IrrigatingAB Fall 2010

8/8/2019 IrrigatingAB Fall 2010

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Volume Fourteen Number Two

Fall 2010 Price $3.50

A l b e r t a


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Powering Business Worldwide


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Table of Contents

IRRIGATING ALBERTA Fall 2010 3

This Issue

4 Letter from the Editor6 Roundup Ready Sugar Beets Bring Beet Farmers

Into Min-Till

7 Clean, Smooth Ditches and Soil Spread In One Pass

8 Reinke Introduces Touch Screen Controls

10 Urban Partnership Creates Regional Consistency

11 Efficiency Pointers from a New Study

12 A British Columbia Perspective from an

Alberta Irrigation Fellow

14 State of the Oldman River Watershed Report

18 A Farm Machine Thats Not Helping

19 Getting the Most from Nitrogen

20 Southern Irrigators Building Alternative Habitat

for Migrating Birds

22 Fond Family Memories of Fishing the ID Waters

23 New List has 49 Prohibited Noxious Weeds

24 New Water Ethic Needed in Canada

26 Trees Take Priority for Water as Irrigators Idle Pumps

and Sprinklers

28 Savor Sweet Summer Spots

30 Wetlands Mitigation/Compensation in Alberta

A l b e r t a

is a proprietary publication of

Head Office1320 - 36th Street NorthLethbridge, AB T1H 5H8

Toll Free 1-877-328-0048Phone 403-328-5114

Email: [email protected]

Reproduction or use of editorial content in any man-ner without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Thank you for supporting our advertisers.Without them, this publication would not bepossible. Irrigating Alberta is proudly producedin Southern Alberta and distributed inside theFarmer/Stockman Ad-Viser to over 21 ,000farms and ranches.

PublisherJeff Sarich

EditorClaudette Lacombe

Advertising ConsultantsAl Such, Mel McDonald

Pre-Press ProductionLisette Cook

Advertising Co-ordinator

Sarah Sarich

Cover PhotoClaudette Lacombe

McGregor Lake


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For instance, the morning of Aug.20, I got up to a downpour taking placeoutside. Later that afternoon when Ichecked the rain gauge it had three mil-limeters in it. Might as well spit on thepotato plants for all the good that rain

did.My message here is that the agricul-

tural irrigation community has a lotthey can teach the current urban popu-lation of Alberta. Our urban centers arefull of folks that have no understandingof growing things is this climate. In fact,could someone drop by and tell we whyI got one, thats right one, corn plantthis year?

I got more canola and wheat fromthe composted manure I had deliveredthis spring than I did corn and carrots I

planted. See! Im really not a farmer.However, because of my work, Ive

learned a huge amount of useful infor-mation from farmers. I even have apresentation based on that and a yardthat survives because of it.

So, if youre not doing anything thiswinter put together a talk about grow-ing things in southern Alberta and gotalk to a local urban group. They willlove you for it trust me!

4 IRRIGATING ALBERTA Fall 2010

Letter from the Editor

All right already! Do you think

our ground water resources have

recharged well enough in the

past three years that we can

begin the drought cycle again?

Excuse me, some of you may notfind that funny. Its just that Ive been

very smug over the past decade or soabout living in the part of Albertawhere the sun always shines and thetemperature is at least five degrees

warmer than where the rest of the fam-ily lives.

So, these wet, cold years were not onMY agenda. I have to assume there area few folks in south-eastern Alberta thatfeel the same way.

I can hear them, On what planet domy crops wash away before they finishgerminating?

If you go and back and look, myspring editorial said, There is no wayof knowing in January what kind ofwater season we have coming. I am

now humbled by the accuracy of thatstatement.

Ironically, the records show that thisis still a below average water year! Aug.21 took me to an event on the banks ofthe Bow River in Calgary. Its a familiarspot to me, so I noticed that the river islow. There was more gravel beach thanIm accustomed to seeing in that spot.

More than once this year, I touredurban gardens dying of thirst while thecaretakers say, But its rained so muchthis summer how can they be dying of

thirst? Well, I say, When your soilcracks and your plants turn brown, theyneed water. Get a rain gauge and watchhow much water accumulates fromthese rains.

Its a perception problem as Im surethis audience knows or maybe not.Perhaps generations of southernAlberta blood teaches the body that itonly seems like its rained every day andthat the world is constantly wet.


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Good drainage can be as important as getting water

onto crops, especially in a year like this one. Doug

Stanko found a rotary earth-mover to clean out

blocked ditches or make new drainage channels in

one pass and it spreads soil so well you can seed right

away.

The Wolverine is the invention of retired farmer andequipment salesman, Adolf Vaags of Dugald, Manitoba. Heknew the problems of scrapers for cleaning ditches wheelruts from going back and forth, soil compaction and, worst ofall, piles of soil to spread on the fields. After 10 years if work,Vaags company builds machines that do it all in one pass andhes confident The Wolverine will stand up to hard work for a

long time.The Wolverine has a 5-foot wide blade that cuts 2 to 6 inch-

es deep and delivers the soil by a rotating drum with fingersand paddles into the centre of the machine, where a rotatingimpeller spins the dirt out. The soil can be blown out to theright or the left and its spread evenly over 150 feet to eitherside of the machine. The open auger behind the blade of themachine breaks up the soil, so that its quite fine as it shootsout of the impeller.

The machine has huge capacity, 600 yards, almost 1.3 mil-lion pounds of soil per hour (thats 4 inches of soil over anacre). It can run at 1 to 4 mph, so it takes a big tractor, at least300hp to pull and power it. The impeller runs off the pto.

It just glides along and it goes places a regular dirt buggycant go, through water, anywhere, says Stanko. It makesbeautiful smooth channels you can drive any equipment overwithout even slowing down, or seed right through. Thereshould be no problems with pivots getting stuck in these chan-nels. And the soil spreads so evenly, you can even put it over agrowing crop.

Stanko has used his Wolverine to prevent water pondingunder pivots, diverting it to other areas where it can soak in.He wont have to pump out ponds again.

On his rolling land, near Lomond, hes made wide water-ways with gentle slopes so water can run slowly and not erodechannels. Hes also cleared grassed waterways that had become

blocked with too much grass so that water ran to the sides andmade new channels. Coulters help the blade cut through trashthat can build up in ditches or grassed areas.

Stanko was so impressed with the Wolverine, hes becomea dealer for Dynamic Ditchers, Vaags company. Some of hisneighbors have been impressed too and a custom operator inhis area has thousands of acres of work booked for the fall.

Laser or GPS leveling equipment fits easily on to theWolverine blade. Tractor-mounted GPS works well toobecause its easy to follow your track on the screen, or you canuse GPS to follow a preset route.

The Wolverine is designed for heavy clay soils and it canhandle water as well as soil. But its not made for land with alot of rocks. A shear pin protects the drive train if a rock or apiece of iron gets in. The company is working with anothermachine, the Liebrecht ditcher, which is designed for landwhere theres lots of rocks.

According to Vaags, the Wolverine makes a ditch two orthree times as fast as with bucket earth movers and you donthave 10 or 15-yard piles of lumpy soil to spread or to spoilyour seeding job next spring.

Visit http://www.dynamicditchers.com/ to see a video of

the Wolverine at work.

CLEAN, SMOOTH DITCHES AND SOIL SPREAD IN ONE PASSBY HELEN MCMENAMIN

Clean, Smooth Ditches and Soil

Lomond farmer, Doug Stanko is so impressed with theWolverine he became a dealer for them. Photo: D. Stanko


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AApplying the optimum amount of water to produce

the best crop remains the goal of RPH Irrigation in

Lethbridge as it markets Reinke low- pressure centre

pivots.

Barry Jensen, regional manager for RPH IrrigationServices Ltd., said the companys reliance of trademark irriga-tion components, especially Nelson Irrigation and Senningerproducts, has made the firm an innovator in North America.

