Annual Report 2011-2012

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN –Joh Ross

It was a great honor to be able to assume the chairmanship after Tom Gilchrist stepped down last year. Tom did a fantastic job guiding us through our early years and left some mighty big shoes to fill. I definitely couldn’t do it without the support and dedicated work of the board and our staff. We are continuing our water quality monitoring work on the Milk River and its tributaries, as well as pursuing the MirTAP Project which is looking at the water in the aquifer under our feet. The Integrated Watershed Management Plan is nicely taking shape and we are planning an update of the State of the Watershed Report with the support of our US counterparts. We are also undertaking a new study with Alberta Agriculture on Microbial Source Tracking that will enhance our ability to track trends and sources of fecal bacteria affecting the quality of the river water. There hasn’t been another project like this in the province so it is very exciting.

Tim Romanow has been a great asset as our new executive director and it was with great relief that Sandi Riemersma was able to stay on as a consultant and project manager. Mary Lupwayi has been another huge asset in the office. When you’re surrounded by good people you can do good work, and for that I am very fortunate.