Alberta lays out new wetlands rules after months of ‘divisive’ consultation

The Alberta government says it has landed on new policy reforms that will oversee the province’s wetlands — those “sponges” on the landscape that act as “nature’s kidneys.”

Under new rules, farmers will be allowed to carry out what the province calls “low-impact activities” on temporary and seasonal wetlands located on private farmland without requiring a Water Act approval, so long as those wetlands hold water for less than 17 weeks per year. The province says those “low-impact activities” will include such things as cultivating, direct seeding and spraying.

For wetlands that hold water 18 weeks or more per year, or for wetlands on public or non-agricultural lands, no rules will change.

The new rules come at the tail end of a long consultation the province undertook as it sought to reform its Water Act, Alberta’s key piece of legislation that governs its water resources. That legislation had not seen a major update in 25 years.

Consultation was 'divisive'

Officials with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas summed up the feedback gathered during the engagement around wetlands like this:

“Wetland preservation is divisive,” reads a document provided through a freedom of information request filed by the Alberta Wilderness Association and shared with CBC News, “with supporters insisting more should be done, while detractors insist it is burdensome and costly to those addressing practical water issues on the land.”

Officials added they had been tasked with balancing the “competing interests” of wetlands preservation with agricultural and industry drainage requirements.

“Agricultural producers do support wetlands; however, they believe that they should receive incentives for preserving them,” the document reads.

The benefits of Alberta's wetlands have long been recognized by the province. Think of them as “sponges” on the landscape, the province wrote in a fact sheet in 2014, storing and slowly releasing water and reducing the damaging effects of flooding and drought.

“They act as nature’s ‘kidneys’ by purifying runoff and helping to keep our lakes and rivers clean,” the report reads. “In addition to recharging groundwater and providing diverse habitats for plants and animals, they offer a host of other benefits to people who live near and far.

“No other landscape component provides all of these functions and benefits.”

Alberta's wetlands are estimated to host some 400 species of plants, according to the province. Some of those are listed as rare, threatened or endangered.

A push for drainage

In a letter sent to Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz on June 30 as part of the engagement, Team Alberta Crops — a collaboration of seven of Alberta’s agricultural producer groups — advocated for the province to eliminate “temporary” and “seasonal” classifications of wetlands on agricultural lands to facilitate ephemeral drainage without approvals.

Temporary wetlands refer to those that are periodically covered by water for a short time, while seasonal wetlands are those that stay wet longer into the growing season.

“This change would enable farmers to responsibly manage runoff and enhance water storage on the landscape, building resilience to climate variability,” the letter reads.

Kennedy Halvorson, a conservationist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said such a change would have represented a “massive departure” from how things have historically been done in the province.

“Every wetland we have now, we really have to work to retain,” Halvorson said.

Environmental experts say the province currently lacks data on wetland loss, as well as on the number of current wetlands, due to the difficulty of measuring them at scale in an accurate way. The province estimates that Alberta has lost between 60 to 70 per cent of wetlands in settled areas.

Though drainage wasn’t ultimately included, Halvorson said the new policy was consistent with many changes in which the province has “constantly put the environment last.”

“There’s always loopholes or ways to get out, to avoid our responsibility to the environment. So, it’s just one of a thousand cuts, essentially,” Halvorson said.

“It’s a huge divergence from the wetland policy … that recognized that wetlands were this hugely important ecosystem that we had to retain.”

While agriculture is one of the most important land uses in Alberta, making large contributions to the province’s economy and heritage, cultivation and spraying should not be considered “low-impact” activities, according to Guy Greenaway, executive director of the Corvus Centre for Conservation Policy.

“They significantly impact our natural systems — in this case our critical hydrological systems. These wetlands are direct conduits to our groundwater, replenishing or contaminating our aquifers based on how we treat those wetlands,” Greenaway wrote in an email.

Industry group welcomes move

The province’s policy reforms represent a step that recognizes farmers as “stewards of the land” and “supports timely decision-making” to ensure the long-term viability of their operations, said Scott Jespersen, chair of Alberta Grains, in an email.

“We want to continue to work to streamline policy that improves timeliness, reduces costs and allows farmers to make practical operation decisions,” Jespersen wrote.

“Alberta farmers are committed to protecting soil and water, and workable policy empowers us to do what we do best: grow the food that supports Alberta’s economy and food security."

In an email, Ryan Fournier, press secretary for Schulz, wrote that the new approach emerged out of consultations and represented the “most pragmatic and environmentally responsible approach” that “balances sustainability with the needs of modern agriculture.”

He added that the previous policy meant farmers had to obtain a Water Act approval and pay related fees “even for low-impact farming activities on short-duration wetlands.”

“Many were required to spend tens of thousands of dollars assessing the wetland just to determine the fee — an unrealistic burden for producers simply trying to farm their own land. As a result, compliance became nearly impossible, and the province has never collected fees for these activities. The old system was unworkable for both farmers and regulators,” he wrote.

While industry groups are pleased, environmental groups like the Alberta Wilderness Association are frustrated when they hear talk of “balance."

“That would be great if there was any amount of balance in the first place … it gives the illusion that right now we manage it so that the economy and the environment are equal,” Halvorson said.

It's technically true that a Water Act approval is required to cultivate a wetland basin, but it is not enforced, said Shari Clare, an Alberta-based environmental consultant who has worked on wetland management and policy for more than two decades.

"The government does not enforce this for a whole bunch of reasons. But they could, and taking away this legal backstop is the symbolic change that is most important," she wrote in an email.

The province says regulatory and policy changes to support its new approach will come into effect in the new year. In 2026, the province will also release a new guide intended to help farmers considering tile drainage systems, though Water Act authorization will still be required.