Reinke does some things nobody else does, said Jensen.For instance, Reinke introduced GPS controls in 2004. Thatallowed farmers a system of irrigation control and even endgun control with GPS accuracy, although other companieshave it now.

RPH is a member of the Alberta Chapter of the IrrigationAssociation formed in March 2001. Its mission is to promoteefficient and effective water management and be the voice ofthe irrigation industry for Alberta, Saskatchewan andManitoba.

Jensen said it all started in 1968 when Richard Reinkeintroduced the Electrogator to the industry, the worlds firstreversible, electric gear-drive centre pivot.

And now, Reinke hasintroduced the first touchscreen control panelJensen says works espe-cially well on multi-cropped parcels of land.We can control water

flow to the crops down toone foot between crops,he said.

The company also introduced the first five-year structuralwarranty when a two-year warranty is the industry standard.This year, its three-wheel tower support structure won inter-national acclaim because it has a flex axle allowing weight toremain distributed equally on the three tires. It is also a mainway to reduce deep wheel tracks that build during the irriga-tion season.

Jensen said the touchscreen and the flexible, three-wheeltower base earned Reinke two of the 50 American Society ofAgricultural and Biological Engineers international awards

for outstanding innovations.Weather still has a bearing on irrigation, said Jensen. Forinstance, he recommends farmers apply water in the fall toprime the fields to be planted in the spring. This year, MotherNature did a bang-up job of filling the soil profile in manyareas.

That complicated farmers ability to seed as readily in thefields that had been fall irrigated, he said. I still think man-aging irrigation water is the key to making money on thefarm.

Jensen said Reinke offers a single-phase electricity poweroption for pivots. The new option removes the need for a 480-

volt three-phase power supply, he said. This optioneliminates the need for phase converters, generators or run-ning new electric lines. Such systems are limited to six pivottowers or a maximum length of 1,000 feet.

Jensen said the reduced cost of such a system could be thedifference in switching to a mechanized irrigation system thatcan save farmers as much as 50 per cent in power bills.

Jensen said he uses the Nelson family of irrigation sprin-kler attachments that includes nozzles, partly because they aremade in the United States and are the best in the business.

The Nelson slogan, which we fully subscribe to, is SavingWater, Saving Energy, Saving Labour and Doing a Better Jobof Irrigating, he said.


BY RIC SWIHART

Reinke Introduces Touch Screen Controls

1431 - 13 STREET, COALDALE, ALBERTA T1M 1M7

Barry Jensen, regional

manager for RPH IrrigationServices Ltd. Photo: R. Swihart


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solve all regional planning commissions in the province.Subsequently, the member municipalities formed ORRSC tocarry on the same functions to ensure consistency in terms of

staff and planning advice to members. ORRSC has a longplanning history in southern Alberta and has evolved from

various forms since 1955 when it first started as theLethbridge District Planning Commission.

One major duty of ORRSC is to process applications forsubdivision on behalf of member municipalities. Although theprocessing is conducted by this organization, a municipal sub-division authority makes the decision.

For further information on ORRSC and their various pro-grams, including more detailed descriptions about the UrbanGIS Project services, visit www.orrsc.com.


URBAN PARTNERSHIP CREATES REGIONAL CONSISTENCYBY RON MONTGOMERY

Urban Partnership

The Oldman River Region Urban GIS Project is an out-

standing example of intermunicipal cooperation that

produced a valuable information resource for all

involved. The project is a partnership between the

Oldman River Regional Services Commission (ORRSC)

and 36 urban municipalities located in southern

Alberta.

The Town of Coalhurst began the process by asking theOldman River Intermunicipal Service Agency (ORISA) toexplore the creation of a shared municipal GIS (geographicinformation system). ORRSC contacted urban municipalitieswithin the southern region and found enough support tobegin with interested municipalities. ORISA accepted themandate to design a program and to investigate fundingoptions.

ORISA staff designed the implementation schedule andprepared the budget for the project. They inventoried existingdigital information, hardware and software requirements andextrapolated both the budget and implemention schedulefrom this initial information. CAOs from Towns of Coalhurst,Taber, Coaldale and Pincher Creek, collaborated with stafffrom ORISA to prepare the enhanced grant application.

Steven Ellert of ORRSC, one of the founding creators ofthis program, explained that through intermunicipal cooper-ation, the partners worked together over the past eight yearsto create a centralized regional Geographic Information

System (GIS). The project design makes it economically feasi-ble for small and medium sized communities to have access toGIS technology by sharing resources and expertise. TheORRSC office in Lethbridge houses the GIS infrastructureand staff that use the Internet to deliver information to part-nering municipalities. The municipal partners and planningstaff at ORRSC benefit from immediate access to informationfor decision-making, land use planning and infrastructuremanagement.

Users of the GIS extend beyond staff of the municipalitiesto staff of contracted assessment and engineering companies.

Steven comments that, We also provide GIS service to theTowns of Olds, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail and Penhold

in the Red Deer area to assist an organization similar toORRSC, Parkland Community Planning Services. Well beproviding them with GIS until they have infrastructure inplace to host their own web-based application. Presentationsto various groups are ongoing as interest in the serviceexpands.

Historically, ORRSC was recreated and renamed in 2003,from the previous Oldman River Intermunicipal ServiceAgency (ORISA) established in 1995 as a successor organiza-tion to the Oldman River Regional Planning Commission.The Municipal Government Act, 1994 was amended to dis-

Some statistics: Started in 2002 with 18 municipal partners

Presently 36 municipal partners

Serves a total population of 92,195

Extends south from Coutts north to Rocky Mtn. House

Over 55,000 parcels managed

Over 400 Land Use Districts

A user can be trained in as little as 2 hours


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Conserving water and improving energy efficiency is

always important in irrigated agriculture. Gregg Dill,

a former Alberta Irrigation and Rural Development

irrigation engineer says new technologies developed

by industry and adopted by farmers help.

Thats why Dill jumped at a chance to do a study for the

AgTech Centre located on the campus of Lethbridge College

to do a random selection of irrigation systems and energy

sources to develop a checklist of how farmers can meet both

goals conserve more water and use energy more efficiently.

The study started by selecting 11 irrigation systems for

energy assessment during the 2009 irrigating season.

Five systems used natural gas and six used electricity. Threesystems were wheel line, two powered by natural gas. Six were

standard quarter section pivots, three with each energy

source. One was a quarter section pivot with a corner arm and

one a section pivot with a corner arm, both with electrical

energy.

All recommended measurement equipment was used to

determine the operation of the various systems and power

sources. The basics for the study is that the ideal electric effi-

ciency is 74.3 per cent and natural gas 20 per cent.

The study showed average efficiencies were electric 66.8

per cent and natural gas 15.2 per cent. It also showed that the

potential improvements were electric 11 per cent and naturalgas 31 per cent.

Opportunities to improve energy efficiency and

reduce water use include:

Check nozzles and pressure regulators to ensure they

are not plugged, something many irrigators fail to do

often enough;

Confirm mainline pipe size if purchasing land with an

existing irrigation system;

Use pressure gauges and flow metres to monitor any

system;

Look for leaks, plugged nozzles, pipe size and propermotor speed before replacing a pump;

Check a natural gas-powered engine to confirm the

engine speed with a hand-held tachometer to confirm

the engine tach is working properly, and;

Trim the pump impeller to match the lower pressure

when replacing a high-pressure sprinkler package with

a low pressure package.

These suggestions should be included in your regular

maintenance and operation program.

BY RIC SWIHART

Efficiency Pointers from a New Study

Alberta Livestock & Meat AgencyIntroduces New Chair, Board Members

The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) named three newBoard members, including an Alberta veterinarian with extensiveinternational business experience.

Dr. David Chalack, DVM; Anne Dunford and Jurgen Preugschasbring considerable industry knowledge and talent to the ALMABoard.

Each brings extensive agriculture experience spanning manyyears of actively working within the livestock industry. As BoardChair, Dr. Chalack brings valuable leadership skills and an abilityto understand complex issues and develop proactive solutions.

Okotoks resident Dunford, General Manager and MarketingSpecialist for Gateway Livestock Exchange in Taber, has a broadknowledge of livestock marketing along with years of networkingexperience in the livestock industry.

Preugschas, a Mayerthorpe hog producer with 39 years of agri-culture industry experience, is currently Chair of the CanadianPork Council.

For further information on ALMA, visit www.alma.alberta.ca

PARRISH &HEIMBECKER,

LIMITED

Serving the Agriculture Community Since 1909

ALBERTA LOCATIONS

Head Office: 480 - 220 4th St. S.

Lethbridge, AB T1J 4J7

Phone: 320-9440 Fax: 328-8561

Bow Island . . . . . . . . . (403) 545-2748

Dawson Creek . . . . . . (250) 782-5625

Medicine Hat . . . . . . . (403) 526-2831

Milk River . . . . . . . . . (403) 647-3633

Mossleigh . . . . . . . . . . (403) 534-3961

Vulcan . . . . . . . . . . . . (403) 485-2727

Wilson Siding . . . . . . . (403) 381-8710


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IThere are so many irrigation districts around here, that are

also purveyors of water to urban communities, it is nearlyimpossible to keep track. Legislation here would appear to besomewhere behind what was, some time ago, AlbertasIrrigation Districts Act. There are at least three, maybe fourirrigation districts supplying water to residents of Kelownaproper, not including the city itself, and in many ways, itappears, they each dance to the beat of their own drummer.

Of course, given the warmer summer in the prairies this

year, no doubt the recreational value of these man-made lakesin southern Alberta are being rediscovered. Around BC, boatsare almost considered a right of passage, but around southernAlberta, were it not for the foresight of the early pioneers, theboat builders and dealers would be non-existent.

I love the canals that snake through this rich part ofCanadas landscape, flowing from reservoir to reservoir, andturning the landscape into a beautiful green that is reservedfor the lushest part of western Canada. Humans and animalsalike, are intuitively drawn to these oasis, almost wherever, insouthern Alberta, they find themselves.

Alberta, keep up the great work!


A BC PERSPECTIVE FROM AN ALBERTA IRRIGATION FELLOWBY STAN KLASSEN

A British Columbia Perspective

I recently came across a copy of Irrigating Alberta,

which immediately brought some great memories to

mind. How time flies when you are having a good

time.

After observing a profound number of changes in watermanagement in Alberta during my tenure as executive direc-tor of Alberta Irrigation, it left me with water running in my

veins as they say. The highlight for me however, was to see thelions share of the doom and gloom attributed to the future ofthe Old Man River Dam, thoroughly refuted by the time andexperience of its operation.

The cries that the fishery would be decimated, the deeraround the new reservoir would disappear and of course

southern Alberta would be the loser - couldnt have beenproven more wrong. I often wonder where the veterinarianturned environmentalist is now spending her time, when hercredibility has been thoroughly challenged, over these nearlytwenty years. Wheres Cliff when water resources are beingdiscussed, or for that matter, his infamous caterpillar operator,while the dam was under construction?

I am reminded that while a mere 5% of the arable land inAlberta is irrigated, it is directly and indirectly responsible forabout 20% of the gross agricultural production in what was,Ralphs Country. Those were the days my friend, we (I)thought theyd never end, but for me they did. All good thingscome to an end, I guess, but that doesnt mean what was start-ed by the early pioneers, doesnt continue to flourish through

the generations that have followed. Truly, these pioneers areresponsible for turning the desert into a flowering garden, andthereby feeding a disproportionate number of hungry urban-ites in centres like Calgary and Edmonton.oh that TaberCorn!

It is not clear to me what is the status of the Irrigation Acttoday, that I was privileged to play a part in rewriting, but I

very much remember that it was, at the time, probably themost progressive water legislation in the country. Since I havetaken up residence in the British Columbias Okanagan Valley,I continue to be pleasantly surprised at Albertas advancedWater Act.

A water reservoir BC-style.Arrow Lake on the Columbia River. Photo: C. Lacombe

The Battle to Build a Sustainable Agricultural WorkforceUniversity enrollment in crop sciences declines despite a growing demand for talent.

While the U.S. job market remains in the doldrums in the wake of one of the deepest recessions in history, there is atleast one profession bucking the trend. Job opportunities in the crop sciences are booming.

One driver: an aging workforce. Many predict that up to half of all crop scientists in industry and government jobs willretire over the next decade. A recent report by Purdue University and the U.S. Department of Agricultures NationalInstitute of Food and Agriculture predicts more than 54,000 agriculture-related job openings annually between 2010and 2015.


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TThe Oldman watershed is a large diverse land and

water system in southern Alberta covering 23,000 sq

km in southwestern Alberta and 2,100 sq km in

Montana. It extends eastward from the forested

slopes of the Rocky Mountains, through rangelands

in the foothills, dryland and irrigated agricultural

plains, to the prairie grasslands. The Rocky

Mountains feed the headwaters of the Oldman

mainstream and its tributaries (Crowsnest and Castle

rivers, Willow and Pincher creeks), while the head-

waters of the Belly, Waterton and St. Mary rivers rise

in Montana.

The Oldman Watershed Council (OWC) is a provinciallydesignated Watershed Planning & Advisory Council (WPAC)and a not-for-profit organization that works in partnershipwith communities and residents to improve the Oldman RiverWatershed. OWC members live or work within the OldmanBasin. These members provide leadership and guidance inwatershed planning and management, water quality monitor-ing and stewardship promotion.

The recently released State of the Watershed report is anextensive document overseen by the talented members of theState of the Watershed Team, who worked closely with AMECEarth and Environmental to prepare this report.

The watershed varies greatly, both in terms of the status ofthe land and water resources and impacts from human activi-ties. In headwater sub-basins, water quantity is adequate,quality is fair to good and riparian ecosystems are generallyhealthy. However, as the Oldman River flows east, water qual-ity deteriorates, available water supplies diminish, and thereare several issues of concern. Moving from west to east, forestsgive way to grasslands and agricultural land uses.

The waters of the Oldman watershed are highly regulatedand extensively used. Water demands are generally low inthe upper reaches of streams in the watershed, but increaseto high levels in lower reaches of most streams. Generally,the higher the actual use is, expressed as a percentage of nat-ural flow, the greater the potential for water supply deficits.

However, several other factors come into play in a complexwater resource system. For instance, storage and flow regu-lation can help to reduce deficits. Within the watershed,there are three major onstream storage reservoirs, OldmanRiver, Waterton and St. Mary reservoirs, plus offstream stor-age, some of which is located outside of the Oldmanwatershed.

Nine of Albertas 13 irrigation districts source waters fromthe Oldman watershed. Some of the irrigated lands extendbeyond the Oldman watershed. The irrigation districts in theOldman watershed (as well as in the Bow River watershed)

have made significant gains in water-use efficiency from thecombined impacts of more effective on-farm applicationprocesses, district conveyance improvements, and reducedreturn flows. Municipal use includes distributing water tohomes, commercial and institutional establishments, andindustrial users in cities, towns and villages. It does notinclude water use in hamlets, rural subdivisions or industrialcomplexes in rural areas. Water use records indicate thatmunicipal use is usually highest in the summer months, pri-marily due to outside watering of lawns, gardens and parks.


BY RON MONTGOMERY

State of the Oldman River Watershed Report

Our mission is to maintain and

improve the Oldman River Watershed

through partnerships, knowledge

and the implementation and integration

of sustainable watershed management

and land use practices.


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This State of the Watershed report provides the foundationfor making future watershed management decisions. As stat-ed in the preface: Watershed level work seems overwhelmingbecause of the scale. However, there are ways to make water-shed scale work more manageable. The first step might be torecognize that we can manage cooperatively what we cantindividually. This community approach is what will contin-

ue to connect us as we move toward our desired future for theOldman watershed.

