An advocacy group that may be familiar to those interested in environmental issues folded its doors and announced a new name and focus at a recent presentation by its new director at the Haskayne Legacy Park Pavillion.
Trout Unlimited Canada no longer exists (the American counterpart is still active). It will be replaced by and expanded upon by the new organization, Freshwater Conservation Canada.
The Director of Conservation with Freshwater Conservation Canada (FCC) is Lesley Peterson, who came to Haskayne Legacy Park to make the announcement and deliver a talk to the gathering entitled “Nature based solutions - Adapting to climate change.”
Her presentation touched on a number of ways individuals can get involved in advocating for protection of freshwater habitats and even some hands-on examples of how to get involved at the “grass roots level” – in this case, quite literally.
Based in Calgary, Peterson has been with Trout Unlimited Canada for 16 years, holding various positions in that time. Her current role involves overseeing and guiding the organization’s conservation and restoration programming and policy development, participating in regional and national advisory panels and working groups, and getting out in the field to support her field crews with restoration projects whenever she can.
FCC is using nature-based solutions to restore watershed function and resilience and recover native biodiversity.
Peterson’s talk explored the use of bio-engineering and low-tech restoration along small streams, and the role this plays in buffering the impacts of disturbance like flood, drought, and fire.
The conservation group has volunteer-based chapters across Canada, professional staff in Calgary and Guelph, Ontario, and a broad base of members, supporters and partners focused on water quality, water quantity, aquatic communities and aquatic habitat. They are part of the larger Native Trout Collaborative that includes federal and provincial government agencies, and federal and provincial conservation groups like Cows and Fish, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Alberta Conservation Association, and others.
The Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, and Athabasca Rainbow Trout are of particular interest. The Cutthroat were in the news recently in connection to planned logging activities in the Highwood region of Kananaskis.
Westslope Cutthroat Trout are ranked as Threatened under the provincial Wildlife Act, and as Threatened by the national Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Road crossings and dams can create challenges for Bull Trout. Modifications to frequency and timing of peak flow events also have an effect.
Building resilience to disruptions is the key to helping threatened populations make it through droughts and floods.
Peterson gave a bit of an historical perspective to what native streams and watersheds looked like in the past and what they look like now.
“We’ve been draining watersheds for a long time in North America. It’s time to re-imagine what a healthy stream should look like,” she said.
“We need to start thinking outside the box if we are serious about adaptation. Water comes to our rivers, not from our rivers,” she said.
When beavers were re-introduced after settlement of the West, they had an immediate impact on some watersheds, often to the benefit of the trout habitat, Peterson said.
So it’s OK to like beavers.
“They help the trout and they need no funding and no permits,” she said.
From the ranchers’ perspective, beaver dams can help capture spring runoff and store it for release in the drier summer months.
To support restoration efforts, a decision-making key has been developed to help practitioners and landowners determine what type of beaver-based restoration is appropriate for their site. Those looking for more information can go to cheriewestbrook.ca.
Peterson closed her presentation with an appeal to interested people to support, donate, or volunteer with groups involved in watershed restoration projects (the Native Trout Collaborative), including a message for ranchers.
“It benefits you whether you like trout or not,” she said.
For more information on Freshwater Conservation Canada go to freshwaterconservationcanada.org.