Crowsnest River is in excellent condition for the time of year with water levels higher than norm thanks to the heavy rains in the late fall. There is much open water upstream of the 'pink bridge' for cabin fever relief for those hardy fisher folks.

The paddock area of our lease shall require some fence repair in the Spring. A bull moose damaged the top string of barb wire while jumping the fence one recent morning; a sight to behold indeed as I walked our dogs.

The 'silver' bridge remainns as per the previous update with work on the decking set to commence Spring '07, TU OMR et al in collabaration with the Nature Conservancy Canada landowners to the west of the lease.

At Burmis Lake, the lake water level received considerable increase from the late fall heavy rains and as such, water was not pumped from the river. With the current level being considerably higher than previous years it is hoped winter kill shall be averted, thus establishing a water level benchmark for years to come.

The 25-year lease on about 140 acres of land adjacent to the river, including about two km of riverbank, was finalized between Alberta Sustainable Resources Development and the Oldman River Chapter of TU in December 2002, setting the stage for work on the property, detailed below, in spring 2003. The east side of the property starts about 2 km west of Highway 507 and runs about 2 km west on the south side of the river.

Objectives: The lease gives the members of the Oldman River Basin Chapter of TUC responsibility to ensure the land and river is maintained in a sustainable manner.

The Chapter is responsible for:

Removal of garbage along and in the river and riparian area. (ongoing)

Installing fencing, where needed to keep cattle from eroding the riverbank, and signage (complete in 2003-04)

Removal of noxious weeds as defined in the Agricultural Pest ActMaintenance of property fencing. (ongoing)

Assisting Alberta Sustainable Resource Development in any way that will enhance the management of the valley, the river and the fish.