A new provincial trust will mean training staff to better help landowners without having to dip into project funding, says a watershed district manager.
“It means we don’t have to… rob our project dollars to be able to deliver them more effectively,” said Justin Reid, manager of the Redboine Watershed District.
“We’re able to put more and more of our project dollars into the actual project,” he said.
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On June 10, the province announced it would establish a $2.5-million Manitoba Watershed Districts Capacity Fund, which the Winnipeg Foundation would hold in trust.
Revenues from the trust will “provide a stable source of funding to support technical work, operations, communications, governance and watershed planning efforts for districts and the Manitoba Association of Watersheds,” the province said in a news release.
He could see the fund being a great help, said Reid.
Redboine Watershed District recently added three new municipalities to its program, Reid said. He hoped additional funding would help bring these RMs up to speed.
He said he also hoped to get more training for staff — on woodlot management, for instance, and which species to plant to preserve the health of wooded areas.
The fund may also cover engineering support for projects, or communications support and promotional work, said Lynda Nicol, executive director of the Manitoba Association of Watersheds.
“Capacity building” is a broad cat egory by design, Nicol said. It’s to allow them to be more responsive to districts’ individual needs.
The Watershed Districts Program plays “a vital role in building Manitoba’s climate resiliency and improving the health of our watersheds,” said Environment, Climate and Parks Minister Jeff Wharton in the June 10 news release.
“I think it’s a real indication from the government about the value of the work that’s being done through MAW and through the watershed districts,” Nicol told the Co-operator. “It’s an indication of their support for us to continue to grow and support the districts further.”
Previously, the province established the Conservation Trust in 2018, a $102-million fund for activities promoting conservation, including of watersheds. In 2019, the province established the $52-million GROW (GRowing Outcomes in Watersheds) Trust specifically to fund watershed conservation projects.
As part of the announcement, Wharton highlighted GROW Trust projects through a video highlight reel.
“Without the hard work of participating producers and local watershed districts, these and many other local GROW projects would not be possible,” Wharton said. “The new video is an important communication tool for the province, districts and producers to share information on our collaborative work through GROW to improve water quality, build resilience to flood and drought, sequester carbon and enhance wildlife habitat.”
The province also announced on June 10 that it would add $570,000 to the Watershed Districts Program’s core funding, for a total of about $6.4 million.
