Alberta Environment and Parks is leading a watercourse crossing initiative to address fish habitat needs through the implementation of the Roadway Watercourse Crossing Remediation Directive. The purpose of the directive is to:
- uphold the regulatory mandate of Environment and Parks, Agriculture and Forestry, and the Alberta Energy Regulator;
- protect or restore fish habitat through effective stream crossing practices; and
- promote and support a watershed-based approach to efficient, collaborative watercourse crossing inspection, monitoring, management, and remediation.
As municipalities own a large number of watercourse crossings in the province, members of the AAMDC are recognized as playing a crucial role in the successful recovery of native fish populations. The Government of Alberta is reminding municipalities across Alberta that they have liabilities associated with the watercourse crossing initiative, and are required to take responsibility and address the issue in a manner similar to what is expected of industry.
The failure to implement this strategy for watercourse crossing remediation may result in continued declines in threatened populations such as westslope cutthroat trout and Athabasca rainbow trout as habitat fragmentation perpetuates population declines. Therefore, Alberta Environment and Parks looks forward to working cooperatively with AAMDC members to increase understanding of this complex issue and move forward in inspecting crossings and remediating those that are non-compliant.
For further information, contact Alberta Environment and Parks.
Enquiries may be directed to:
Matt Dow
Policy Analyst
780.955.4085
Tasha Blumenthal
Director, Advocacy & Communications
780.955.4094