The Nature Conservancy of Canada's Bower property near Red Deer on Aug. 28, 2020. (Brent Calver/NCC)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

balancing watershed health

Nature Conservancy of Canada launches mapping tool for Red Deer River watershed

Sep 26, 2021 | 10:00 AM

A new project led by the National Conservancy of Canada (NCC) maps hydrologically significant areas in the Red Deer River Watershed.

The project, which was partnered on by the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance (RDRWA), allows anyone to use the online mapping tool to explore watershed features.

A watershed is an area of land which channels rainfall and snowmelt into one place, such as a river or ocean, the NCC explains.

The Red Deer River watershed is vast and home to more than 300,000 people, from Red Deer to Brooks.

“The Nature Conservancy of Canada is excited to provide public access to a tool that facilitates the visual prioritization of hydrologically significant areas,” said Suzanne Marechal, NCC’s acting manager of conservation planning and spatial analysis.

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“Our hope is that the HSA tool will, effectively and adaptively, contribute to actions that address water quantity and quality challenges while simultaneously supporting human well-being and the benefits of biodiversity.”

The mapping tool will be an important tool, the NCC says, for land-use decisions, with about 30 per cent of the watershed being of moderate to high hydrological significance.

“This project has helped spur conversations about how to balance conservation and development to protect watershed health,” says Josée Methot, executive director, RDRWA.

“We hope that people will use the online portal to think about the landscape and potential activities in the Red Deer River watershed through a water lens.”

The project was funded by MEGlobal, the Land Stewardship Centre and Clark Builders, as well as the NCC and RDRWA.

Website construction began in 2019 and was recently completed.

The mapping tool can be viewed here.

RELATED: Nature Conservancy of Canada announces new conservation site along Red Deer River