The report says, in general: as residents of the OldmanWatershed, we are responsible for the health of our watershedand the quality of our water. Our mission is to maintain andimprove the Oldman River Watershed through partnerships,knowledge and the implementation and integration of sus-tainable watershed management and land use practices.

To review the entire report, visit www.oldmanbasin.org.For further information, e-mail [email protected] or

call (403) 382-4239.

Contd from page 14

Based on an evaluation of the combined ranking, the

health of each of the sub-basins have been tabulated. Overall,the health of the Oldman watershed is rated as fair. TheMountain Sub-basins are good, three sub-basins are rankedfair, and the prairie sub-basins are ranked fair to poor.

In the foothills, southern tributaries, and mainstream sub-basins and the prairie sub-basins ranked fair, land cover,riparian health, land use, water allocations and surface waternutrient levels are the indicators of most concern. Storage,flow regulation and water diversions are the keys to meetingcurrent water use demands within the Oldman watershed. Inone instance (Little Bow River sub-basin), diversions fromoutside the watershed are used to meet current demand.Overall, the watershed requires management actions to main-

tain sustainability in light of potential expansion of demand(within current allocations) and potentially lower streamflowas a result of climate change.

To assess the state of the Oldman watershed, it was dividedusing natural drainage patterns and water management histo-ry. Four sub-basins the Mountain, Foothills, SouthernTributaries, and Prairie were defined. A fifth the OldmanRiver Mainstem was also identified because it receives and isinfluenced by water from the other Sub-basins.

In the same way performance measures show how well sys-tems function over time, environmental indicators are used tomeasure the state of the watershed. Indicators allow us tounderstand the cause and effect relationship between humanactivities on the landscape and the environmental response tothose activities. Indicators have three roles: to show trends inenvironmental conditions over time, to inform managers andthe public about the condition of a watershed compared todesired goals, and to help assess whether or not managementactions are effective. As a result of the long history of moni-toring water quantity and quality in the watershed, a large dataset on indicators is available. These data provide the opportu-nity to conduct an analytical assessment of indicators.

For the Oldman watershed, three groups of indicators werechosen and assessed. The health of each of the sub-basins wasevaluated by integrating the rankings for terrestrial and ripar-ian ecology, water quantity, and water quality indicators todetermine an overall value. A comparative assessment of the

rankings assigned to each of the Sub-basins was then used toassess the overall health of the Oldman watershed.

A number of recommendations and best managementpractices are included in the summary report, which youreencouraged to read in detail online. Water management in theOldman watershed must consider the impacts of bothdroughts and floods. Early awareness of significant streamflow and water quality trends is essential for preparing watermanagement plans and adaptation measures to minimizeimpacts on users and environmental resources. Learning tosurvive on less water will be the challenge.

Oldman River looking west from Hwy 845 Photo: C. Lacombe


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IIf a picture of a machine represented

todays farmer, what would that machine

be? Would it be a powerful tractor rolling

effortlessly over the landscape? A 4 x 4

pick-me-up towing a stock trailer across

the short-grass prairie? The supermarket

coolers stocking our farm bounty? What

machine comes to your mind that repre-

sents todays farm sector?

My choice of machine might be a wee bit dif-ferent than yours. Its also a choice that saddensme, for I think an Automatic

Banking Machine best representstodays farmers. While that mightsound like a very strange machineto represent a farmer, there arestrong connections.

Both ABMs and Canadianfarmers handle a lot of money. Inthe case of both ABMs and toomany farmers, the money han-dling results in a zero-sumbalance. With ABMs, the zero-sum balances are part of thedesign, while farmings zero-sum

balances are the unintended con-sequences of a paternalistic anddysfunctional system.

The ABM design is straightforward. Money goes in andmoney goes out. A bank employee servicing the machinereplenishes the money supply.

Farmers income stream comes from different sources.Most farmers sell to value-adders or processors, and thosefolks along with the global marketplace set the market forthe prices paid for raw farm products. These buyers pay as lit-tle as they can for farm commodities and will readily buycheaper imports.

The reality is that farmers share of the price of retail foodproducts has dropped like a gopher-hunting hawk and that

drives the zero sum balance. According to U.S. Department ofAgriculture data, in 2009, an American pig farmer received24.5% of the pigs retail value; half of the 51% he received in1980. An American rancher received 42.5% of the retail valueof a steer compared with 62% in 1980.

Those decreasing farm profits compel many farmers andtheir families to take off-farm jobs in order to keep the FBM(Farm Banking Machine) functioning. A biting bit of farmerhumor defines a diversified farm as one where the wife hasa job in town.

The declining share of the consumer dollar, combined with

global market forces and local weather conditions

often compel government intervention. Federaland provincial governments open the subsidy/emergency program taps to inject enough moneyto keep the national FBM operational. Unlike thebank employee quietly replenishing the ABMs,politicians dispensing the dollars stage elaboratephoto-ops with rescued farmers and boast ofsaving a generation of farmers.

To borrow a phrase from my young nephew;As if! Historically, manufacturers and suppliersprice farm inputs at the maximum the market willbear. Money flowing from government assistance

programs is siphoned up by

quickly-elevated farm input costs.The real financial status of theFBM remains mostly unchanged.

Government assistance to theFBM means that the taxpayer,who is also a consumer, paystwice for their food supply. Yetthere are no farmer-to-consumerconversations concerning ournational food policy. Thats notsurprising. Farmers, like ABMsare so much a part of the land-scape many urban folks hardlynotice their presence until theyare unavailable.

Those are the reasons for my choice. They sadden mebecause I believe that farmers are capable of being much morethan FBMs serving everyones interests but their own. Theyare smart, strong, brave, and resilient people who work hardto produce products vital to our national interests.

So why are farmers reduced to being Banking Machinesfor some elements of Canadian society? Cant they see them-selves for what they are smart, strong, brave, and resilientpeople producing a vital Canadian resource?

Are farmers trapped in a narrative created by others? Doalliances with suppliers, processors, and pandering politiciansisolate them from mainstream Canadian society and perpetu-

ate the Im just a farmer mentality?Will farmers escape the cold confines of the FBM and see

their value as essential links in the food chain? Can farmersand consumers develop a new relationship that serves boththeir interests? Might adapting the business strategies used bytheir suppliers basic business practices like matching supplyto demand leverage their power?

These questions profoundly challenge the status quo, andwill alarm some people. Yet shouldnt farmers challenge thestatus quo? After all, the current state of farming is not apretty picture.


BY LES BROST

A Farm Machine Thats Not Helping

Les Brost


19/32

N


Nitrogen fertilizer applied at the optimum rate is

vital to capitalize on irrigation in southern Alberta,

says a provincial agronomist.

Ross McKenzie of Lethbridge said irrigated crops must beseeded at optimum rates and irrigated right.

The goal of a four-year study was to show the benefit ofoptimum fertilizer application. All crops tested showed ben-efits of nitrogen applications at varying rates.

McKenzie said that each increased fertilizer applicationrate showed increased production for most crops.

Using small plots under ideal management, McKenzie andhis team found a production target of 140 bushels an acreachieveable for soft white wheat under good management.

The target for tritical was 160 bushels.Triticale silage usually produces about five per cent moreproduct than barley silage. McKenzie said the study wasessential because existing nitrogen recommendations hadbecome dated.

Crop breeding has increased yield potential of most crops,he said. Improved water use and management with pivot irri-gation also helps. Now farmers are told to seed crops earlierand to use higher seeding rates while incorporating improvedweed management.

And they can achieve improved disease control with seedtreatments and foliar fungicide applications.

The project noted nitrogen fertilizer responses at various

application rates for 11 crops at four locations. Another

experiment gauged nitrogen use efficiency based on type ofnitrogen, late fall or early spring application while using bothbanding and broadcast application methods.

