The problem is land use, the solution is land use

 The problem is land use, the solution is land use

Bow River Shuttles writes: Two articles regarding Alberta agriculture and the environment appeared recently. One in the Edmonton Journal - "Alberta fish kill this year could be worst ever (with video)" - and one in the Calgary Herald - "Farmers urged to cut footprint."

The info in the first article is the most worrying, regarding water quality and our fishery. Here is an excerpt:

"...Fish normally get oxygen from the water that passes through their gills so they don’t get much from the open air, but they are desperate.

The situation is going to be worse than usual this summer because of what’s happened in the province the past two years.

Lake Isle is like the canary in the coal mine or early warning system because it’s shallow and it’s located near headwaters that contain a lot of phosphate produced by all the ranches, feedlots and cows in that watershed, Sullivan said, noting that 80 per cent of Alberta’s watersheds are exactly the same.

“The problem is land use, the solution is land use,” he said. “We need more wetlands to filter the water, we need more riparian (riverbank) areas to filter water, we need to pay the farmers so they don’t have to grow every single acre and put it into production.”"

Read full article here: http://bit.ly/1mAtQoT
 
Read 'cut footprint' article here: http://bit.ly/1ktqYZF