Sofie Forsström speaking at SACPA on January 30. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Conservation must be done at all levels to protect Oldman Watershed

Feb 3, 2020 | 10:31 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Oldman Watershed Council (OWC) is spreading the word about the public education and conservation work they do in the region, but say everyone needs to do their part.

Education Program Manager Sofie Forsström spoke to dozens of attendees at the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) last week.

She says the Oldman Watershed is not just part of southern Alberta – it is southern Alberta.

“As we live in a very semi-arid, so quite a dry climate, our surface water, our river is very important. It’s used for drinking water, it’s used to grow our food, so keeping it clean and healthy is very important because it keeps up fed and hydrated and alive.”

The watershed covers over 23,000 square kilometers in Alberta and 2,100 km in Montana, including communities such as the Crowsnest Pass, Lethbridge, Taber, Nanton, and many others.

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According to the OWC, approximately 210,000 residents live in this region.

Forsström says one of the OWC’s successes in recent years has been their efforts in public education.

“We’ve been talking to thousands of people over the summers and through the winters as well in person, so going to the headwaters and talking to people when they’re camping and fishing and hiking and whatnot.”

They have also been working to plant trees and shrubs along the stream banks to keep them stable.

She believes there are few major threats to the watershed at this time, but overpopulation and recreational use put a strain on it.

“As our population grows, there’s a lot of people living, there’s people growing food, there’s people harvesting timber, mining, living, camping, quading, hunting, fishing. All of these things on their own might not be such a big deal but they add up to having quite a large impact so we have to do what we can to mitigate those impacts.”

While Forsström is pleased with the work the OWC and other conservation groups are doing to protect the watershed, she says they cannot do it alone.

She is urging governments at all levels to continue to work on management plans and encourages individuals who want to make a difference to consider volunteering with any of the many environmental groups in the area.