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Photo by Leta Pezderic - "Oldman River" Happy 99th birthday, Oldman River!
Did you know that its name was changed from the Belly River to the Oldman River on August 4, 1915? |
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1902 Belly River Flood
(before the name change to the Oldman River)
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SSRP: Devil or Divine?
The long-awaited South Saskatchewan Regional Plan was released
July 23 and comes into effect September 1st.
Many people are asking: What is OWC's position on it?
See www.oldmanwatershed.blogspot.ca for the answer
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Yellow Fish Road Launch 2014 
Stephanie Vehnon, City of Lethbridge
Youth from the Boys and Girls Club kicked off the 8th annual Yellow Fish Road Program on June 6, 2014 at the Aquaponics Building at Lethbridge College. The Yellow Fish Road Program is designed to create awareness on storm drain pollution and shares the message that "Rainwater Only" should be entering our storm drains, which lead directly to the Oldman River, and are untreated by local treatment plants. The program involves painting yellow fish by storm drains and hanging door hangers for awareness.
The youth received a presentation on types off pollution that can enter our storm drains, making their way to the Oldman River. Pollutants such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, garbage, soap, excessive amounts of dirt, oil, and gas can enter our storm drains and create water quality issues, affecting the aquatic life.
"It's to show people not to put garbage or other liquids in sewer drains because it could kill
wildlife in the river," said Brooklynn Cain, a Grade 4 student at Galbraith Elementary school.
"We're painting fish so people know not to put other liquids besides water down the
sewer drain," said Melanie McQueen, a classmate of Brooklynn's.
This helps us realize that youth are listening and wanting to actively participate in creating such a strong visual message to the community. The youth then learned a little about water quality measurement techniques from the Lethbridge College, as well as got a tour of the fish and Aquaponics operations. They enjoyed all aspects of the launch and are now familiar with the Yellow Fish Road Program and ways they can help to reduce storm drain pollution.
The Yellow Fish Road was started in 1991 by Trout Unlimited Canada. In 2007, the City of Lethbridge and the Oldman Watershed Council became a Trout Unlimited Partner of the Yellow Fish Road Program, and has been going strong ever since! If you are interested, contact Stephanie Vehnon at yfr@lethbridge.ca!
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"THE OLDMAN LOOKS BACK"
 | | Northwest Mounted Police 1885 in the river valley |
Will you help us write 2015? The OWC welcomes everyone who is interested in volunteering. All of our achievements are due to the hard work of our many talented people. Whether you are new to watershed issues or an experienced scientist, we'd love to hear from you! Contact Anna by email for more information.
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What's up in the Headwaters? Gotta classify those linear features!
The Headwaters Action Team (multi-stakeholder group formed from the Partnership Advisory Network) has been moving forward on priority actions of the Headwaters Action Plan. After developing the Team Charter to help guide how we work together, the team is now focused on the Classification of Linear Features Project, which will be our first pilot project in the Dutch Creek sub-watershed of the Oldman headwaters.
The OWC has received funds from the key sponsors (see below!) towards the priority action to develop a classification of linear features protocol. Classification of linear disturbance is important to understand - for it will help to prioritize the remediation/restoration of linear disturbance features that impact important headwaters function and values. The team is working with the Government of Alberta to ensure that the resulting protocol is a useful contribution to the Linear Footprint Management Framework of the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan. We are very pleased to have their assistance, and also the help of Fish and Wildlife in our need to understand cumulative effects on fish species at risk. The Dutch Creek sub-watershed is home to a near pure population of threatened Westslope Cutthroat trout.
The Headwaters Action Team will also be addressing the education and awareness of aquatic invasive species (AIS) priority action - with an AIS information session at Beauvais Lake Provincial Park boat launch, July 31 at 12 pm. The Team welcomes everyone to join them for this lakeside information session to learn more about the threat to the Oldman watershed from zebra mussels, quagga mussels and Eurasian watermilfoil. All are welcome to join us!
But the Team isn't all about work! We are also about having some fun together and celebrating this greater watershed community. We took some time to celebrate Shannon's birthday, which was on June 24, but we met on June 26 and enjoyed a home make birthday cake, complete with candles and off-key singing!
A BIG Thank You goes to the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and the Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent for funding the linear features classification project.
For more information on our progress with the Headwaters Action Plan, please contact
connie@oldmanbasin.org or call 403-627-1736.
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 | "Summer Butterfly"
Photo by Andrea Vaxvick |
Wow! Summer is really flying by! Our last newsletter was in mid-May when we were all gearing up for the May long weekend and now here we are gearing up for August long?!
May I just start by saying that it has been a fantastic summer here at the OWC and on the friendraising front it has been exciting, to say the least!
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Above: RBC Manager, Brian Bradley presents OWC Executive Director, Shannon Frank, with a cheque on RBC Blue Water Day
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On RBC Blue Water Day, June 12th, we were presented with a cheque from the Royal Bank of Canada to help implement the Headwaters Action Plan - a plan that we, with community members and 18 stakeholders in the basin, have been working on for two years! You can imagine how ecstatic we are at seeing the priority actions, set out in the plan, start to come into fruition. The funds, along with support from the Alberta Conservation Association, Government of Alberta and the Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent, will first go towards helping us map and classify linear features (roads, trails, rails, pipelines, seismic lines, telephone lines etc.) in a 4th order watershed in the headwaters of the Oldman watershed. These features will be classified according to their state, erosion potential, intensity of use and environmental impact to identify problem areas and actions for reclamation. We're excited to get this project on the go and if you would like to get involved or donate to protect and improve the health of our headwaters - the provider of 90% of the freshwater in the Oldman watershed - please do so by visiting the links, or, give me a call at 403-382-4708, anytime, to discuss opportunities - I'd love to hear from you!
 | | Photo by Leta Pezderic |
As you've heard from our lovely Leta, above, the Prairie Urban Garden Tour on June 21st was a success. On the fundraising front, this was an interesting and fun experience because the costs of the tour were entirely covered by sponsors in the Oldman watershed community! We worked hard with them to pull it off and what a great learning experience it was for all of us at OWC. Fundraising plays an integral role in our ability to provide programs and do research for our water sustainability in southern Alberta.
