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Alberta

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Did you know?

DUC Alberta recruited the services of volunteers, called Kee-Men, to assist with ground censuses of waterfowl populations from 1938-1960s.

DUC is working with the University of Lethbridge to find ways to control grasshopper outbreaks in agricultural lands such as re-establishing perennial cover for upland nesting ducks.

In This Section

1. Waterfowl and Wetland Surveys
2. Habitat Reports
3. WEBS
4. Provincial Wetland Inventory

 

Waterfowl and Wetland Surveys  

The information DUC biologists collect through wetland and waterfowl surveys supports Alberta conservation programs and projects.  In Alberta, DUC is conducting waterfowl and wetland vegetation surveys in the Boreal Transition Zone as well as gathering data for a detailed wetland inventory. 

DUC partners with the University of Alberta and other universities, Canadian Wildlife Service, Alberta Environment, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and the Alberta NAWMP on various research projects across the province.

Boreal Transition Zone Waterfowl Survey Program

The purpose of this large survey effort is to better understand the value of the Boreal Transition Zone to waterfowl and to help focus DUC’s conservation programs in this 34 million hectare landscape.  The surveys involve a combination of remote sensing and aerial photography that estimate the characteristics of wetlands and surrounding areas, and help biologists determine the number and type of birds using each wetland.  This work is underway in the British Columbia Peace Parklands, Alberta Peace Parklands and west central Alberta (Barrhead to Chip Lake). 

Wetland Productivity Studies

DUC recently embarked on a new study with researchers at the University of Alberta to assess the importance of wetland productivity and upland cover characteristics to waterfowl in the Boreal Transition Zone.  This study will help develop models to predict waterfowl and other water bird abundance on wetlands in the Boreal Transition Zone in the absence of direct survey data.

Wetland Vegetation Management

Managing the wetlands is an important component of DUC’s work and something that is always being re-evaluated and improved. DUC is working with rangeland ecologists at the University of Alberta to find ways to improve wetland management at DUC’s large water projects in southern Alberta.  This study focuses on using grazing and water level manipulation to influence emergent vegetation communities.