ALMS Winter Banner Image

Alberta Lake Management Society Newsletter

March 2012
Alberta Water Quality Awareness

Alberta Water Quality Awareness (AWQA) 2012 Registration Opens on April 1st!

 
This summer, hundreds of Albertans will be working together to create a province-wide snapshot of water quality with free water testing kits provided by the Alberta Water Quality Awareness Day program. Interested Albertans will need to register online (www.awqa.ca) for their free kits between April 1st and April 30th. The requested kits will be distributed in early May to interested teachers, youth groups, farmers, ranchers, watershed groups and other individuals to test lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands for basic aquatic health. 

 

A high level of interest and participation throughout the province illustrates the common interest in water protection and preservation among Albertans. So we challenge you to get outside and get your feet wet!

 

For more information please check out the AWQA website www.awqa.ca 
Ice Fishing Lake Stewardship
Gull Lake Ice Hut
Gull Lake ice hut featured in a travelog by Kevin Brooker in Westworld Magazine. Click on the photo to read the article.
Ice fishing can be an amazing way to experience our lakes but anglers should be careful to leave the lake as they found it. Bottles, cans, plastic bags and cigarette butts are frequently left around ice fishing holes. Garbage and litter can negatively impact our lakes and are unsightly as they wash up onto shorelines. Debris on the large-scale, abandoned ice huts are an ongoing concern with recreational lakes in central Alberta. Currently there are no regulations specific to ice huts in Alberta and if huts are not removed before the ice thins or melts the bottom of the structure can freeze to the lake when the cold returns. Some anglers don't remove the huts and they are left to sink into the lake. When the lake thaws out chunks of wood are left floating out in the water causing a hazard to boaters. 

However, we are please to report that the stewards and governing bodies around Sylvan Lake have taken action on this issue. The Sylvan Lake Management Committee (SLMC), comprised of Red Deer County, Lacombe County, Town of Sylvan Lake, and the five summer villages surrounding Sylvan Lake, has taken a leadership role and enlisted the help of Alberta Environment and Water, the RCMP and the Sylvan Lake community to eliminate the ice hut problem.  They have begun an education campaign, voluntary registration of ice huts, and are proposing new legislation requiring mandatory registration of ice fishing huts. They have also formed a committee to remove ice huts left on Sylvan Lake after April 8th, under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.

 

Anglers should pay attention to the weather, or put the structure on blocks to keep it off the ice or move the huts so they don't settle into the ice.  And please, carry out out any trash after you have finished fishing. 

Events
March 22nd: World Water Day 2012 "Water and Food Security"

 

Spring Forum and General Meeting: Theme

 "Water and Food Security" 

Organization: Red Deer River Watershed Alliance

Date: Thursday March 22, 10am-3pm. Innisfail Golf and Country Club Tournament House 

Speakers include: Jennifer Nitschelm on Water Managment, Dave McGee on Water Conservation Objectives, David Hill on Alberta Runs on Water, Susan Roberts on Growing Food Security in Alberta. 

Register by email: info@rdrwa.ca or phone 403-340-7379  Cost: $10.00

 

Maude Barlow presents Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Fight for the Right to Water 

Organization: U of A's Sustainability Speakers Series

Date: Thursday, 22 March 2012 Myer Horowitz Theatre, University of Alberta, Doors at 6:30pm Talk at 7pm. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online at Tix on the Square or in-person at InfoLink locations on campus.

 

March 19th - 25th: Canada Water Week 2012 "Our Water Footprint"

 

Arctic Shores Grand Opening

Organization: Edmonton Valley Zoo
Date: March 17, 2012 12 noon - 4 pm

 

Water & the Higher Source: Our Sacred Connection

Organization: Waterlution Calary Hub

Date:  March 17, 2012 - 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Spiritwood Retreat Centre, Priddis.

 

Groundwater: Unlocking the Secrets of Alberta's Most Important Resource

Organization: North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper and North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance

Date:  March 19, 2012 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm at Jasper Place High School Global Cafe, Edmonton

 

'Our Water, Our Lake' - Educational Day at McArthur Place

Organization: Portage College, Lac La Biche

Date:  March 24, 2012 - 11:00am - 2:00pm

 

The water footprint of your lunch!

Organization: City of Calgary Water Services

Date: March 22, 2012 - 11:30am - 1:00pm Calgary Water Centre 


Watershed Objectives & Market Based Instruments

Date: March 23, Cochrane Ranch house register here
News and Press Releases
Green Acreages Guide: Stewardship for Small Acreages workbook is now available. It is a great watershed stewardship resource for acreage and recreational property owners, with a whole chapter devoted to recreational lake properties. Click here for more info and to order...

Experts begin work on designing improved provincial environmental monitoring system. 
Group will focus on governance and funding issues. read more... 

Alberta Environment and Water released the Water for Life Progress Report highlights a selection of the activities, programs, and tools being pursued under the Water for Life strategy within the timeframe of December 1, 2008 to March 31, 2011. Read more... 
SAVE THE DATE!
ALMS Annual Workshop this year in Alberta's 
Lakeland Region
Cold Lake, Alberta
September 28 & 29, 2012

Topics will include:
- Water usage and Management
- Planning for Healthy Watersheds
- Facing and Dealing with Water Quality Issues
Volunteers Needed
Lakewatch is looking for volunteers in the Lakeland region to sample water quality with our technicians. Do you have a boat? Are you interested in learning about the health of your lake? Please contact us!
OspreyWatch

New! www.osprey-watch.org

Adult Osprey in flight. photo: John DiGiorgio
Osprey
OspreyWatch is a global community of observers focused on breeding osprey. The observers are linked by an interest in osprey, concern for the health of aquatic environments, and data submitted to a repository through the OspreyWatch website.  The mission of OspreyWatch is to collect information on a large enough spatial scale to be useful in addressing three of the most pressing issues facing aquatic ecosystems including global climate change, depletion of fish stocks, and environmental contaminants.

Simply visit the website and fill in a registration form and you can become a watcher for your own lake. 
Photo Contest
Water in Focus 
Photo Contest

Find us on Facebook!
Like us on Facebook

This is where we post news articles, interesting blogs or opinion articles, and day to information about ALMS and our program. Check it out!
Join Our Mailing List