Learn about SAW’s newest agriculture stewardship program launching this spring.
Utilizing floating treatment wetlands to improve water quality in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed.
FEBRUARY 2025
Feb. 21 - Nature Moose Jaw Meeting, with SAW speakers on Invasive Weed Species, Kiwanis River Park Pavilion and Lodge, Moose Jaw
Feb. 25 - Northwest District Advisory Committee Meeting, Saskatoon
Feb. 26 - Nitrogen Management Workshop, Carnduff Legion Hall
Feb. 28 - Southeast District Advisory Committee Meeting, Regina
MARCH 2025
March 6 - Off-Site Watering Workshop, Battlefords Agricultural Society, North Battleford
March 11-13 - Annual SARM Convention, Prairieland Park, Saskatoon
March 13 - Nitrogen Management Workshop, Milestone
March 18 - ALUS Workshop, Kerry Vickar Centre, Melfort
APRIL 2025
April 13-16 - Annual SUMA Convention, Saskatoon
SAW’S NEW PROGRAM: SASKATCHEWAN WATERSHED ENVIRONMENTAL AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM
The Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds (SAW) has been awarded $40 million of funding through the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) to deliver an extensive agriculture stewardship program for Saskatchewan agriculture producers, beginning this spring.
“Farmers don’t need to be convinced that climate change is real – they’re facing the impacts directly. They want to keep their land healthy, productive, and resilient. As a government, we’re making historic investments so that we can continue to be a reliable supplier and leading exporter of world-class products. Building on other efforts already underway, I have no doubt that the On-Farm Climate Action Fund’s expansion phase will strengthen the sector’s longterm climate resiliency.” - The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Incentives will be available to farmers and ranchers to implement beneficial land management practices that help capture and store carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The practices include cover cropping, nitrogen management and rotational grazing management.
“These practices will also improve soil health, increase biodiversity and allow us to become more resilient to climate variability and extremes such as flooding and droughts. Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers are innovative and always willing to adopt new practices and technologies to make their operations more sustainable and conserve the environment. This new program does exactly that!” says Bridget Andrews, executive director of SAW.
Program delivery aligns directly with SAW’s core values to promote and deliver agriculture land and water stewardship that helps sustain healthy watersheds. Partnerships are crucial to the delivery of this extensive program. SAW will be working with Sask Soils, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and the Water Security Agency on various outreach components of the program.
The program, SAW’s Saskatchewan Watershed Environmental Agriculture Program (SWEAP), is funded through the On-Farm Climate Action Fund managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“SWEAP will make farming and ranching operations more resilient to a changing climate and help sustain our environment for future generations. This three-year program will be a huge benefit to all Saskatchewan residents.” says Ruth Seime, chair of the SAW board of directors.
Program details and delivery will begin in April.
For media inquiries, please contact our Executive Director, Bridget Andrews. You can reach her by phone at 306-631-9254 or by email at executivedirector@saskwatersheds.ca
KEEPING YOUR LAKE HEALTHY WITH SUSTAINABLE LAKE PROPERTY INFRASTRUCTURE
Infrastructure on lakefront property is a challenge for lakes in Saskatchewan. The installation of boat launches, marinas, boardwalks, piers, docks, lifts, and sand beaches destabilizes shorelines, destroys aquatic plants, and disrupts fish habitat. Infrastructure can also act as debris or hazards during high water years. Lake stewardship best management practices (BMPs) including implementation plans, lake friendly infrastructure, and sharing infrastructure address these challenges and keeps lakes healthy.
When installing lake infrastructure, property owners can use implementation plans that outline design, timing, setbacks, materials, and site protection methods including sediment barriers or turbidity curtains to limit impacts to their lake. Property owners should avoid including dredging or importing fill and sand in their implementation plans and opt for lake friendly infrastructure wherever possible. Lake friendly infrastructure includes:
• Floating docks or swimming platforms that limit bottom disturbance.
• Docks or platforms without EPS foam or chemical coatings that may leach into lakes.
• Refraining from painted or staining docks
• Using rail systems to move boats in and out of boathouses to minimize disturbance to the lake bottom, shoreline, and riparian area.
Lake property owners should share existing private infrastructure wherever possible. Sharing marinas, docks, piers, swimming platforms, and boat launches will allow more people to enjoy the lake without adding infrastructure, keeping the lake healthier. Additionally, lake property owners can use public infrastructure to enjoy the lake without having to add or upkeep private infrastructure.
Considering lake stewardship BMPs when implementing lake property infrastructure is crucial for protecting our lakes. Over the next two years, SAW will be developing a lake stewardship strategy in the Northwest Watershed District with financial support provided by Canada Water Agency. Two lake stewardship workshops focusing on lake stewardship practices and four shoreline restoration demonstration sites will be hosted at Jackfish and Murray Lake in the summer of 2025.
