Local group focused on the future of Saskatchewan wetlands

A new group in Regina has formed to express the importance of Saskatchewan wetlands and their future preservation.

Wetlands for Tomorrow made their group launch announcement at the McKell Wetland Conservation Park in Regina. They coincided the launch with World Environment Day.

Their goal is to create a positive space for conversations about the wetlands.

“We don’t protect out wetlands, we’re the only province in Canada. We think that will be very detrimental to our water and to our future,” said Aura Lee MacPherson of Wetlands for Tomorrow.

The group is a coalition made up of a number of groups including Citizens Environmental Alliance, Calling Lakes Ecomuseum, Last Mountain Lake Stewardship Group.

The group began to form in spring 2024, after meeting to discuss concerns over agricultural water stewardship policies in the province.

Al Birchard of the National Farmers Union Region 6 echoed the importance of the creation of policies to protect the wetlands.

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“People need to inform themselves about the value of the wetlands. We are in the process of losing the wetlands and this is the result of government policy,” Birchard said.

Sandy Lowndes is an organic farmer who is concerned about wetland draining from one farm to another. She is questioning the credibility of policies to stop the practice.

“Water that sits on your land increases salinization. The productivity of my land goes down, my livelihood goes down. The guy upstream is laughing because he doesn’t have salinization,” she said.

Going forward, MacPherson said the new group has ideas and suggestions and they hope they are heard.

“When the water is sick, the land is sick, the people are sick. Not having policy is really impacting our quality of life,” she said.