He found that the amount of soil nitrate nitrogen is muchless than the total amount of nitrogen taken up by crops inthe controlled treatment. The average soil nitrate level in the30 fields was 46 pounds per acre. The average crop nitrogentake up by the plants was 138 pounds an acre.

This is a substantial amount of nitrogen provided by thesoil versus the amount of nitrogen that comes from fertilizerto contribute to increased crop yield, said McKenzie. But itis very difficult to predict the amount. He said the informa-tion showed banding the nitrogen was more effective than

broadcast and incorporation. Late fall or spring is the besttime to apply it.

Fall banding the fertilizer conserves spring soil moisture,making spring side-banding at the time of seeding the bestoption. McKenzie said the study will guide the understandingof crop water use and create new recommendations for pro-ducers. Managing irrigation water in the top 40 to 50centimetres of the field to maintain soil moisture at 60 to 90per cent may be optimum.

He said the study showed that the best seeding time is mid-to late- April for most crops for best yield and water useefficiency. And farmers should use optimum seeding rates,likely somewhat higher than most farmers have been using.

BY RIC SWIHART

Getting the Most from Nitrogen

Controlled Traffic Farming Website and Message Board Launched

Controlled Traffic Farming Alberta (CTFA) recently launched a web site and web based message board/discussiongroup on controlled traffic farming. Peter Gamache, Project Leader says it is part of our plan to build a networkof people interested in controlled traffic. CTF is pretty new to Alberta so sharing ideas and questions amonggrowers, agronomists, equipment dealers and researchers will be important.

The Controlled Traffic Farming Alberta Message Board is a forum to share your questions and experiences aboutcontrolled traffic, guidance, inter-row seeding, equipment, agronomics and other issues and observations. Duringthe short time the message board has operated, some good discussions about inter-row seeding and disk seeders

started.Visit http://www.controlledtrafficfarming.org/ and follow the link. Registration is required. The web site also hassome valuable links to controlled traffic farming web sites. If you are already practicing CTF or inter-row seedingor are interested these new concepts, please call Peter Gamache at 780-720-4346 or email him [email protected].

Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF) provides funding along with the Alberta Canola ProducersCommission, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Barley Commission and the Alberta Winter Wheat ProducersCommission.


20/32

FFarmers in the southern US are working to provide

alternative habitat for migrating birds that usually

use the Gulf of Mexico as a vital part of their migra-

tions. Theyre building artificial lakes, wetlands and

shorelines, growing food crops for birds and renew-

ing wetlands.

About a billion birds fly to the Gulf of Mexico or stop thereto feed on their migrations to and from their nesting grounds.The region is the centre of the bird migration system for thewestern hemisphere. Some stay there to feed for the entirewinter, others just use it as a rest station and fly on.

The US Natural Resources Conservation Service has hadway more applications than it could fund during a 5-week sign-

up period for its Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative. The programincludes cash incentives that depend on the work and inputsneeded, but are likely relatively low for 3-year commitment.

The goal is to develop high quality habitat very quickly tokeep birds away from the oil-damaged coastal marshes. If thewater, food and cover are good enough, these areas couldencourage migrating birds to stay inland for the winter insteadof moving down to the Gulf. Other birds, particularly thosethat winter in Central and South America, will likely continuetheir migration patterns.

Response to the program has been huge. Groups such asDucks Unlimited, hunting and other wildlife associationshave partnered in the effort. Even though cash incentives are

relatively small under $20 an acre to flood fields to specificdepths at specific times for 3 years, up to $30 for cultivating,more to seed food crops for birds, many farmers have joinedthe initiative. NRCS aimed for 100,000 to 150,000 acres ofhabitat in eight states. In Louisiana alone, almost 2,000 farm-ers applied to commit over 425,000 acres to the initiative.Enthusiasm in other states has been similar.

The state matched our funds so we had about $6 million,but we could have spent $10 million, says Nelson Childers ofthe Arkansas office of the NRCS. Although Arkansas is per-haps 10 hours drive from the Gulf, it is on the westernhemisphere bird migration flyway for neo-tropical birds aswell as those flying longer distances. Childers expects millions

of birds to stop in the state.The role of farmland in the program is as habitat for shore-

birds and waterfowl. By flooding land to an average depth oftwo inches, farmers will create combinations of shallow waterand mudflats for wading birds. Rice farmers will flood fieldsabout 10 inches deep after harvest for diving ducks. Catfishand crawfish producers will keep water in place rather thanreleasing it for part of the year. In some areas, farmers willgrow Japanese millet as a fast maturing food and cover andothers will cultivate artificial shorelines for shorebirds likepiping plovers.

Further south rice land and fish farms are important saysChilders. But, in this area, wetlands are our main focus.

NRCS already controls many of them under our wildlifehabitat program, but a lot of them have deteriorated over theyears, mainly from water supply pipes being blocked by beaverdams or something. Were getting those cleared to renew thewetlands. (The Wildlife Habitat Program pays landowners fora perpetual conservation easement that gives NRCS most ofthe surface rights to areas of special value to wildlife)

Farmers in the bird habitat program have to commit totheir land uses for 3 years, so the biologists know when someflooded land will be dried out for seeding. Seeding is early inthe South, but crawfish and catfish farms offer rich feeding forbirds, particularly snails that help birds build calcium reservesfor nesting and egg-laying. Mudflats can support huge num-bers of midge larvae and other invertebrates. Also, renewed

wetlands will offer year-round wildlife habitat.Were really hoping for very good nesting success next

spring, says Childers. We need lots of undisturbed nestingsites.

Map

Bird images kildeer and piping plover

Farmers are cultivating areas to make habitat for pipingplovers and other birds that feed along apparently barrenshores such as those of saline sloughs.


BUILDING ALTERNATIVE HABITAT FOR MIGRATING BIRDSBY HELEN MCMENAMIN

Southern Irrigators Aiding Migrating Birds

Black-necked Stilt Photo: Dr. Steve Dinsmore, Iowa State University

The goal is to develop high quality

habitat very quickly to keep birds away

from the oil-damaged coastal marshes.


21/32


Division of C&H Irrigation Ltd.

Lethbridge, Alberta 403-328-9999http://oliver.valleydealers.com

Division of C&H Irrigation Ltd.

Taber, Alberta 403-223-1170http://oliver.valleydealers.com

Medicine Hat, Alberta403-526-3294

http://candh.valleydealers.com

Brooks, Alberta403-362-5133

http://academy.valleydealers.com


22/32

WWe moved to Lethbridge in 1977 from northern

Alberta. Being a rather outdoorsy family, we werent

certain what to expect in terms of hunting and fishing

opportunities. In fact on first impression the land-

scape looked downright depressing to a bush guy.

But my reading up on southern Alberta indicated it

was definitely not barren of fish and wildlife. And

that was soon proven accurate.

The irrigation infrastructure was intriguing. Canals, lateralsand reservoirs seemed to be everywhere. On clear days youcould see mountains to the west. Waterfowl and upland gamebirds thrived on this irrigation landscape. Pheasant hunting

was a novelty we quickly came to embrace. Fishing was diverseand opportunistic whether enjoyed on the water or through icein wintertime.

We quite enjoy northern pike (or jackfish as we tended tocall them) as table fare especially in the colder months. Theyrealso a fine sports fish and put up a good fight on the end of aline. Our young boys often had quite a job landing one of thesethrashing and surprisingly strong fish whether angling fromshore or in our boat.

A favorite excursion of ours was a day on Chin Reservoirwhere wed pack along a few cold drinks plus a cooking grateand other goodies. Inevitably wed land a pike or two by noonand find a cozy spot on shore to park the boat, light a small fireon a sandy area and grill the filleted pike. The boys would finda spot to gallivant about in the water along with our equallyenthusiastic Lab dog until all were called to lunch.

