Ducks Unlimited Canada
National Boreal Program
10525 170 St NW Suite 300
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T5P 4W2
Using science to develop and share best practices that limit industrial impacts to wetlands in the boreal forest
DUC’s best management practices (BMP) program was developed in response to industry’s growing interest in conserving wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide. It is an important component of DUC’s sustainable land use approach. It supports boreal conservation efforts by sharing knowledge and promoting practices that reduce potential impacts of industrial activity on wetlands, waterfowl and waterfowl habitat.
DUC defines best management practices as “a range of industrial planning and operating practices that help industry reduce potential environmental impacts to wetlands and waterfowl habitat and are both economically and technically feasible”.
To help meet DUC’s conservation goals, and to provide solutions to our partners’ conservation goals, the program:
We are involved in a wide range of activities including information sharing, developing guides and handbooks, attending conferences to present information, engaging with the forest industry and helping land managers plan for resource roads in wetlands. We look for opportunities to collaborate with industry, governments and other stakeholders.
DUC’s National Boreal Program is currently leading development of an accessible Yukon Wetland Field Guide. A plain-language, highly visual guidebook that can be easily used by practitioners who are working in the field is an important tool for identifying wetlands.
Learn more about the Yukon Field Guide Project
Translating the Alberta Wetland Classification System into a plain-language field resource for land managers and wetland practitioners. Available for download or purchase.
Learn more about the Alberta Wetland Field Guide
Canada faces several conservation and land management challenges that require effective collaboration and communication amongst diverse stakeholder groups. The CCLM is a collaborative network that aims to create a forum for sharing information and lessons learned about boreal caribou conservation, wetland best practices, land restoration and land reclamation. The CCLM Knowledge Portal consists of three subportals: 1. Boreal Caribou 2. Wetland Knowledge and 3. