A St. Albert biologist is giving a free talk this week on the namesake of the Sturgeon River.
Alberta Environment biologist Owen Watkins is speaking at the Edmonton Nature Club this Friday about the life history of lake sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan River.
Lake sturgeons are the huge, armoured, long-lived fish after which the Sturgeon River was named.
Watkins, who lives in St. Albert, has spent many years using radio tags to track the movements of lake sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan in hopes of mapping their breeding grounds.
Equipped with armoured plates, sensory barbells and an upturned snout, these ancient fish can grow to up to 2.5 metres long and live for up to 150 years.
“They’ve pretty much remained unchanged for the last 200 million years.”
Once abundant in Canada and in the Sturgeon, lake sturgeon are classified as a species at risk in the Saskatchewan river basin, with many researchers recommending that they be upgraded to endangered status.
Lake sturgeon populations around Edmonton plunged after the 1950s likely due to low flow and oxygen levels in the river caused by the city’s activities, Watkins said. Fertile adults are rare nowadays, making it tough for them to build their numbers.
Lake sturgeons are an important indicator species of river health, Watkins said.
“We don’t want to lose this species.”
The talk is at King’s University College at 7:30 p.m. on April 17. Visit edmontonnatureclub.org for details.
A St. Albert woman hopes residents will help her connect the dots this weekend as part of an environmental campaign to change Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Thousands of Canadians are expected to march while holding blue paper circles this Sunday as part of the national Connect the Blue Dots day of action.
Organized by the David Suzuki Foundation, the march is part of the national Blue Dot Movement that aims to convince the federal government to add the right to a healthy environment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The campaign started last fall.
Some 60 communities have signed up to march on April 19 to illustrate the growing number of Canadians who believe in the right to live in a healthy environment, said Sophika Kostyniuk, manager of the national Blue Dot campaign.
The campaign’s initial goal is to get municipalities to pass declarations in support of people’s right to live in a healthy environment, which includes the right to clean air, water and participation in decisions that will affect the environment, Kostyniuk said. The hope is to get enough cities to sign onto the idea to convince the provinces, and later the federal government, to make the change – a change some 110 other nations have already made.
At any given moment there are about 1,800 boil-water advisories in effect in Canada, said Radelle Rombough, organizer of the St. Albert march, citing a recent report from the Council of Canadians.
“We live in a wealthy nation. At any given moment we should be able to turn on a tap and drink our water.”
Today’s youth are becoming increasingly concerned about the environmental effects of big industry, she continued.
“Because they care, they are going to vote.”
Rombough said she hopes to convince St. Albert council to commit to a more sustainable future, noting that it has already taken steps in that direction.
Sunday’s march will see about 60 people each holding an eight-inch-wide blue paper dot (representing the Earth) as they march from Perron Street to St. Albert Trail while discussing environmental issues, Rombough said.
The walk starts at noon. Call Rombough at 780-974-3417 for details.
