SEAWA's Marilou Montemayor at the Connaught Pond Riparian Area restoration site. (Photo Courtesy of Ross Lavigne)

By Chris Brown

Healthy lands

SEAWA’s riparian area revegetation project finishes third year

Sep 3, 2020 | 3:10 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – For three years, the South East Alberta Watershed Alliance has been working to restore six riparian areas in the region.

At the start of the project, SEAWA identified and focused on two areas in the city and four in the surrounding area to be restored or enhanced.

The health of riparian areas – the strips of land between a body of water and the uplands – has a large impact on limiting the risk of flooding and provide a habitat and food source for wildlife.

More importantly, says SEAWA’s Marilou Montemayor, the healthier the areas are, the higher the water quality in the region.

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“It benefits not just the people and wildlife in terms of recreation in terms of the treating of water for your drinking water supply for the health of the cattle and everything that has to do with water. So if riparian areas can be conserved and they’re healthy, they really benefit everybody.”

The city sites were Connaught Pond which and Saratoga Park. Rural sites included one at Seven Persons Creek south of the hamlet, a site by Bullshead Creek, a site by Gros Ventre Creek and Sauder reservoir.

“The issues that we have encountered so far in the SEAWA watershed include the lack of woody vegetation meaning shrubs and trees. Woody vegetation is very important for healthy riparian areas,” says Montemayor, SEAWA’s executive director and watershed scientist. “There are also invasive species like weeds, leafy spurge as well as the locally invasive Russian olive trees.”

Trampling of riparian vegetation by cattle in rural areas and pets and people in urban areas.

The work to restore and enhance the riparian areas included planting native vegetation at the sites and fencing some areas off from people and animals.

At Connaught Pond, the main issue is the infestation of Russian olive trees. SEAWA planted native cottonwoods and Manitoba maple trees in response. At the rural sites, fencing the areas off from cattle was a major concern.

One well-known result of poor a riparian area in poor health is blue-green algae, which appeared at Reesor Lake in August.

Montemayor says one of the six original sites was completely lost, but says that comes with the territory.

“Some success, some disappointments but the effort must go on so SEAWA encourages if you have healthy riparian areas please conserve them protect them and if they’re degraded you have to restore them.”

Montemayor will write a best practice guide on riparian restoration at the conclusion of this project.

Pollinator garden

This summer, SEAWA also wanted to raise awareness of worldwide concern of declining bee populations. There is currently a campaign to create pollinator gardens in not just natural and rural areas but also in urban areas. The more gardens around the easier it is for bees to travel, with less distance to go between spaces to rest or feed.

SEAWA established its garden in its office parking lot at the corner of Fourth Street and Macleod Street.

“We tried to plant all native flowers, like the native sunflower, gaillardia, milkweed which is very known for attracting butterflies, yarrow, anemone, blazing star, etc.,” Montemayor says. “We started it this year and hopefully we will maintain it and expand it all around that parking lot.”

Montemayor asks people to do their part to help riparian areas by volunteering or connecting with SEAWA or other organizations that have a similar focus.