So thank you again to our sponsors below. We couldn't have provided the community with this great tour to protect our stormwater quality without you... or our valuable partners and volunteers; the City of Lethbridge (Waste & Recycling Services and Water, Wastewater and Stormwater), JoJo Garden Design and Consulting, Southern Alberta Group for the Environment and OWC Members at Large.
Last, but certainly not least, we had our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 25th, which you can read about, above, from Bev. But, may I just say, it was great to have passionate members, volunteers, stakeholders, board and staff celebrating our MANY accomplishments over the April, 2013 - March, 2014 fiscal year (Annual Report .pdf). Again, we couldn't have thrown such a great AGM without the support of sponsors in our community - Wholesale Sports, Pawsibilities, Serenity Equestrian - who added much value by offering exciting prizes, and Lethbridge Kinsmen, who provided a "Crown and Anchor" table for Anna's engaging "So you think you know the OWC?" game. THANK YOU, to our volunteers, sponsors, partners and supporters who make the OWC's important work (and the celebration and communication of it) possible. WE COULD NOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU.
So, as you can see, an exciting summer so far and it's not over!
Would you like to get involved with the OWC? Will you donate or continue to donate to the Oldman watershed community vision for a healthy, resilient watershed, where wildlife, habitat and people thrive? If you've thought about getting involved or donating but don't know where to start, please, do not hesitate to contact one of our staff. We're here to help you, help the Oldman watershed, through many programs, such as the Watershed Legacy Program, which I would be happy to tell you all about.
Have a fun and safe August long weekend!
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Blue-Green Algae Advisories issued - click here for more information
Looking for current news on water in Alberta? Visit the WaterPortal website to sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of their homepage.
Alberta's river forecasting info in the palm of your hand? There's an app for that.
FROM: Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
At last month's flood mitigation symposium in Calgary, we announced a new river information tool that made quite the splash. It's our Alberta Rivers app. Get the most current advisory info in real time. Get notifications sent directly to your home screen, View river forecast data from anywhere in the province.
To read more or download the Android app click here (iPhone/iPad app will be available soon). Don't Miss the Boat: How to Ditch Invasive Mussels  Alberta Conservation Association- Spring/Summer 2014
So you bought a boat...in the United States...and got a great deal! You're driving it back to Alberta. There is a boat inspection station. You wonder if you need to stop. You wonder what could happen if you don't... Aquatic invasive species are common stowaways and pose one of the greatest threats to freshwater resources.
They can change the aquatic ecosystem by competing with native fish species and removing vital nutrients needed for their survival. They also pose substantial risks to the economy by clogging pipes and intakes, decreasing property values, and changing native fisheries that are important to Albertans.
There are 3 ways to rid your boat and equipment of mussels. To read more, click here.
Steaming may have caused endless Cold Lake oil spills, CNRL admits
Global News - July 14, 2014 For the first time, Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. has admitted a series of never-ending spills on its property could be caused, or at least exacerbated, by its own high-pressure steaming. Environmentalist critics have been saying so for years. Energy Resources Conservation Board (regulator before Alberta Energy Regulator) suggested as much in its report on another, similar spill in 2009. But for more than a year, CNRL stuck with its original story: That faulty wellbores - old holes in the rock used to extract bitumen from operations long defunct - were to blame. read more
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2014 Conferences, Courses & Workshops
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September 23-26
Western Canada Water 2014 Stronger Together - Regina, SK
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Job Postings & Requests for Proposal
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OWC Requests for Proposals
Oldman Linear Feature Classification Project
The Oldman Watershed Council is currently seeking a qualified contractor for the 'Oldman Linear Feature Classification Project' - provide field research, data collection and analysis of linear features in the Dutch Creek sub-watershed in the Oldman headwaters area. Please see the attached Request for Proposals for more information.
Reference related to this project:
Oldman Headwaters Indicator Project - http://oldmanbasin.org/files/4213/9757/3811/HIP_Report_April_2_2014.pdf
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward to hearing from you. - Connie Simmons
Application Deadline: August 6
OWC Website Redesign
As part of the OWC's focus on communication, we are creating a clearer, crisper website that is simple, user-friendly and more interactive. Experienced web design firms who understand both rural broadband issues and visual, crowd-sourced content are invited to submit an RFP. Contact our Communications Coordinator, Anna Garleff, for more information, 587 224 3793 or email anna@oldmanbasin.org. Click here for the RFP.
Proposal deadline: 9 am, Monday, August 18.
POLIS Water Sustainability Project has been working for the past decade to develop critical foundational research on water sustainability, with a particular focus on governance and water law in the context of policy reform. They currently have an opportunity for a researcher/coordinator to join their team and play a key role in developing and disseminating innovative research on water policy and law reform. Download the complete job posting, which outlines the required qualifications/experience and has full instructions on how to apply. Applications should be submitted no later than August 4.
Red Deer River Watershed Alliance
Watershed Planning Coordinator - click here for job posting. Application deadline: August 15.
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OWC funding provided in part by:
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