Vermilion River Watershed Restoration + Enhancement Project
To learn more about this project, and ways in which you can improve your land, check out our StoryMap:
Please note, the application period for the Vermilion River Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Project is now closed. Please keep your eye on our website for future funding opportunities!
Wetlands and riparian areas are ecosystems that perform vital ecological services in a watershed. They store water, manage flooding, retain sediment and contaminants, serve as a habitat and food source for wildlife, maintain biodiversity, and offer leisure and natural scenic beauty. These services help people, other living things, and the overall health of natural systems that are linked within watersheds. Citizens, watershed stakeholders, and conservation groups know that wetlands and riparian areas must be protected and restored to create sustainable watersheds.
In partnership with the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance and with grant funding from the agencies listed below, the VRWA worked with landowners throughout the Vermilion River watershed. Together we enhanced and restored over 20 kilometers of riparian areas along the Vermilion River, creeks and tributaries and 157 hectares wetlands within the Vermilion River Watershed. Activities under these grants were collectively called the Vermilion River Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Project (VRWREP). This three-year initiative (2015–2018) implemented some of the recommended actions of the VRWMP under the following goals.
- Improve reliability of surface water supply.
- Maintain or improve surface water quality.
- Maintain or improve aquatic ecosystem health.
Thank you to the VRWREP funders and partners:
Restoration + Enhancement Resources
Check out what landowners in the Vermilion watershed have done on their land to restore and enhance wetlands and riparian areas:
The Vermilion River Watershed Restoration & Enhancement Projects
Learn what you can do!
Please note that many of these resources below are from other jurisdictions. You may need to adjust them to suit your local conditions in terms of climate, soils, and features of rivers, streams, and wetlands. Please check government regulations that may apply to your project.
- Beef Research School: Three Strategies for Riparian Area Restoration
- Guidance for Restoration Activities in Riparian Areas
- Tree + Shrub Planting with Live Stakes
- Live Staking + Joint Planting
- Wetland Restoration, Creation + Enhancement
- Wetland Restoration + Rehabilitation
- Wetland Restoration
- Dam + Canal Safety Guidelines
- MultiSAR: Wildlife-friendly fencing
Studies + Reports
The State of the North Saskatchewan River Watershed Report
(Note: the above link will take you to the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance website)
Vermilion River Watershed Management Plan (2012)
Prepared by the Vermilion River Watershed Management Project Steering Committee on behalf of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance
An Identification and Evaluation of Strategic Priorities for Conservation and Restoration to Improve Watershed Resiliency in the Vermilion River Watershed (2019)
Prepared by ALCES
Vermilion River and Stretton Creek Water Quality at Low Flow (2016)
Prepared by North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance
Vermilion River Riparian Inventory + Assessment (2016)
Health Assessment Maps
Vermilion River Stretton Creek Birch Creek Mundare Creek Holden Creek
Irish Creek Deer Creek Cotton Creek Lamont Creek Holden Drainage
Marwayne Creek Campbell Creek Warwick Creek Waskwei Creek
Vermilion River Aquatic Ecosystem Assessment (2016)
Informing the Vermilion River Watershed Plan through Application
of the Cold Regions Hydrological Model Platform (2012)
Prepared by Pomeroy et al., Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan
Vermilion River Water Supply & Demand Study (2009)
Prepared by Golder Associates