It was here that our then 12-year old son Cory caught anice 13-pound pike that he had mounted by a local taxider-mist using his own paper route saved money. That fish mountstill proudly graces his home in Portland, Oregon and bringsback fond memories, which he likes to recount. For it wascaught during one of our famous southern Alberta gentleprairie breezes that made steering our 14-foot aluminiumboat near impossible. We made a couple of passes under thehighway bridge seeking some refuge from the waves before helanded his trophy.

Chin Reservoir was also one of our favorite walleye spots.

Our home in Lethbridge had a lawn that was blessed with anabundant supply of hefty night crawlers. The fact they were anuisance was compensated for by the walleyes fondness forthese scrumptious wigglers. We pulled out all the stops whentrying to lay in a supply of night crawlers. Many a late night wedbe out on the lawn in darkness with flashlights or headlightssneaking around trying to grab a marauding crawler before itreceded back into its hole. Our neigbours were appreciablypolite - or too spooked to inquire further of our antics.

At one point we even ordered a gizmo (still have it occu-pies a forgotten spot somewhere in the shed) that you

simultaneously plugged into the ground and an electrical out-let. Theory being that the crawlers would be driven out of theirholes onto the lawn where they could be picked up at leisurewithout flashlights. Theoretically.

When it appeared the walleye were tired of chowing downon MMCs (Montys Massive Crawlers), we figured they mighttake a leech. Being from farming backgrounds in Saskatchewanoriginally, we were still rather independent blighters. Thusly wewould harvest our own leeches. A perforated can of luncheonmeat attached to a length of strong twine and tossed into therich waters of Stirling Lake (now known as Michelsons Marsh)usually yielded a fine catch of yummy leeches.

Sherburne Reservoir was a favorite for perch fishing. Theboys quite enjoyed reeling in those tasty little fish from theirdingy. My job was to simply fillet. Dear-at-Heart (my goodspouse Vi) kept all of us, including the fisher-kids, amply fedand watered. Walleye was often a pleasant by-product of our

efforts there.When Keho Reservoir still had the County Park and camp-site, we used to camp there while Id commute back and forthto work. In the evenings, wed generally catch a few pike forsupper or for freezing. Our Lab was one of those dogs that likedto play a game whereby hed pull on a rope that you also held.As such, he soon took to pulling us and the boat into shore ifyou simply tossed the free end of your boat tie-rope close toshore. It was a quite a sight as hed jump into the water andstrain mightily responding to our encouraging words of pull!

During the winter we could often be found at KehoReservoir. A number of holes would be dug through the ice, afire started and when the kids would get bored, theyd strap ontheir skates. Thankfully, I was much younger then and could

still handle a hand-powered ice auger. This same auger hasnow been passed onto our son in Cochrane, Alberta. Webought a gas-powered auger. But now seldom ice-fish. Missthe kid-factor.

In 1998, we relocated from Lethbridge to the CrowsnestPass. Its great fishing here too. And some irrigation reservoirsarent all that far a drive. However we do miss those old favoritehaunts. Fortunately, the memories of spending time on thosewaters with our young family are still fresh in my mind. Muchlike a freshly caught perch fillet sizzling in the frying pan whilstreclining on the shore of Sherburne Reservoir.


FOND FAMILY MEMORIESBY RON MONTGOMERY

Family Memories of Fishing the ID Waters

Boys fishing for perch, circa 1980s Photo: R. Montgomery


23/32

A


BY DONNA TROTTIER

New List has 49 Prohibited Noxious Weeds

(Established in 1915)

Taber is the centre of specialty crop production and value addedprocessing in Alberta including sugar beets, hay, potatoes, cornand many other vegetable crops.

4420 - 44 Street, Taber, Alberta T1G 2J6Telephone: (403) 223-2148 Fax: (403) 223-2924

Email: [email protected]

TABER IRRIGATION DISTRICTServing over 82,000 acres and 750 water users in the Taber area

Taber Irrigation District

T I D

Specialty Crop

Country

Albertas agricultural land and natural spaces will

benefit from enhanced protection with the new

Weed Control Act and regulation, which came into

effect June 16.

New legislation replaces the old Act and its regulationsand provides a better approach to protecting Alberta landfrom invasive plant species, explains Jim Broatch, pest man-agement specialist with Alberta Agriculture.

One of the big changes in the new Act is an expanded listof invasive plant species. The expanded list strengthens theability of the province and municipalities to work with theagriculture industry and other Albertans to increase vigilancein keeping weeds out of Alberta, states Broatch.

The new regulations now list weeds in two categories,Prohibited Noxious weeds and Noxious weeds. ProhibitedNoxious weeds are species that are not established in Alberta,but have demonstrated detrimental effects in other provincesor states. Broatch explained that the objective of identifyingthese 46 Prohibited Noxious weeds is to prevent them frombecoming established in the province.

Noxious weeds are species that are widely spread in variousareas of the province, but can still pose a significant econom-ic hardship once established. Controlling the spread ofNoxious weeds is critical to protecting areas that are notinfested. There are 29 weeds listed in the regulations in theNoxious weed category.

The old legislation had a category called nuisance weedsthat included other common plants such as dandelions. Thenuisance category has been removed, Broatch explains,because the weeds in that category are so widespread that ona provincial level they are out of control. Individual land andhomeowners are responsible for managing nuisance weeds asthey see fit.

There is a sliding scale of weed control programs amongthe municipalities in the province, Broatch describes.Though the legislation defines the weeds in each category,municipalities may elevate a plant from the Noxious categoryto Prohibited Noxious category through a bylaw.Municipalities are however not permitted to lower any weedfrom the Prohibited category unless they elevated that weed

there themselves. Municipalities may also, through bylaw, addinvasive weeds that are not included in the legislation, to theNoxious category if they want to ramp up control of that spe-cific weed in their municipality.

If a Prohibited Noxious weed is identified on a piece ofland, the Act specifies that the weed must be destroyed,defined as: to kill all growing parts or to render reproductivemechanisms non-viable. There is no gray zone withProhibited Noxious weeds. According to legislation, if they arefound they must be destroyed, explains Broatch. If Noxiousweeds are identified on a piece of land, the Act states that the

A beautiful flower but looks can bedeceiving. This Himalayan Balsam is aProhibited Noxious weed in Alberta.

Photo: Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development

Canada Thistle, a weed commonlyfound in Alberta listed in the Noxiousweed category

Photo: Alberta Invasive Plants Council

weed must be controlled. In the sliding scale program, the def-inition of control is much more open and it is up to the weedinspectors and the municipalities to define acceptable meansof controlling weeds and acceptable control levels.

The Weed Control Act is not just for agricultural areas andhas been revised to protect natural areas and riparian areasfrom the detrimental effects of invasive weeds displacing theplants that are vital to functioning healthy ecosystems. More

value has been placed on these natural areas sparking interestin protecting them from Prohibited and Noxious weeds.

Rules regarding seed cleaning facility inspections andlicensing have been updated in the new legislation to betterreflect current activity in the seed cleaning sector. The Act alsoincludes improved guidelines on how enforcement and theappeal process on fines for weed control infractions are car-ried out.

For more information on the Weed Control Act, the asso-ciated regulation and to view the expanded list of ProhibitedNoxious and Noxious weed species, visit the AlbertaAgriculture and Rural Development website at www.agricul-ture.alberta.ca.


24/32

TThe myth that Canada has a limitless water supply

must be dispelled as a step towards dealing with

Canadas potential water crisis. Bob Sandford, chair

of the Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of

the United Nations Water for Life Decade,

addressed a group of water stewards at the 8th

Annual Stewards in Motion Conference held in

Sylvan Lake in June. Sandford shared optimism that

Canada can avoid many of the water problems that

are emerging so widely elsewhere in the world, if we

act wisely now.

