Brian Free reviews the guides and handbooks that have been developed for Alberta's Watershed Planning Advisory Councils to aid them in their watershed reporting and watershed planning. Beginning with a summary of Alberta's "Water for Life" program, Brian describes how the handbook and guide for watershed reporting does the important work of identifying who needs state of the watershed reports, what indicators should be used and how often the state of the watershed should be assessed. The protocol and guide to watershed planning are in draft form but will provide guidance on how the watershed plan should fit with other planning processes including regional plans.
Brian Free is Senior Advisor, Strategic Relationships & Engagement with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Edmonton, Alberta. His presentation was part of the Joint Conference of CWRA and Alberta's WPACs, March 13-14, 2013, Red Deer, Alberta.
From March 12-14th, 2013, people involved in water issues in Alberta met in Red Deer to discuss ideas and plans for managing water resources. The conference, jointly hosted by the Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) Alberta Chapter and Alberta Watershed Planning & Advisory Councils (WPACs), emphasized the integrated planning that is necessary for water management in the future.
The Alberta Land-use Knowledge Network was able to record many of the keynote speakers and conference presentations.