Linking public perspectives on watershed issues to indicators and how they differ between natural regions within the Red Deer River watershed, AB, Canada

Abstract

Abstract Public consultation workshops were held at three locations that corresponded to natural regions within the Red Deer River watershed. Participants were asked what their watershed issues were. Issues were linked to watershed indicators used in the completed state of the watershed report (SOW) that would eventually be used in the future watershed management plan (WMP). Issues gathered were sorted, counted, averages calculated and ranked, and comparisons made between locations. Two main categories of issues were found: environmental and socio-economic. Issues under each category were sorted and these generated nine environmental and eight socio-economic watershed indicators. Three new environmental indicators were found, and a whole new set of socio-economic indicators. These indicators should be considered in the future WMP and the next SOW report. Natural regions influenced environmental indicators that in turn could influence socio-economic indicators. Dividing the large watershed (4,965,000 ha) using natural regions as management units could create a “common-place” for their respective communities and local governments; a step towards the place-based approach. The use of natural regions could facilitate the incorporation of biodiversity related plans and programs into a WMP. Public consultations were found useful and should be included in future watershed indicators selection processes. This study is relevant to places in the world that practice collaborative watershed management planning.