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DU Canada says Albertans are Actively Improving Water Quality and Moderating Drought 
Grassroots groups and City of Calgary actively working to conserve wetlands - nature's water filters
Ducks Unlimited Field Office, Strathmore, January 17, 2002 – According to Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), two of the most important issues on people's minds these days - water quality and drought - are actively being addressed by Albertans who are conserving wetlands and developing watershed management plans.
"The benefits of these activities will ultimately benefit the province," said Gary Kindrat, DUC's watershed coordinator in southern Alberta. "Wetlands and the lands that surround them are nature's water filters. They remove pollutants from water before it enters the pipes that bring it to our homes. They also help to mitigate droughts and floods."
Kindrat is working with a number of grassroots driven watershed groups in the Calgary region to improve landscapes that influence water quality. Two of the watershed groups DUC participates in directly affect the residents of Calgary: the waters under the guidance of the Nose Creek watershed group flow through Calgary; and the Elbow River watershed group deals with the headwaters of one of Calgary's sources of drinking water.
In addition to the watershed work, a wetland inventory started by the City of Calgary and Ducks Unlimited Canada in 2000 will soon wrap up and give city planners a new tool to conserve wetlands. The inventory identifies the types of wetlands in the city and where they are located.
"There's actually a lot more wetlands in Calgary than we would have estimated," said Chris Manderson, natural parkland management specialist with the city's Park Development and Operations Department. "However, in areas of development, wetlands are disappearing because no one has been aware of areas of potential impact."
Manderson said the inventory information is being prepared for use within the city's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) so that other departments and levels of government can access the information. DUC partnered in the inventory and the development of GIS information to help coordinate its wetland conservation activities for people and wildlife in and around the city.
"In addition to our work with the City of Calgary, we're exploring opportunities to expand the wetland inventory," Kindrat said. DUC has proposed a wetland inventory to the Municipal District of Rocky View, one of the fastest growing municipalities in North America, on the outskirts of Calgary. Alberta Public Lands has also indicated its interest to DUC in mapping out all Crown owned wetlands within the city fringe area and a five-mile buffer outside the city.
"We're hoping to ensure that wetlands and the values they offer communities can be incorporated into areas that will ultimately become a part of the city," Kindrat said. "Wetlands in urban and rural areas are an important component of healthy watersheds that preserve water quality."
Since 1938, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Canada's Conservation Company, has been conserving wetlands and associated habitats for the benefit of waterfowl, other wildlife and people.