We need to dispel water myths and start working with

water truths, explains Sandford. MYTH: Canadians are excel-lent water managers. TRUTH: In fact, we are among theworlds greatest water wasters and polluters. We lack a set ofprinciples and guidelines that stop us from chipping away atnatural systems until there is nothing left of their life-sustain-ing functions. MYTH: There is an abundance of water inCanada. TRUTH: We dont have as much water as we think inCanada, with only 6.5% of the worlds renewable waterresources. Much of our water is in the north, a great distancefrom where the majority of the population lives. Careful,thoughtful management of this limited resource is imperative.MYTH: If we manage the water resources properly, everyonewill be happy. TRUTH: Difficult water allocation decisions will

be made in the future that will leave some water users high anddry. Consensus will not be achievable on all water issues.

Sandford suggests that contributions to a potential conflictover water include three global trends population growth,growing competition between cities and agriculture for bothland and water, and our growing knowledge of how muchwater nature needs. We have a new understanding of how dif-ferent kinds of ecosystems generate, capture, purify and releasewater for us and we have begun to see the value of this.

Because of the combination of these three trends, we areconverging globally on some terrifying trade-offs, warnsSandford. For example, if you give agriculture the water itneeds to keep feeding growing populations, there wont be

enough water to allow nature to sustain itself. If you choose tosustain nature, feeding the world will be a challenge. Higherlevels of government will have to assert leadership on impor-tant water matters, states Sandford.

In the future, virtual water export, meaning water embod-ied in food and exported, will make Canadian agriculture evenmore important to the world. Models predict by 2050 some 53per cent of the worlds population will be facing one form oranother of water scarcity. Countries with inadequate watersupply will have to import water virtually as food, doubling the

virtual water trade internationally between now and 2050.


BY DONNA TROTTIER

New Water Ethic Needed in Canada

Sandford noted this could benefit Canada. Some experts have

predicted that as a result of that trade agriculture will ulti-mately become more important to the economy of Canadathan oil and gas.

Sandford noted other water issues that will need addressingsuch as the oilsands contamination threat and unresolvedAboriginal water rights issues. Many treaties outline the rightto both water quality and water quantity and therefore thefirst-in-time first-in-right water rules may be under siege asthe treaty may overrule this.

With the public starting to take note of water issuesSandford recommends using this knowledge and interest toadvance policy reform and resource management. He suggeststhat policy reform should include a revitalization of the cur-

rent system with harmonization of federal, provincial andmunicipal management of our water resources. This willrequire improved monitoring, forecasting and predictioncapacity tied to better enforcement of existing laws. It will alsorequire new regulations that protect water quality and recog-nize natures need for water. Secondly, reformed policy couldborrow from the examples of programs that have been suc-cessful in helping other nations in managing their water suchas the European Water Framework Directive. In that frame-work, water quality standards and parameters of aquaticecosystem health are defined by the European Union and thenindividual nations are charged with meeting those standards.Sandford suggests, We may even wish to apply it on a conti-nental basis which means working as a team again with ourAmerican neighbours. A third avenue of reform might allowregions to reform water policy on a large scale watershed basis.The Western Water Stewardship Council, for example, aims toresolve potential conflicts in the management of all the riversystems that have their origins in Canadas western mountains.

There is urgency in addressing the issues and Sandfordbelieves that all of the areas of potential dispute can be resolvedthrough patient, mutually respectful collaboration informedby good will andsound science.Sandford explains,Unlike so manyother places in the

world, Canada stillhas room to move interms of how we man-age our waterresources. We shouldget moving while westill have room, createa new way of thinkingabout water and cre-ate a new Canadianwater ethic. Bob Stanford Photo: Rachel Boekel


25/32


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26/32

EEnvironmental biologists and the oper-

ator of reservoirs in southern Alberta

are taking advantage of this years wet

weather to manage water for the envi-

ronment, particularly to renew

cottonwoods along riverbanks.

Alberta Environment water operator,Terrence Lazarus, is always balancing thedemand for water from irrigators and waterlicenses that require a certain amount of waterflows in the river and care of the riparian envi-ronment along with managing the reservoirs.

Our primary business is water storage for irrigation, he

says. But, we also provide water for industry, municipalities,recreation thats huge, and we try and mitigate the impact ofdamming the rivers on the downstream environment. And, ofcourse, we keep some capacity in reserve for flood control.

Lazarus year starts in October, when he wants winter lev-els in the reservoirs, around 60% so theres room for all thesnowmelt that drains in, but enough water that with normalspring rains theyll be full by the end of June when irrigationdemand really starts.

Snowpack is our guaranteed water supply, but the basinsthat feed our reservoirs are too small to cause flooding, hesays. But, we can have problems if we get heavy spring rains the dams werent built for flood control the worst thing an

operator can do is overfill the reservoir. Even in flood condi-tions though, we release less water than comes in so we takethe peak off river flows. In the 1995 flood we were able to holdback 25% of peak flows.

In a long drought, irrigation reservoirs in southern Albertacan support normal use for about 3 years.

Figuring the right amount of water to release into the riveris never easy. Lazarus calls it partly chicken bones and partlyscience. He also has to manage water needs of the irrigationdistricts against those of recreational users and the biologistsand license requirements for river flows.

Spring spawning fish like rainbow trout need clean gravelon a rocky bottom with moderate flows. Once the fish biolo-gist, Mike Bryski, sees the fish spawning, he wants Lazarus tokeep river flows steady at that level through April and May toallow the fry to hatch and start their lives. Once fall spawnerslike brown trout lay their eggs, they need fairly steady flowswith no sudden rises that could sweep their eggs away.

There are lots of other fish in the river system from littleminnows and sculpins to whitefish, walleye, burbot andeven lake sturgeon. Biologists dont really know how watermanagement affects most of them people tend to studysport fish needs first.

With plenty of water available, the biologists aimed tomimic the naturally varied flows of a free-running river. But,


TREES TAKE PRIORITY AS IRRIGATORS IDLE PUMPS & SPRINKLERSBY HELEN MCMENAMIN

Trees Take Priority for Water

Oldman tree Photo: C. Lacombe

even when water levels are at bank-full as theyve been muchof this year, flows are only about 60% of natural high flows.

The high flows, such as those of this year mobilize theriverbed, sweeping away silt, rainbow trout eggs and fry fromgravel beds, moving the silt downstream, and renewing theriver.

We displace some fish this year, says Bryski. But, weoften see spectacular spawning success the spring following ahigh water year. A flood is destructive, sweeping away somefish and invertebrate habitats. But, its also creative, providingnew opportunities for fish and other creatures.

For some fish, high water can cover obstacles or wash away

beaver dams that block their access to some parts of the riversystems. Higher water flows give fish cooler water and morespace to live, a generally easier life.

Its not our job to optimize conditions for brown trout orany other species, says Bryski. We just to try keep opportu-nities for fish as natural as possible. Pike is the top predator inthe river environment so it reflects the health of the ecosystemand lets us know how were doing.

The main focus of the biologists this year has been cotton-woods. These trees are the keystone species of prairie river

valleys, and like the keystone in an arch, the trees are crucialto all the species in the environment.

Without cottonwoods, our river banks would revert toprairie, says John Mahoney, Alberta Environment senior biol-ogist. The cottonwoods maintain the riparian habitat thatsupports a huge amount of wildlife songbirds, owls, frogs andother amphibians. At least 80% of prairie bird species dependon riparian forest at least some of the time and many aquaticinvertebrates, including mosquitoes, that are important food forfish spend at least one phase of their life cycle on the floodplain.

We have lots of cottonwood trees in our river valleys, butmany of them have been there a long time, so biologists wantto ensure there are new generations of trees to replace the oldtrees when they die cottonwoods generally have a lifespan ofabout 100 years.


27/32


28/32

WWhen you enjoy a day at the lake

boating, fishing, or on the beach

anywhere south and east of Calgary,

you are really enjoying a day at the

reservoir. The vast majority of

water-based recreation east of the

foothills in southern Alberta is

dependent on Albertas irrigation

system.

