Who We Are - Alberta NAWMP Partnership.

  • Alberta’s Approach

    Alberta is home to some of the most productive waterfowl habitat in North America, making our wetland resources a valuable commodity to be preserved and protected. Since 1986, the Alberta NAWMP Partnership has worked to conserve the province’s wetlands and associated upland habitat to help achieve the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Agreement.

  • Alberta NAWMP Partners: Bringing the Plan to Life

    The Alberta NAWMP is a partnership of government departments and non-government organizations that coordinate essential conservation activities. This partnership helps Alberta achieve the continental NAWMP goal of restoring waterfowl populations to average levels of the 1970s.

  • Commitment Fosters Success

    The enduring success of the Alberta NAWMP Partnership can be attributed to the commitment and support of the partner organizations and their grassroots approach to conservation.

    The Alberta NAWMP partners are connected through a clear vision, supported by a flexible framework and committed to working in an interdependent environment. For more than 25 years, the Alberta NAWMP has demonstrated unprecedented cooperation and sharing of knowledge, resources and programs, provided insight for stewardship practitioners and demonstrated the durable and remarkable potential that exists through collaboration.

Waterfowl Migration Flyway Map

Ducks and geese follow specific pathways during their migrations. In the spring, this involves migrating from their overwintering grounds to their breeding grounds, and then in the fall they fly south to find the food and habitat they need during the colder months. This flyway map shows how Alberta is part of three of these pathways. If you add the waterfowl productivity map to the equation you can see just how important the province of Alberta is to continental waterfowl populations.

Alberta NAWMP’s core partners include:

The Alberta NAWMP Partnership is brought to life through collaboration with many other groups such as federal, provincial and municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, private companies and many individuals. This larger Alberta NAWMP community works together to help achieve better wetland habitat for Alberta’s waterfowl, wildlife and people.

About

Since 1986, the Alberta NAWMP Partnership has worked to conserve the province’s wetlands and associated upland habitat to help achieve the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Agreement.

What’s the only thing better than managing Alberta’s waterfowl and other wetland habitats wisely? Coordinating and leveraging resources with others doing the same across the province.

That’s the notion behind the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), an unprecedented conservation partnership that has transformed cooperative wildlife conservation across North America. In Alberta, the plan comes to life through a group of government departments and non-government organizations whose shared goal of protecting wetland habitat and associated wildlife species can best be achieved through the NAWMP.

Our History

NAWMP has been heralded by some as a global model for conservation partnerships. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Alberta. Since 1986, a diverse mix of federal and provincial government and non-government organizations has guided programs and projects under Alberta’s provincial NAWMP Implementation Plan.

Implementation of the Plan in Alberta was coordinated by the Alberta NAWMP Centre from 1991 to 1996 and then by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) from 1997 to present day. This waterfowl habitat program was originally named Alberta Prairie CARE (Conservation of Resources and the Environment) and co-delivered by Alberta Sustainable Resources Development (ASRD) until 1996 when the name changed to the Alberta NAWMP Partnership.

The Alberta NAWMP Partnership has accomplished much in this time. We have succeeded in raising the profile of wetland issues in Alberta, advanced scientific knowledge to support wetland protection and restoration, developed synergies by coordinating wetland-related programs, secured approximately two million acres in habitat projects acres, and supported the development of mutually beneficial provincial water and land resource strategies.

Board and Committees

The People Behind the Partnership

The board of directors and the management committee oversee the Alberta NAWMP Partnership, advance its goals and objectives and assign priorities to the policy and communications committees. The work of these committees has greatly advanced the Alberta NAWMP Partnership’s identity, credibility and opportunities within the province.

Ducks Unlimited Canada provides administration support for NAWMP in Alberta. A dedicated Alberta NAWMP coordinator reports to the Partnership’s board of directors, facilitates the committees, is responsible for the implementation of Alberta NAWMP activities and manages the associated budget.

  • Board of Directors

    The Alberta NAWMP board of directors provides strategic direction, sets policy and approves budgets, work plans, programs and habitat projects for all NAWMP activities in Alberta. Meet our board of directors:

    Sue Cotterill,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (Chair)

    Jamie Wuite,
    Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

    Thorsten Hebben,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada

    Ron Bennett,
    Environment and Climate Change Canada

    Katelyn Ceh,
    Nature Conservancy of Canada

  • Management Committee

    The management committee oversees the day-to-day operations of Alberta NAWMP. Additional Alberta NAWMP committees were established to provide the management committee and board of directors with strategic direction in the key operational areas of policy and communications. members of the management committee include:

    Kristen Lorenz,
    Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation (Chair)

    Dave Park,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

    Tracy Scott,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada – Prairie/Parkland

    Lindsay McBlane,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada – Boreal

    Ron Bennett,
    Environment and Climate Change Canada

    Nathalie S. Olson,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

  • Policy Committee

    The policy committee provides advice to the management committee and board of directors on government policies, programs and legislation affecting Alberta NAWMP delivery programs, and provides Alberta NAWMP perspectives in multi-stakeholder policy consultations and initiatives. Members of the policy committee include:

    Vacant,
    Agri-Environmental Partnership of Alberta

    Karen Sundquist, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

    Kaley Segboer-Edge, Alberta Beef Producers

    Gerry Haekel,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

    Marsha Trites-Russell,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

    Kyle Swystun,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas


    Joey Hurley,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

    Gavin Berg,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

    Mark Lyseng, Alberta Beef Producers

    Reg Warkentin, Team Alberta – Crops

    Lindsay McBlane,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada-Boreal

    Tracy Scott,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada-Prairie/Parkland (Chair)

  • Communications Committee

    The communications committee supports the Alberta NAWMP’s vision through strategic communications planning and implementation. members of the communications committee include:

    Melissa Orr-Langner,
    Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

    Nathalie S. Olson,
    Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (Chair)

    Raina Mithrush,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada-Boreal

    Vacant,
    Ducks Unlimited Canada-Prairie/Parkland

    Joy Aguilar,
    Environment and Climate Change Canada

    Sean Feagan,
    Nature Conservancy of Canada