SAPAA’s second annual report highlights volunteer-led inspections of Alberta’s protected areas, covering over 25% of WAERNAHR Natural Areas. While 80% of sites rated good to excellent, 20% faced issues like dumping and off-highway vehicles.

To date, SAPAA has visited more than 25% of all WAERNAHR Natural Areas. These visits were conducted by volunteers, on their own time and at their own expense. The willingness to do this is partially explained by tangential interests. Nevertheless, all Albertans benefit from contributor’s freely given Time, Talent, and Treasure.

Why Rolling Data?

Rather than provide a snapshot of site inspections from an arbitrary time period, SAPAA has opted to provide cumulative results.

88 inspection reports were submitted between June 2023 and January 20, 2025, representing 61 distinct protected areas (more than 25%). As 2023 was a partial year, its site inspections were rolled into the 2024 collection.

The majority of the reports were in and around the metro-Edmonton and Red Deer areas with some from Southern Alberta.

80% in Good Shape, But…

First the good news: more than 80% of the inspection reports rated the given site as being in great (4 out of 4) or good (3 out of 4) state of ‘Naturalness’. This is a subjective measure assessed by the visitor and articulated as “How natural is this site?”

The bad news, the remaining 20% of the sites received a score of 2 or less. Redwater River, for example, was given a score of 0 by one volunteer. Off-highway vehicle incursions, dumping, firearms, and tree cutting are the most common causes of degradation of a site.

What Now and What Next?

In mid-January, advanced courtesy copies were provided and an offer to brief the Ministers. Electronic copies were provided on February 14 and a physical copy mailed on February 17, 2025 by Past President, Hubert Taube. The Minister responded on March 31, 2025 (see the above links to access these documents).

2025 Site Inspections

The 2025 inspection process is largely unchanged. Training sessions and ad hoc help are available. Central to this year’s inspection process is the use of iNaturalist. If you need a refresher or are new to this tool, here are some resources:

• Getting Started · iNaturalist.
• How to use the iNaturalist Website | NCC.
• For iNaturalist Beginners: Helpful Instructional Videos and How To Pages · iNaturalist.