Home
Left: Don Norquay, Acting Deputy Minister, Manitoba Water Stewardship. Centre: Gordon Edwards, DUC executive vice president. Right: Jim Tokarchuk, technical director, PFRA Manitoba region.
Technology, water mix in MOU 
New resource will benefit water planning in Manitoba
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man. August 9, 2007—Water planning authorities will soon have a new toolkit to help them in the complex and important process of watershed planning.
Today at the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, representatives of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), the Government of Manitoba (Department of Water Stewardship) and Ducks Unlimited Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize an initiative to develop a set of technical tools that will assist in integrated watershed management and planning in the province.
“Geospatial tools enable a multi-scale view of our watersheds.” explains Brian Kazmerik, DUC’s national GIS (Geographic Information Systems) manager. “With the tools found in the Watershed MAPS package, watershed planning authorities will be able to visually compare watershed health indicators across planning regions.
This gives watershed planners an effective way to monitor and compare progress among regions, evaluate their work, tailor the indicators and tools available, and guide resource allocation. The exchange of conservation project information among partners will be a significant step forward in collaboration and strategic program delivery in Manitoba. ”
The new tool, entitled “Watershed MAPS” (Management and Planning System), will provide Conservation Districts and other organizations appointed as water planning authorities with improved access to and understanding of geospatial data resources and watershed health indicators.
As community based users of the tool, Conservation District representatives have provided much input into the project, which will act as a catalyst for the development of useful geospatial tools and a skilled geospatial workforce throughout the province. It aims to facilitate cooperation in the delivery of land management activities across the watersheds in Manitoba, and also encourage the acceptance of national geospatial standards. With Watershed MAPS, Manitoba positions itself to become a leader in watershed planning and management.
“DUC has been using geospatial tools for strategic planning and evaluation, and to guide our conservation efforts since the early-80s,” said Kazmerik. “Healthy wetlands and healthy watersheds go hand in hand, and we are thrilled to be a part of the team working to apply these technologies to the health of watersheds in our Province.”
Watershed MAPS has been developed with financial support from GeoConnections, a national program initiative led by Natural Resources Canada. GeoConnections and its program participants are working to enhance the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure, an on-line resource that enables decision-makers to access, combine, and apply geographic information to gain new insights into social, environmental and economic issues.
Partners in the Watershed MAPS project include the Manitoba’s Department of Water Stewardship, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - PFRA.
For more information or to request photos contact:
Leigh Patterson
Corporate Media Relations Specialist
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Phone: (204) 467-3306
Toll-free: 1-800-665-3825
Email: l_patterson@ducks.ca
