December 12, 2016
Wetlands are important. You don’t have to take our word for it, lots of other folks agree. Environment Canada, for instance, says that wetlands are “among the most productive habitats on Earth”, and goes on to say that “if we continue to lose wetlands, a large and important piece of the natural system that keeps our world healthy will disappear.” The Government of Alberta agrees too! The Alberta Wetland Policy states that wetlands “play an important role in sustaining healthy watersheds by protecting water quality, providing water storage and infiltration, providing habitat for wildlife, fish and plants, and sustaining biodiversity.” Even industry organizations like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) state that “wetlands are vital to the sustainability of ecosystems as they filter water, store carbon, recharge groundwater, protect biological diversity and act as flood protection.”
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Tags: Alberta, ecological function, Edmonton, environmental consulting, geomatics, GIS, municipal, remote sensing, wetland, wetland assessment, wetland historical loss, wetland inventory, wildlife consulting
Posted in: Biological Resource Assessments, Environmental Planning, News, Remote Sensing & GIS
February 13, 2011
A few years ago, Shari Clare, one of the founding directors of Fiera, decided to go back to school to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Alberta. Shari’s research is focused on wetland policy implementation in Alberta, and specifically, what factors influence decision-making and how these decisions influence outcomes for wetland protection and management. Recently, Shari, along with her co-authors Naomi Krogman, Lee Foote, and Nathan Lemphers, published a manuscript in the journal Wetlands Ecology and Management, entitled Where is the avoidance in the implementation of wetland law and policy?
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Tags: Alberta, compensation, mitigation, policy, wetland
Posted in: Environmental Planning, News
July 16, 2010
Eureka!
Knee deep in marsh-water, sedge grasses up to our waists, and a mile of open, treeless darkness in any direction, we celebrate with a high five as a male yellow rail responds emphatically to our recording and moves closer to us…
Several surveys for yellow rail have occurred in this area, but to my knowledge this is the only time one has been successfully detected.
A secretive yellow rail reveals itself for a moment as it scoots from one hiding spot among the emergent wetland of a boreal fen, to another.
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Tags: Alberta, alberta wildlife consultants, broadcast surveys, environmental monitoring, Healthy Aquatic Ecosystems, listed species, migratory birds, Rare plant surveys, species at risk, Species at Risk Surveys, wetland, wildlife consulting, wildlife management, yellow rail
Posted in: Biological Resource Assessments, Notes from the Field, Rare plants, Wildlife Research and Monitoring
