Summer 2026

Newsletter Archive

New Case Studies for Bow Region Wetland Datasets

Putting the Applied in Miistakis' tagline, Applied Conservation Research, by developing a series of case studies on the application of the Bow River Region Wetland Datasets

Over the last 6 months we've been developing a series of case studies on the application of the Bow River Region Wetland Datasets. These case studies highlight the practical ways that land mangers can use good quality wetland data to support wetland and ecological conservation.

The two case studies recently completed were both in collaboration with Rocky View County. The first, From Data to Policy - Informing Ecological Connectivity in Rocky View County's Municipal Development Plan, highlights the use of the wetlands datasets’ land cover data in a 2024 project called Nature’s Network, which was a regional effort to identify key natural areas and ecological corridors to keep wildlife moving. The result was a mapped ecological network to support local municipal planning. This work led to the integration of the ecological network in Rocky View County’s updated Municipal Development Plan (MDP) in 2025 with plans to also incorporate it into intermunicipal development plans with neighbouring municipalities in the coming years.

The second case study our team completed was Data Meets Dirt - Supporting Producers through ALUS Rocky View. This case study showcases how the wetland datasets can be used to identify areas of high wetland restoration and enhancement potential to promote ALUS projects to potential participants in those areas. It also shows how the datasets can help ALUS Rocky View prioritize projects to maximize ecological impact when demand exceeds available funding. This approach could be applied to other ALUS programs within the Bow River Basin to support their efforts as well.

Thank you to the Bow River Basin Council for their partnership on this project.