Province to fund water storage, endangered species research at University of Lethbridge with $500,000 grant announcement

By Alberta Newspapers on April 18, 2024.

The provincial government will fund the University of Lethbridge to study water storage, endangered species – including sage grouse – and other issues impacting the southern Alberta region.

The province on Wednesday announced a $500,000 grant to the U of L, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Shultz announced Wednesday in a release.

“This grant will help us better maximize and manage Alberta’s water supply, reduce emissions, recover species at risk and protect the environment in the years ahead. This is a great example of government and university scientists working together,” said Shultz.

The grant over three years will help to support a total of eight collaborative research projects investigating topics including carbon storage and carbon sequestration potential in wetlands and grassland, the impact of fire on carbon storage in Alberta peatlands and key insects in provincially protected areas.

“Drs. Theresa Burg and Melissa Chelak, a postdoctoral fellow, will work with AEPA scientists to see how endangered sage grouse populations are responding to recent habitat restoration, namely oil and gas reclamation efforts,” said the university in its own release.

In 2012 the federal government ordered regulatory changes to reduce industrial activity on hundreds of square kilometres around Manyberries and parts of Saskatchewan during breeding season of the threatened bird.

How changing water temperature and contaminants impact rainbow trout and brown trout populations in fisheries like the Bow River, will also be the focus of one report.

Another asks how human recreation and other activities are affecting the Upper Oldman Watershed.

“The research includes answering important questions about water resources and habitat management, carbon storage in landscapes, ensuring diverse and thriving insects, birds, and fish populations, as well as human actions and interventions that affect water and lands,” said U of L vice-president research Dena McMartin in the release.

Results of the three-year research projects will be published in academic journals, as well as on Alberta’s Environmental Science Program website, says the province.

The grant is part of a rotating program led by Alberta’s Office of the Chief Scientist.