Sask. needs a wetland policy
The loss of wetlands in this province has become a widespread topic among Saskatchewan residents.
As a result, many volunteer organizations have come forward asking our government to build its Ag Water Stewardship Policy around a wetland policy, one that conserves wetlands and regulates drainage in a fair and responsible manner.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
Some of these organizations are Wetlands for Tomorrow, Citizens for Environmental Alliance, the Calling Lakes Ecomuseum, the Last Mountain Lake Stewardship Group, the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Public Pastures-Public Interest, the Saskatchewan Alliance for Water Sustainability and the National Farmers Union.
On Sept. 25, 2023, more than 2,200 letters from Saskatchewan residents were delivered to the legislature asking the government how its new policy would improve water quality. These letters, signed by a broad cross-section of people from all over the province, highlights people’s concerns that the new Ag Water Stewardship Policy will sidestep wetland conservation, and that illegal and approved wetland drainage will continue to contaminate our drinking water, lakes and streams.
This volume of concern from everyday people of Saskatchewan demonstrates an obligation for our government to do the right thing and develop a wetland policy.
Wetlands have so many benefits, from filtering contaminants entering our lakes to recharging our drinking water and providing safe habitat for wildlife. We cannot afford to destroy this resource.
Why are we the only province without a wetland policy? What will it take to make the Saskatchewan government understand how reckless it is to destroy a valuable natural resource like water?
Sherry Forsyth,
Kannata Valley, Sask.
