2024 Open House

Curtesy of Sherwood Park News article published May 23, 2024:



On May 25, 2024 the Beaver Hills Watershed Stewardship Society held an Open House at Birch Bay Ranch.

Featuring guest speaker, Shari Clare, a biologist specializing in wetlands who holds a PhD in Conservation Biology, the event will bring members of the public and non-governmental organizations together to address concerns about the Beaver Hills Watershed and surrounding area.  

Also expected at the event is John Conrad, Assistant Deputy Minister of Primary Agriculture and director of the Alberta Water Council, as well as documentary filmmaker, Dylan Reade, who will share some of the images gathered of the watershed and share a richer understanding of the area’s history.  

“Between drought and climate change and settlement of the area, it’s a death by 1,000 cuts,” said Ken Quackenbush, president of the Beaver Hills Watershed Stewardship Society. “The watershed is in serious trouble — both the wetlands and lakes. I don’t really believe you can save one without the other. We need a solution that starts at the top of the water that works all the way down to the ground. The whole groundwater levels have dropped and lake levels have dropped with that, so it really needs some help.”  

Starting as a handful of science-minded citizens, the Beaver Hills Watershed Stewardship Society was officially formed in 2023 to allow more opportunities to protect the area’s unique biodiversity of the area. The board features nine volunteers who represent Ministik Lake, Half-Moon Lake, Cooking Lake, and Hastings Lake.  

Overall, there has been a steady decline of water levels in the last 20 years, with the wetlands behaving as closed cell prairie potholes, according to Quackenbush. Saving the watershed is something that will require a long-term approach and the time to act is now, the watershed president added.