Home
Conservation Priorities 
Alberta
Wetland conservation is essential to maintain Alberta’s rich natural heritage. Wetlands also play a critical role in replenishing groundwater, absorbing floodwater and naturally filtering surface water. Wetlands and their associated habitats continue to be lost across Alberta. That’s why Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) works to ensure wetland habitats remain an integral part of the Alberta landscape.
Prairie Parkland Region
Alberta’s PPR is 188,000 km2 and stretches from the Boreal Transition Zone south to the Montana border. Glaciation during the last ice age resulted in a profusion of depressions that have since evolved into extremely diverse wetland systems. These systems contain an abundance of aquatic plants and invertebrates of vital importance to waterfowl.
Boreal Transition Zone
The Boreal Transition Zone is the area that lies between the Prairie Parkland Region and the southern edge of the boreal forest. This region is characterized by large stands of deciduous and coniferous forests, rolling grasslands, and diverse and abundant wetlands. Recent evidence strongly suggests that this area is of significant importance to waterfowl. Wetlands are under increasing pressure in Alberta from urban development, and the expansion of agricultural, oil and gas and forestry in this region.
Western Boreal Forest
Ducks Unlimited Canada designs and delivers watershed-based conservation programs in the Western Boreal Forest, an area that stretches from northern Ontario to Alaska. This ecosystem contains a wetland-rich landscape that provides breeding habitat for 12 to 14 million ducks annually. The Western Boreal Forest is an important economic, environmental and intrinsic part of Alberta, covering more than 48 percent of the province. The northern portion of Alberta is blanketed in lush bogs and fens, endless stands of spruce and rich wetlands of all sizes. This region is rich in oil and gas, forestry and other natural resources. DUC is striving to protect the wetlands systems of this region while they are still intact.
Did You Know?
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba account for 60% of all waterfowl produced in North America?
There are 61 species of fish, 250 species of birds and 44 species of mammals that rely on Alberta wetlands for their existence?
