Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

headwaters

Water flow in Alberta is 'exceptionally low' this year and could pose challenges for fish

Water flow in Alberta is 'exceptionally low' this year and could pose challenges for fish

Lorne Fitch, a longtime fisheries biologist and former adjunct professor at the University of Calgary, is often checking out the headwaters of the Oldman River. "It's been an interesting view of a year that doesn't seem to follow anything that resembles a normal pattern," Fitch said. In Alberta, June typically brings high levels of rain, which hasn't been the case this year. Snowpacks also disappeared, on average, about a month earlier than they would have in a normal year, according to Paul Christensen, a senior fisheries biologist with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

Organizations pushing for accelerated conservation efforts in Canada

Organizations pushing for accelerated conservation efforts in Canada

“It’s not just wildlife. These are important areas for our headwaters, the drinking water that supports ourselves, our industries and our natural ecosystems,” Feagan said. It’s those waters that have the attention of officials with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Southern Alberta Chapter (CPAWS). “We want to make sure that trout populations are healthy, but we want to make sure the water itself is healthy,” said executive director Katie Morrison.

Government of Canada Invests in Upgrades to Heart Lake Conservation Park

Government of Canada Invests in Upgrades to Heart Lake Conservation Park

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) Heart Lake Conservation Park has received funding from the Government of Canada that will help create more community access to this valuable greenspace. On March 26, MP Ruby Sahota and TRCA CEO John MacKenzie were present at Heart Lake Conservation Park to make the announcement and recognize the vital work that will be accomplished with this investment support. As part of the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF), over $660,000 in federal government funding will go towards essential infrastructure improvements to strengthen accessibility, the use of the greenspace, and the overall visitor experience at this location.

Southern Alberta ranchers conserve land to help protect drinking water for cities

Southern Alberta ranchers conserve land to help protect drinking water for cities

Justin Thompson and Matt Kumlin walk up a hill toward a ridge in the Alberta foothills as a border collie and “cow-dog-in-training” named Newt tags along. At the top of the ridge, the snow-capped Rocky Mountains are visible to the west. Calgary’s downtown is about 40 kilometres to the east. More than six square kilometres of the property around them has been protected by the Kumlin family with a conservation easement, which restricts land uses that could damage its ecological health.

Nature Conservancy of Canada purchases land for protection in southern Alberta

Nature Conservancy of Canada purchases land for protection in southern Alberta

The announcement comes a few months after the organization announced a $6.9-million campaign to save a 16.5-square-kilometre property called the Yarrow, which is also in southern Alberta but "a little farther north" from the latest project and just outside what's traditionally known as the Waterton Park Front. The Yarrow also features grasslands, wetlands, creeks, mixed forests and includes 27 wildlife species of provincial and national significance. There are two streams that provide fish habitat and transport water from Alberta's southern headwaters to rivers across the Prairies that flow to Lake Winnipeg and eventually Hudson Bay.

'An abomination': Sask. water expert warns of contamination following Alberta's coal policy changes

'An abomination': Sask. water expert warns of contamination following Alberta's coal policy changes

Alberta's plan to allow for open-pit coal mining in the Rocky Mountains could be a serious threat to Saskatchewan's water supply, says the director of the Global Water Futures Project at the University of Saskatchewan. "For a water scientist to see this happening, it's just an abomination to have these types of developments suggested in the headwaters of the rivers that supply drinking water and the economy for most of Saskatchewan," John Pomeroy told CBC's Blue Sky. Last spring, the Alberta government revoked a 1976 policy that blocked open-pit coal mining on the eastern slopes and peaks of the Rockies.

Alberta government wants to rewrite the water use rules along eastern slopes of Rockies

Alberta government wants to rewrite the water use rules along eastern slopes of Rockies

The Alberta government wants to rewrite the rules on water use along the eastern slopes of the Rockies as part of its economic recovery plan, including a push for new coal developments in the area. Water use is highly restricted in southern Alberta due to concerns about supply, and new water licences cannot be issued, they have to be purchased from existing licence holders on the open market. The new plan put forward by the Alberta government would affect water pulled from the Oldman watershed above the dam.

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