Recently, I was at Crawling ValleyReservoir near Bassano for the first timeand was quite surprised to see so many

boats on the lake and at the boat dock in thesmall, but attractive, constructed harbour.Fishing rods were set with bells to alert theirowners when they should pay more atten-tion to the fish on the other end of the linethan to the stories their fishing buddy wastelling. Kids were swimming, and splashingeach other, and others were dangling a line hoping to catch afish themselves.

As I looked over the campground, two families on bikeswhizzed by, a puppy with an inquisitive look came up non-chalantly seeking some attention, and the smell of barbequesand their sizzling contents made me wish I was invited forsupper. My wife sat in the shade of an accommodating treereading a book, while I checked out this oasis that the EasternIrrigation District had constructed. We left later in theevening just as the sunset began to fill the western sky with itsflaming orange and reds, and campers gathered to share thewarmth and congeniality of their campfires. Theres just some-thing about sitting around the flickering flames of a campfirein the evening, enjoying the relaxing, mesmerizing, dancingflames. Theres just something about being by a lake having alazy day without phone calls or cares.

A recreation study done by AIPA in the past found that theaverage distance people travelled to get to Crawling Valley was224 km; those traveling to Kinbrook Park drove on average237 km, while reservoirs like Stafford Lake drew more local

people with an average travelling distance of only 27 km.Calgary residents made up 81% of the campers at CrawlingValley, 54% of the people visiting 40 Mile Coulee were fromMedicine Hat, and 71% of the people camping and boating atSt. Mary Reservoir were from Lethbridge. These reservoirsmeet the needs of locals for recreation as well as those willingto travel some distance to enjoy the wonders of water. About of recreationists come to fish, another come to boat,water ski, windsurf or jet ski, another are just out to enjoythe out of doors and visit, about 15 per cent come to go swim-ming, and the rest come to observe wildlife or other purposes.


BY RON MCMULLIN, Executive Director, Alberta Irrigation Projects Association

Savor Sweet Summer Spots

Park Lake, Kinbrook Island, and Little Bow, all ProvincialParks on irrigation reservoirs, boast over 450 campsites.Twent y-two other developed campgrounds or day-use areasexist on the 89 water bodies owned by irrigation districts orAlberta Environment. AIPA is developing a booklet for distri-bution in 2011 that describes these campgrounds and theirlocations. Counties, towns, villages, private associations, andbusinesses, as well as Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreationand the irrigation districts, operate these recreational facilitiesto increase the quality of life in this region. Some reservoirs orwater bodies fed by irrigation water are not widely recognizedas such, for example, Henderson Lake, Payne Lake, NicholasSheran Pond, Chestermere Lake, and Lake Newell . You canenter AIPAs Fishing Derby where you can pick out irriga-tion-based water bodies from a list out of the AlbertaSportfishing Guide. The five winners with the most correctanswers get a $100 gift certificate, so hurry and visitwww.aipa.org before the contest closes September 14.

Water and tourism go hand in hand. Alberta TourismParks and Recreation recently joined forces with AIPA to funda study on the feasibility of novel recreational uses for the irri-gation system. Options like a windsurfing park, a network ofbird watching platforms among the 82,000 acres of irrigation-created wetlands, and a kayaking course in a canal stretchwhere once there were drop structures are some of the ideasfor new ways to enjoy the irrigation-based recreation potentialof southern Alberta. While you wait for these and other ideasto change from dreams to reality, you can do your own dream-ing as you enjoy your day at the reservoir.

More Day at the reservoir enthusiastsat Little Bow Photo: C. Lacombe


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WWetlands play an undisputedly valuable role in the

everyday lives of all Albertans. As such, the Alberta

Government currently has legislation and policy in

place to help manage wetland disturbances. The reg-

ulatory compensation process and all resultant

decisions are administered through Alberta

Environment (AENV). Other regulatory requirements

may be required under the Municipal Government

Actand/or the Public Lands Act.

Albertas Water Act requires that an approval be obtainedbefore undertaking an activity in a wetland. Under the Act, anactivity includes the process in which, but is not limited to, a

wetland being disturbed, altered, infilled or drained.In addition, Albertas Wetland Policy Wetland

Management in the Settled Area of Alberta: An Interim Policyprovides guidance to conserve wetlands in their natural state,to mitigate the degradation or loss of wetland benefits and toenhance, restore or create wetlands in areas where they havebeen depleted or degraded.

Wetland mitigation is a process implemented by theGovernment of Alberta to reduce the loss of wetland area.Mitigation is regulated under Albertas Water Act, and furtherguided by Albertas Provincial Wetland Restoration/Compensation Guide (2007).

When an individual applies for approval to conduct activi-

ties governed under the Water Act, the proposed project andits potential impacts on existing wetlands must be consideredin the following priority order:

1. Avoiding impacts to the wetland (where possible, pro-

ponents of a development should first seek options that

avoid any loss or degradation of wetlands.)2. Minimizing impacts (if the activity cannot avoid

impacting a wetland, the next preferred option is to takesteps to minimize the degree of loss or degradation)

3. Compensating for impacts that cannot be avoided orminimized.

Since it is not always possible to avoid or minimize wetlandimpacts, compensation may be required to offset the wetland

damage the project is expected to cause. Compensation caninclude:

1. Restoration of other wetlands, which have been previ-

ously degraded.2. Construction of wetlands where they did not exist pre-

viously3. Enhancement of existing wetlandsIn order to maintain the overall health of a negatively

affected watershed, the mitigation process addresses wetlandsloss (& their respective services) by realizing a gain in theseservices where compensatory restoration occurs.

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has a long history con-

serving wetlands in Alberta. As part of their conservationgoals, they work with landowners to identify wetland restora-tion opportunities and develop appropriate incentives forthose landowners to consider mutually acceptable restorationactivities. Their involvement in the mitigation process is sim-ply that of a wetland restoration agent (WRA).

DUC has no regulatory authority and only becomesinvolved in the mitigation process at the invitation of theWater Actapplicant. Theyve been involved in restoring wet-lands through the mitigation process since 2004. Since thattime, and through this compensation process, DUC hasrestored more than 670 hectares of wetland habitat to com-pensate for the loss of more than 220 hectares through the

approvals process (representing the suggested ratio of a 3:1gain/loss, if within the same watershed).

Currently, DUC is the main WRA in Alberta. As demandfor this service grows, other agents, such as municipalities,private consultants and irrigation districts could becomeestablished WRAs. DUC welcomes the development of moreWRAs in Alberta and will provide advice and support to helpfacilitate this.

Applicants that are required to provide compensation tofulfill their mitigation requirements have the option enteringinto agreement with the WRA to deliver the restoration with-in protocols dictated by Albertas Provincial WetlandRestoration/Compensation Guide (2007). DUC provided asummary report to AENV annually outlining the wetlandrestoration projects completed or partially completed associ-ated with the WA wetland restoration/compensation process

DUCs restoration efforts mainly focus on NAWMP (NorthAmerican Waterfowl Management Plan) identified areaslocated throughout the province. NAWMP initiatives will helpprovide guidance on where best to concentrate restorationefforts. This will allow DUC to focus their works on a land-scape level where restoring ecological function has thegreatest impact on waterfowl populations. These areas arestrategically located outside urbanization areas to insure thatrestoration projects are not lost to development in the future.

Craig Bishop, Mitigation Services Coordinator for DUCadds, Ultimately, an increase in wetland area in the settled

areas of Alberta can only happen if wetlands become an assetto private landowners. The compensation component of themitigation process provides a great opportunity to offer con-servation solutions benefiting both the respectivelandowners and Albertans in general. Monies received fromthis process that arent fully expended in any given year areheld in reserve by DUC expressly intended for these mitiga-tion related projects.

For further information on DUCs involvement in Albertaswetlands mitigation process call toll free 1-866-301-DUCK(3825) or e-mail Craig at c_bishop@ducks


BY RON MONTGOMERY

Wetlands Mitigation/Compensation in Alberta


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