Water Quality and You 1.0

Water Quality and You 1.0   The Red Deer River

Gravel-bed rivers like the Red Deer River and its floodplains are a ribbon of biodiversity and play an essential role in overall health and function of the surrounding and downstream landscape and communities.

Land along a river’s shoreline—known as a riparian area—provides an abundance of vegetation and wildlife habitat. Conserving and stewarding this land is essential to the health of the Red Deer River.

Because land conservation is essential to a river’s health, Water Quality and You (WQY) was created to promote voluntary land conservation and land stewardship practices along the upper reaches of the Red Deer and its tributaries through conservation easements.

The aim of WQY1.0 was to help achieve two recommendations of the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance’s integrated watershed management plan: to encourage good land practices and to safeguard water sources. 

This three-phase program started with mapping landscape features and ownership along the Red Deer River. Then it focused on sharing information about the program. Finally it moved on to developing conservation easements with interested landowners. 

Through WQY1.0 Legacy met many landowners who supported improving water quality. We heard their concerns, listened to their stories, and provided them with conservation tools and stewardship options. Several significant conservation projects were completed as a result of this program. 

We continue to look for new ways to reach out to landowners to provide information and resources. If you would like to get involved or learn more about Water Quality and You, please contact us.

View two of Legacy’s conservation easements on the Little Red here and here.