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Envirotech Stage The Envirotech stage is a showcase on what’s happening within the environmental sector of the agriculture industry. This year the focus will be on wood and water with presentations topics such as North Saskatchewan River Basin, wood as an energy source for rural applications and pasture management.
Watershed Management Planning for the North Saskatchewan River Basin in Alberta
April 8 - 10, 11:30 am David Trew, Tim Cottrell, Graham Watt The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (www.nswa.ab.ca) was designated as the Watershed Planning and Advisory Council for the North Saskatchewan River basin in 2005. The NSWA is a multi-stakeholder organization with members representing all major sectors in the basin: agriculture; industry; petroleum; municipal, provincial and federal governments; NGOs; and individuals.
The NSWA completed a comprehensive State of the Watershed report in 2005 and is now engaged in the development of an Integrated Watershed Management Plan (IWMP) for the basin. The IWMP will be an advisory, decision-support tool that can be used to inform future land and water management throughout the basin. The IWMP is due for completion at the end of 2010. This presentation will review NSWA’s overall progress in developing the IWMP and will highlight new information and stakeholder involvement.
David Trew Bio: David Trew graduated from the University of Guelph in 1970, where he specialized in aquatic sciences. He worked at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland from 1971 to 1974 as a research assistant on oceanographic projects. He moved to Alberta in 1974 and began his career here as a biologist with the Fisheries Branch, subsequently joining Alberta Environment as biologist in 1976. David was a senior manager in various water science and policy groups in AENV from 1985 to 2006.
David became the Executive Director of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA) in January 2007.
The NSWA is incorporated as a not-for-profit society and provides a forum for sharing information about issues affecting the North Saskatchewan River watershed in Alberta. The NSWA was recently designated as the official Watershed Planning and Advisory Council for this river basin.
Tom Cottrell Bio: Graham Watt Bio: Graham started working with the NSWA in Fall 2007 after studying landscape change in the Canadian Rockies at the University of Victoria. He has training and experience in geography, ecosystem-based management and restoration ecology, and is interested in the interaction between people and ecosystems at multiple scales. He offers the NSWA a passion for the intricacies of watershed planning. Graham's current work is focused on supporting the North Saskatchewan River Integrated Watershed Management Plan, and developing a watershed management plan for the Vermilion River.
Petroleum Storage, Safe, Envrironmental, Cost Effective
April 8 - 10, 1:00 pm
Peter Dunn Fuel storage and keen business practice is changing the landscape of the farm. With price volatility and potential fuel shortages, many farmers are taking action to change the way they handle the business of fuel storage on the farm. Rethinking Farm Fuel Storage is becoming a essential business practice in helping producers manage and minimize input costs, meet safety and environmental challenges, while enjoying the security of knowing their storage will carry them though peak operating seasons.
Peter Dunn Bio: Peter Dunn is a Regional Sales Manager for Meridian Manufacturing Group. Peter travels throughout Western Canada working with Authorized Meridian Dealers and customers doing seminars and training. Peter addresses the Environmental & Safety challenges facing customers with fuel storage. His knowledge of the industry allows him to assist customers in understanding the growing trends, benefits and return on their investment when upgrading to new Double Wall fuel tanks. Peter will also address current funding available to farmers through the Growing Forward Program. Peter and his wife Colleen reside in Red Deer, Alberta.
Working Well – Water Well Management for Well Owners
April 8, 2:30pm
Tony Cowen, Curtis Snell
The key to a safe, secure water supply is proper well management. As a well owner, it is your responsibility to take care of your water well. Understanding how groundwater works, learning about your well and knowing how to properly operate and maintain it are the first steps. For more than two years now the Working Well program has been delivering community-based workshops and providing well owners with the information and tools they need to properly care for their wells. Learn more about how this province-wide program is helping to ensure safe and secure groundwater supplies for all Albertans.
Tony Cowen Bio: Tony received a Bachelor of Science Specialization in Geology from the University of Alberta in 1984. He has groundwater experience with the Alberta Government and as a consultant. He has worked as a Groundwater Specialist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada since 1997 where he has worked extensively in Western Canada as well as internationally on groundwater projects and initiatives related to farming and the agriculture industry.
Tony joined the Working Well team early in 2008 and enjoys presenting sharing his knowledge with the water well owning public.
Curtis Snell Bio:
Curtis was born and raised on a mixed farm in Watrous, SK. He farmed for a number of years in the 80's and then decided to pursue a career in the environmental/agriculture sector. He graduated from Civil Engineering and Water Resources Technology Diploma at Lethbridge Community College in 1990 and in 2004 obtained a Bachelor of Environmental Technology degree from the University College of Cape Breton.
Curtis has been stationed in Watrous, SK, Hanna Ab, Regina, SK and is currently a senior environmental analyst with PFRA & E working out of the Westlock, Ab office. He has worked with producers as well as government and non-government organizations across Canada on agri-environmental projects and programs across Canada for more than 20 years. Curtis believes that extending knowledge out to producers and urban people through demonstrations, workshops and programs is a very effective way to ensure that the agricultural sector will have the opportunity to be economically and environmentally sustainable now and in the future.
