The SAPAA presentation to LILSA emphasized the significance of WAERNAHR lands in Alberta, which cover 3,280 square kilometers. It outlined the organization’s role in advocating for low-impact recreation, monitoring Crown Land conditions, and educating the public about environmental stewardship. The deck may be (without speaking notes provided below) downloaded.
The following are speaking notes from a presentation delivered to the Lake Isle, Lac Ste Anne Water Quality Management Society (LILSA). It is intended to be a memory jog for the LILSA board and may be of interest to other organizations as well. The
What Exactly is a ‘SAPAA’ & Who is WAERNAHR?
Agenda and Purpose of the Presentation (Slide 2)
- This presentation introduces various mapping tools of interest to LILSA.
- This post may also be used for further training by SAPAA.
Land Ownership in Alberta (Slide 3)
- About 70% of Alberta is Crown or Public land
- First Natural Areas established in 1963
- These areas have varying degrees of protection and designations
- This presentation is about a small subset of provincial Crown Land covered by the following Act.
Hello, My Name is WAERNAHR (pronounced Werner, Slide 4)
- WAERNAHR lands cover an area of about 3,280 Square KM (about half again the size of Luxembourg, see Counting Protected Areas).
- WAERNAHR provides critical habitat and land bridges.
- The first two types have the highest level of protection.
- Heritage Rangelands are often well treated because of the grazing lease holder.
- In between are Natural Areas
- To read more on these designations, visit: Protected Areas.
- Sites provide first nature exposure for many families.
The Good Thing About WAERNAHR (Slide 5)
- WAERNAHR sites can be used for responsible, low impact recreation.
- Some have amenities.
- SAPAA has visited 25% of all Natural Areas since 2023.
- About 85% are in Good to Great Shape.
- 1 Terrible, Redwater River Natural Area, and a few Passable.
The Tragedy of the Commons & WAERNAHR (Slide 6)
- An economic concept coined in 1833.
- A few individuals who excessively consume to the detriment of others.
- Poster Child: Redwater River Natural Area.
100+ North Saskatchewan WAERNAHR Sites (Slide 7)
- Almost half of the WAERNAHR sites sit in the watershed.
- The focus for this presentation is on two counties of interest to LILSA: Lac Ste. Anne and Parkland.
Who is SAPAA and Its Timeline (Slide 8)
- Originally, SAPAA’s role was to represent the concerns of Government Appointed Stewards.
- This program ran from the late 1980’s to about 2017.
- Since 2023, SAPAA has tried to take on some of the functions of this program.
- Our objective is to visit, report on, and communicate the importance of these …
- … oft forgotten bits of Crownland.
- To do this, we have a Site Inspection process for when we visit the sites.
- We also educate the public and peer organizations about the importance of WAERNAHR.
- On this last point, let’s talk about how SAPAA can help LILSA and zoom into the lakes you are passionate about.
Geospatial Visualization (Slides 9 & 10)
- This evening, we will look at these two lakes from four different Geospatial perspectives.
- All of the following maps are freely available to anyone.
Google Maps & WAERNAHR Polygons (Slide 11)
- This is a screen capture from the SAPAA’s interactive Google Map.
- There are 7 natural areas spread across 10 distinct parcels of land.
- Only Dussault and Isle Lake Natural Areas flow into the lakes (the other are part of the Athabasca watershed).
Google Maps with Polygon Detail (Slide 12)
- Dussault Lake is our Case Study for what SAPAA is hoping achieve.
- It is a typical size, about a quarter section of land.
- It was designated in 1971.
Additional SAPAASteward.com Website Details (Slide 13)
- Each of the WAERNAHR sites have a dedicated web page.
- These are some of the details on the web page or accessible through it or via our site inspection application, SIR-SAPAA.
Biophysical Inventory via iNaturalist (Slide 14)
- This map view identifies the biophysical inventory of the site via iNaturalist.ca.
- 51 observations of plants you would commonly associate with a wet area like this site.
- Anyone can sign up for iNaturalist and submit observations.
Toporama Map (with Google Map Inlay) (Slide 15)
- This view is from the Government of Canada Toporama site.
- I have inlaid the approximate location of Dussault Lake in an image mock up.
- This particular view is useful for showing land forms and the flow of the water courses.
County Ownership Maps (Slides 16, 17, & 18)
- LILSA’s lakes are split between two counties: Parkland and Lac Ste. Anne.
- Most of the land adjoining the lakes is either private or First Nations.
- Neither Dussault nor Isle Lake Natural Areas have a shoreline on either of the two lakes.
- Any Crown Land that adjoins the lakes appears to be general public land and does enjoy a statutory designation.
- CAVEAT: what is allowed or not on a bit of land is a convoluted and complex thing crossing multiple Ministries; the following is for general advice only.
Provincial Grazing Lease Map (Slide 19)
- Undesignated * Crown Land does not mean it is not occupied, just not specifically covered by an Act such as WAERNAHR.
- There is one grazing lease near Isle Lake and a number of leases close to Dussault Lake Natural Area.
- GRL40080 is an example and the contact listed is David Campbell.
- The Grazing Lease – Recreational Access Map allows one to identify these dispositions.
- [* The term ‘undesignated’ is an informal term and does not appear to be defined in statute or regulations]
Geospatial View – Summary (Slide 20)
- This was a whirl wind tour of four different geospatial views of the lakes.
- All of these maps are free and are available online.
- They are independent sites meaning no inter-connection between them.
- With a little effort and pre-existing skills, anyone can use these resources.
Quiz & Question Time (Slide 21)
- Are you familiar with these resources and which one is most useful to LILSA?
- The last two questions will be discussed, as time permits.