The newly implemented Alberta Wetland Policy is creating a rapid and critical need for land managers, land owners and land developers to have specific knowledge and skills about wetlands. Ill-informed decisions and actions can be costly and can create many risks. If you work in a position where your decisions and actions can affect wetlands, or if you have a role in water quality, flood, drought and biodiversity management, this course is for you.  This course, created by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), has involved numerous key stakeholders in wetlands management in order to ensure an informed and comprehensive educational experience.

As a participant, you’ll learn the most up-to-date information about wetlands so that you can effectively and competently make well-informed decisions. Using recent scientific research, you’ll gain insight into how wetlands help meet societal needs and how day-today decisions can impact them. You’ll also be able to put your new learning to the test by examining highly relevant scenarios and case studies about land use projects, their potential impact on wetlands, and how emerging assessment tools can be used to determine appropriate courses of action. Course topics include:

• Wetland identification, types and classes
• Wetland functions, values and benefits
• Wetland status, trends and pressures that affect wetlands and their associated benefits
• Impact of historical and ongoing wetland loss on the provision of ecosystem services
• Societal attitudes and behaviors regarding wetlands and resulting implications
• Current and emerging wetland management tools and approaches including existing policy and legislation governing wetlands, the mitigation system and emerging protocols used in wetland management