TWO HILLS, Alta. – The Vermilion River is in poor health, says an Alberta Agriculture official.
An assessment of the 275-kilometre river showed it was in poor shape, with eroded banks and dirty water, said Dale Chrapko, conservation co-ordinator in charge of the Vermilion River Riparian Assessment.
“It may not look very great, but it’s not any different than any other river,” said Chrapko.
Water in 53 percent of the sites sampled was rated as unhealthy, 34 percent healthy but with problems, and 16 percent healthy.
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Livestock grazing and cultivation were most commonly associated with unhealthy sites. Haying and native grass areas were associated with the healthy areas.
“From the results of the current health assessment, it would appear that the Vermilion River has lost its capability to perform many of the ecological functions which are characteristic of healthy riparian systems,” said the report.
Stress the need
Chrapko said he hopes the assessment will make farmers aware of the need to change the way they farm to improve the river.
“We want to find solutions, practical solutions, on what farmers can do to put the land back in a healthy format.”
Over the next few months Chrapko wants to work with farmers in each of the four municipalities along the river to show how the river and the surrounding land can be repaired by keeping cattle away and by not cultivating land close to the river.
With help from the Cows and Fish program, designed to create healthy river environments for cattle and fish, he wants to show producers that management is key to the river’s health.
During the assessment, a few sites were found where cattle grazed along the river and the areas were healthy. But in most areas, the cattle watered at the river, trampling the banks, grass and shrubs, which allowed manure and nutrients to run directly into the river.
“There is no way of filtering it before it goes into the river.”
Chrapko said farmers can graze cattle on the riverbanks, but they should fence off the area and use it as part of a rotational grazing system. While cattle producers can see the benefits of allowing a strip of grass or hay to grow along the river to act as a natural water filter, producers who crop the land close to the river are different.
“The biggest challenge is working with the cropping guys.”
Fertile land taken out of production means lost money. Farmers must be encouraged to leave a strip of grass to filter the runoff from the herbicides and pesticides applied to the crop, Chrapko said.
