Sharon Reedyk, water quality specialist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, discusses a buffer design for the Canadian Prairies. Designed to determine buffer zone recommendations between crops and streams, it addresses prairie-specific issues such as freeze/thaw cycles. Other factors were considered during the designing of the tool, such as the influence of roads and culverts on the movement of water into streams.
Primarily a field-based manual designed with water quality in mind, landowner concerns and objectives were also incorporated. An empirical and field-based approach was adapted during its creation, with a focus on land management practices. This presentation was a part of the Alberta Lake Management Society’s 20th Annual Workshop, in September of 2013.