Riparian Management Kelly Spicer - Rawe Bio: Kelsey Spicer-Rawe is a Riparian Specialist with the Alberta non-profit organization Cows and Fish. Initially hired to help expand the Cows and Fish program into northern and central Alberta, Kelsey has been working with the organization since 2000. In her current role as a Riparian Specialist, Kelsey works with community-based watershed groups to improve their understanding and management of riparian areas in Alberta. In recent years, the Cows and Fish program has been awarded both an Alberta Emerald Award in Education in 2005 and a Canadian Environment Gold Award in Environmental Learning in 2003.
Originally from the Peace Country in British Columbia, Kelsey now calls herself an Albertan after living and working in the province for 15 years. Kelsey’s first permanent roots in the province were with her husband on their ranching operation in east central Alberta near the town of Strome. Since 2004, Kelsey and her husband have been putting down some urban roots and are living in the Calgary area.
Norine was born and raised on a mixed farm in central Alberta, has a technical diploma in renewable resources from NAIT, a B.Sc. in wildlife conservation, did graduate level research on wetlands and grazing timing, and used these experiences in a variety of research and wildlife conservation settings prior to joining Cows and Fish in 1999.
As the Program Manager of Cows and Fish, Norine oversees or leads numerous research projects related to riparian ecology, management and program evaluation. Norine focuses on working with landowners and communities to help them understand the value of their riparian areas, and how these areas can be managed to maintain them as healthy, productive pieces of our landscape. Her expertise in riparian ecology is based on her academic and research background as well as 10 years involved in extensive development of new outreach and monitoring tools (including riparian health assessment and inventory methods) and delivering of both written and oral presentations, papers and training to natural resource staff in both riparian ecology and effective program delivery.
Forested Range Health Assessment
April 9, 2:30pm Kevin France, Provincial Rangeland Specialist (Grasslands), Sustainable Resource Development, Alberta. Healthy and functional forested rangelands provide a suite of ecological and economical values including, forage for livestock, wildlife habitat, watershed function, and carbon sequestration. But how do you know if your forested rangeland is healthy? One way of measuring health and function is by using the Alberta Rangeland Health Assessment. To demonstrate the application of this tool we will showcase the Forested Health Assessment. Range health assessments are a coarse filter tool that gives us a general overall measure of health and stewardship, we can use it as more of a measuring tool where we define our desired outcomes on the landscape and then use the measuring assessments to focus our management. The Forest Health assessment tool can be used in deciduous and coniferous forests including cutblocks and burns throughout the province and in the treed areas of the Parkland Natural Regions. Assessing the health of forested rangelands involves comparing the ecological functions being performed on a site to a standard. This is considered to be the Reference Plant Community. Once you determine the standard to assess against you can then assess the 5 indicators of rangeland health. The five indicators are as follows: Integrity and ecological status, plant community structure, hydrologic function and nutrient cycling, site stability and the presence of noxious weeds. With this information it will provide land managers a score of rangeland health and an evaluation of stewardship practices. Kevin France Bio: He grew up in Coldstream, B.C., and developed an interest in ecology, range, and cattle at a young age. Kevin ran a yearling ranch in B.C. for 3 years while pursuing an Undergraduate Degree in Natural Resource Science at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. He then moved onto a Masters Degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management at Oregon State University, researching livestock grazing management in sage grouse nesting habitat.
Kevin has been with SRD for the past 5 years and began his career as a Rangeland Agrologist within the Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve. Following this position Kevin became the Area Range Specialist for the Montane/Foothills and is now currently the Provincial Grassland Specialist for SRD.
Opportunities and values of woodlots for farmers in Alberta The Woodlot Extension Program operated in Alberta for the past eight years and currently employs two extension specialists who work with landowners all across the province. The program is administered by the Alberta Government and supported by a partnership of industry, all levels of government and conservation organizations. The program aims at quality woodlot and agroforestry stewardship, the adoption of beneficial management practices of private forested land and sustainable landscape management in Alberta.
Topics covered in the presentation will include: Woodlot Management Plans, Prairie Shelterbelt Program, Mountain Pine Beetle Awareness, Weberville Community Forest Project, Beaverlodge River Riparian Reforestation Project, Beaverhill Landscape Project, Agroforestry Projects, Bioenergy and Carbon Offset Market Development for Privately Owned Afforested Lands.
Doug Macaulay Bio:
Raised on a tree farm near Barrhead, Alberta, Doug developed an appreciation for biology, entomology and agroforestry. He studied entomology, biology and ecology at the University of Alberta and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in 2001.
He has co-authored of “Garden Bugs of Alberta” and two other books. For the past 9 years has worked with Alberta Agriculture and has been with the Woodlot Extension Program for five years. Energy From Wood Biomass Combustion
April 10, 2:30pm Harold Welling
Learn about Wood Combustion Energy Applications as the currently most feasible renewable energy solution in Canada, exemplifying the different project scales from single building conversions to District Heating Networks and outline the project planning requirements.
Harold Welling Bio:
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