Thanks to Ken Kranrod, vice president at the Alberta Conservation Association. He presented an update to the club about the new Whitewood Conservation Area.
This video from a club member shows parts of West Whitewood Lake.
Q&A from the session:
- What is the lake along the north side of Hwy 16 that is directly south of the Wabamun/Whitewood site? Is it just a complex of wetlands that looks like a waterbody on an air photo? If it is a lake, are we involved with managing that lake as well? This is called Whitewood Lake. There are not currently any plans for ACA involvement. TransAlta is exploring options for that land with the lake and surrounding it.
- Do West Whitewood and Little Whitewood Lakes currently have adequate invertebrates to support trout? Yes, that is one of the reasons why we are stocking those two lakes, because there is an existing food source with good water quality in both.
- Are there Selenium concerns with these waterbodies given the historic coal mining (as has occurred with other former coal mines)? As far as we know, selenium is not an issue with these waterbodies given the type of coal and/or the extraction process.
- Are other possible adjacent lands coming available? Not that we are aware.
- Can we move the failing Muir Lake fishery to one of these lakes? There are no plans to move the fishery from Muir to Wabamun/Whitewood. We are well aware of the issues with Muir Lake and so are planning to collect water quality data next summer and then discuss with GoA.
