Expanded Brown Trout
Redd Count 2018 Project
Friday November 9th is the date for our Lower Elbow Brown Trout Redd Count, and Sunday November 18th is the date set for our Upper Elbow Brown Trout Redd Count. This project was funded in part through a Watershed Stewardship Grant, a program of the Land Stewardship Centre, as well as funding from City of Calgary Water Resources. We appreciate the support provided by these partners which allows this important citizen science project to proceed.
Calgary River Valleys has been working with other groups to count Brown Trout redds or spawning nests in the lower Elbow River since 1994, and has been the main sponsor of this important project since 2009. We want to ensure this citizen science continues as an annual count in order to ensure the data collected is as accurate as it can be, that trends over time can be observed, and the location of redds can be used to ensure land use decisions don’t negatively impact Calgary’s blue-ribbon trout fishery. In 2018 we will be expanding this project to incorporate for the first time data collection on Brown Trout redds in the Upper Elbow on the western edge of Calgary to establish a baseline in that reach.
Keep an eye out for our volunteers who will be mostly walking, but sometimes floating in rafts, on the Elbow River below the dam on November 9th, and above the Weaselhead on November 18th. Below are some pictures from our 2017 count.
To view a short (3:15) video clip from our YouTube channel of our volunteer Biologist, Chris Bjornson, of Golder Associates, explaining how Brown Trout spawn each fall, what the citizen scientists doing the count should be looking for, and why this annual redd count is important, click here.
Pic of a redd
Spread out hunting for redds
Rafting to next suitable spawning location
Hunting for redds
Riverbank Makeover Project 2018
You’ve heard of Home Makeover shows, well in a similar fashion, this year Calgary River Valleys is doing a “Riverbank Makeover” project with a homeowner who backs onto the Elbow River, with funding support from the City of Calgary. This project is in alignment with the City’s recently adopted program, the Riparian Action Program, which is designed to improve and maintain the health of river-adjacent areas as well as the quality and quantity of water flowing through Calgary’s rivers and creeks.
Many people are unfamiliar with the term “riparian”. Its Latin root “ripa” means bank or shore, so riparian refers to the transition zone between the river and the surrounding lands or uplands. This is land where the vegetation and soils are strongly influenced by water. As a result, different types of plants can grow in the riparian zone as compared to the surrounding lands or uplands.
The project this year has 3 main components:
- Research about people’s knowledge of riparian issues,
- Field work to modify an Elbow River adjacent homeowner’s riparian zone with new vegetation and monitor its success over time, and
- Educate the public about the value and function of riparian zones in our ecosystem.
We completed our volunteer planting day on October 6th, and we will be holding a “garden tour” style event on October 20th from 1 pm to 3:30 pm, to see what was planted, where, and why. Contact us at CalgaryRiverValleys@outlook.com if you are interested in attending the “garden tour” style event. See below for some pictures of the transformation of the riverbank. Hover over each picture to see a short description of what is in the photo.
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- Riverbank Pre-Preparation
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- Riverbank Post-Snow
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- Riverbank Post-Shovelling
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- Riverbank Bed Prep 1
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- Riverbank Bed Prep 2
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- Riverbank Planting Crew
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- Riverbank Planting Action
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- Riverbank Post-Re-Planting
CRV on Twitter
The ten latest CRV Tweets on Twitter.
You may have seen our feature on our recent Riparian Restoration pilot project in some of Calgary's community newspapers recently. Our work on the project continues. We are collecting more information about... facebook.com/CalgaryRiverVa…
You may have seen our feature on our recent Riparian Restoration pilot project in some of Calgary's community newspapers...
Posted by Calgary River Valleys on Friday, December 14, 2018
You may have seen our feature on our recent Riparian Restoration pilot project in some of Calgary's community newspapers recently. Our work on the project continues. We are collecting more information about... facebook.com/CalgaryRiverVa…
Calgarians Dipped Their Toes in Some Citizen Science to Count Redds calgaryrivervalleys.org/news/ calgaryrivervalleys.org/news/
Wetlands are very important to our envir - CO2 storage, plus flood & drought mitigation! In AB, 64% of wetlands in developable area have been destroyed. In #yyc it is closer to 90% -- #Calgary #Planning should require more developers to #KeepWetlands #restoration #ClimateChange twitter.com/RamsarConv/sta…
Wetlands matter for #ClimateAction#KeepWetlands
— Wetlands Convention (@RamsarConv) December 2, 2018
Its time to stop draining and start restoring wetlands. #COP24 #ClimateChange #GLFBonn2018 pic.twitter.com/9lxtrhglAv
Calgary River Valleys has made The Scene. (pg. 12) If you see us in other community newsletters, please let us know. great-news.ca/Newsletters/Ca… great-news.ca/Newsletters/Ca…
"We need to manage all land and water in a sustainable way. It is also important to increase not only the quantity of protected areas, but also the quality of management systems. We need to consider it as limited capital." dw.com/en/our-consump… #HighlandValley #yyccc
A great story of the hidden hydrology of @ConfedCreek in N Central #yyc - would love to see #daylighting of more of this creek. The final Confed Creek Regional Drainage study of managing water in the catchment due out soon, but draft is here: calgary.ca/PDA/pd/Pages/C… twitter.com/FOCCAssociatio…
This feature ran this afternoon on @cbcradio https://t.co/PuumCaEXQ8
— Friends Of Confederation Creek (@FOCCAssociation) November 28, 2018
Many thanks to Jenny Howe who came to meet the creek. @CraigCoolahan @NDPStephanie @MLA_Karen @AlbertaEnviron1 @seanchucalgary @DruhFarrell @BowRiverWPAC @clgrivervalleys @ConfedCreek #yyc #yyccc
Such a great opportunity to support your favourite charity! Given @clgrivervalleys is not yet a charity, we support @BowRiverWPAC #BeTheGood twitter.com/benevity/statu…
Ready, set, GIVE! RT this video with an @ mention of your favorite charity using #BeTheGood and we’ll donate $10 on your behalf in our $100K Charity Giveaway!
— Benevity (@benevity) November 27, 2018
With YOU, kindness, empathy and small actions can lead to big change. pic.twitter.com/fj0kB1yC7G
Yes, @clgrivervalleys, as a @cityofcalgary Partner, has unfortunately had its core funding cut by 100%, to zero $. Now apply each yr for project $, to a max of 27% of what we previously rec'd. We provide a massive ROI to City, but that doesn't seem to register #GivingTuesday twitter.com/LaurenHerschel…
I wish we spoke more of return on investment. I don’t think the average citizen understands that money invested, particularly in City partners, brings money back into the community - and that doesn’t even factor in the additional social return
— Lauren Herschel (@LaurenHerschel) November 27, 2018
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