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One of Parkland County’s best-kept secrets is its hundreds of small lakes and wetlands scattered across the western and northern areas. Some of them, like Spring, Jackfish and Hubbles Lake, have been heavily developed while others, many unnamed, remain largely pristine aside from a few cottages or year-round homes. Those with public access are popular with Albertans as year-round destinations for boating, fishing, trail riding and other outdoor recreational pursuits.

These water bodies all owe their existence to retreating continental glaciers that left behind a rough, hummocky landscape dotted with numerous water-filled depressions about 12,000 years ago. Known to geologists as the Carvel Pitted Delta, the region consists of a mosaic of boreal and aspen forests which. With its characteristic lakes and wetlands, it is an oasis of natural beauty and diversity.

Did you know one of Council’s strategic priorities is to develop a framework to strengthen our policy around the conservation of Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs)? There are 18 ESAs within the Carvel Pitted Delta according to Parkland County’s Environmental Master Plan. These ESAs vary greatly in size and complexity, ranging from streams to larger open water wetlands, lakes, uplands and mixed forests. Each one provides its own suite of ecological services and in many cases, critical habitat for biodiversity. Data collected from area monitoring could be useful in efforts to conserve and protect Parkland County’s natural biodiversity.

In Alberta, lakes and wetlands are administered as Crown-owned resources by the Province. However, many small water bodies, such as those in Parkland County, are surrounded by private land. This places some responsibility for the conservation of these lakes on the residents whose properties contain or adjoin them.

As a lakefront property owner in Parkland County, there are measures you can take to help look after our lakes. In some cases, this means doing simple things like:
• Controlling invasive plant species and plant native trees
• Limiting fertilizer use to help reduce nutrient runoff into water bodies   
www.yourparkland.ca/Fertilizer
If you are wondering how to conserve important environmental features on your property on a larger scale, you could consider a “conservation easement.” A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that allows a landowner to intentionally manage their land with environmental conservation in mind while still being able to use and sell it in the future.

Not surprisingly, landowners in Parkland County have proven to be knowledgeable and committed lake stewards. In 2018, one conservation‑minded resident, Ellen Andreassen, invited David Trew, a retired provincial water scientist and member of the Mayatan Lake Management Association (MLMA) to look at Idano Lake, located southeast of the Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area.

On seeing Idano lake for the first time, Trew immediately recognized that it was special. Compared to most small lakes in central Alberta, Idano is deep with clean, clear water and surrounded by largely intact forest. Idano also has an active outlet stream, meaning that the lake is possibly being fed by springs. Trew summed up his impressions of Idano in one word: “Stunning!”

As it turns out, there are other such lakes in Parkland County that share the same characteristics: deep and clear water, forested shorelines, active outflows and comparatively little human development. Trew and his MLMA colleagues wondered what factors set these lakes apart from the others in the region. To answer that question, Trew, with MLMA members Walt Neilson and Dave Mussel, initiated a regional survey of Parkland’s small lakes, with funding and assistance from organizations such as Land Stewardship Centre Canada, Parkland County, the Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS), the University of Alberta and others.

Since 2020, the survey has expanded to include some 80 water bodies in Parkland County including lakes, wetlands and a small number of agricultural dugouts with the help of ALUS program participants. The majority of these have been sampled for nearly 50 environmental parameters, mapped using sonar and documented with images and video.

The information gathered by the MLMA has begun to yield important insights about the hydrology and biology of these lakes, the effect of natural and human factors on water volume and quality and potential actions that could keep them healthy. This information is being shared with County residents and landowners, Parkland County staff and the Province of Alberta.

To follow the progress of this project and learn more about the small lakes of Parkland County, visit www.parklandcounty.com/waterfrontliving