changes to Directive 020: Well Abandonment that will allow zones within a well that are producing from multiple pools through a single wellbore to be abandoned together. This process is known as commingled abandonment. Feedback is being collected until December 4, 2020. https://www.aer.ca//rules-a/directives/directive-020-draft

The Canadian Mountain Network is on the hunt for a new Executive Director. If you're someone with a PhD who is interested in supporting the resilience and health of Canada’s mountain peoples and places through research partnerships based on Indigenous and Western ways of knowing that inform decision-making and action, then this is for you! https://canadianmountainnetwork.ca/cmn-is-hiring-an-execut/

Check out this video about an invasive species control project we were involved in a couple weeks ago!

"In 2018, Alberta Innovates and Alberta Environment and Parks partnered to study the potential climate change risk of extreme streamflow events at 48 small and medium sized municipal drinking water facilities across Alberta. The study was undertaken by Associated Engineering. This study was a high-level assessment which first considered historic vulnerability and then considered increased risks of future extreme streamflow events due to climate change. Vulnerability and risk ...assessments are a critical stage within an overall adaptive management framework to increase resilience to climate variability and climate change. This study is intended to aid municipalities in understanding future risk to drinking water infrastructure associated with climate change, identify facility and local knowledge gaps in need of more detailed assessment, and enable informed decisions prior to investment in new or improved drinking water infrastructure. A specific facility report was provided to each participating municipality to inform ongoing infrastructure planning by providing high-level insight future climate change considerations that they do not have at this time. " Read the full report here: https://albertainnovates.ca//Drinking-Water-Risk-and-Vulne

#FieldworkFriday: OWC squeezed in one last field day of the season. It was pouring rain in the mountains, so we had to improvise! (Pro tip: Always pack a rain jacket, even if you live in a semi-arid watershed and no rain is forecasted... lesson learned!) Nevertheless, we think we rocked our garbage-bag garb; it did the trick and we stayed (mostly) dry!