WATERSHED WONDER KITS AS EDUCATIONAL TOOLS
Watershed Wonder Kits are SAW’s core educational awareness program for youth and public across Saskatchewan. The kits are an educational resource for teachers to incorporate into their lesson planning, for families that are homeschooling, for club activities, nature-based school programs, and outdoor camps. Each kit has been designed to include a variety of activities that are engaging, educational, fun, completely unique, and connect to Saskatchewan’s Education Curriculum!
There are 4 different kits to choose from: My Watershed and Me, Adventure Awaits Backpacks, Getting Our Feet Wet, and Beaver Trails and Cattails.
Click the link below for more information or email education@saskwatersheds.ca to borrow a kit.
PROTECTING RIPARIAN AREAS TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY FOR BIGMOUTH BUFFALO
The Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) is a species of fish native to North America. In Saskatchewan, Bigmouth Buffalo are found in the Qu’ Appelle River system. The species can grow up to a metre long, weigh as much as 36 kilograms, and live to be over 100 years old! Currently, Bigmouth Buffalo are listed on the Species at Risk Act as Special Concern due to declines in abundance related to degradation of water quality and loss of spawning habitat.
This summer, SAW will be working to improve water quality for Bigmouth Buffalo in the Qu’ Appelle River. Using funding provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), SAW will monitor Bigmouth Buffalo abundance on the Qu’ Appelle River from Crooked Lake to the Manitoba border, and work with local landowners to implement projects including native tree plantings, off-site watering systems, and exclusion fencing. These projects will enhance riparian areas, which help trap sediments, pollutants, and nutrients during runoff and improve water quality.
SAW is currently looking for landowner partners along the Qu’ Appelle River to collaborate with to implement riparian area enhancement projects. For more information or if you wish to participate, please contact Ryder at 306-774-2136 or r.rutko@saskwatersheds.ca
Juvenile Bigmouth Buffalo (John Olson, Iowa Department of Natural Resources)
THE EFFECT OF FLOATING TREATMENT WETLANDS ON EFFLUENT PONDS
As part of the Applying a Landscape Approach to Improve Biodiversity project, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), SAW will be installing floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) in the Town of Battleford to reduce nutrient loading in effluent ponds which release treated water into the North Saskatchewan River.
FTWs are man-made platforms that allow for increased vegetative growth in bodies of water by providing a stable surface for plants to grow above water while allowing their roots to grow in the water and capture nutrients. They can be used in a variety of settings to improve water quality, including urban stormwater and effluent ponds, sites of oil spills, and tailings ponds at landfills and natural resource extraction sites.
FTWs help mitigate the negative effects of pollutants by doing two things: 1) using contaminants in the water as nutrients to build biomass, and 2) developing roots beneath the water which provide surface area for beneficial microbial communities which oxygenate the water and convert pollutants into nontoxic forms. Over time, the concentration of contaminants in the water decreases as they are broken down by microbes and used as food for plants. They also reduce turbulence and sediment dispersal in the water by providing a cover for the water surface, preventing wind from disturbing the water surface.
Once established, FTWs are a great low-maintenance option to improve water quality. The only upkeep required is to cut back the vegetation every year or two when it starts to get too crowded on the platform, to make room for new plant matter to emerge and grow.
FTWs are gaining popularity in the reclamation and remediation industry because they are low-maintenance, relatively inexpensive, and have proven to be effective at removing excess nutrients from water bodies. By harnessing the natural ability of riparian vegetation to filter water, FTWs permanently remove harmful substances from fresh waterbodies and improve the health of watersheds.
Floating Treatment Wetlands (Olds College of Agriculture and Technology)
CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLANS COMING THIS SPRING
SAW, with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is continuing to develop watershed-based climate adaptation plans for Saskatchewan. We have completed the climate adaptation plans for the Northwest and Northeast Districts, and the Southeast District plan will be available this spring!
Planning for the Southwest Watershed District has started. We will be hosting our first community engagement meeting in April – details to be shared soon. We are looking forward to hearing from producers, stakeholders, industry leaders, and other citizens within the district to develop a climate adaptation plan that addresses the specific concerns of those who work and live within the region. Once meetings in the Southwest Watershed District are complete, we will begin planning for the Northern Watershed District.
In addition to completing climate adaptation plans, SAW has hosted four climate adaptation demonstration sites and workshops that showcase best management practices (BMPs) that have been implemented to reduce the impacts of climate change, variability and extreme events. We will host two more climate adaptation demonstration sites this year.
If you are interested in attending the Southwest District community engagement meetings or have any questions related to the project, please contact Samantha at ccap@saskwatersheds.ca
OFFICE LOCATIONS
Our office locations are open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM (closed 12 PM - 1 PM).
HEAD OFFICE
300B - 99 Diefenbaker Dr., Moose Jaw, SK
NORTHWEST DISTRICT OFFICE
Norplex Business Center, 221 - 2366 Ave. C N, Saskatoon, SK
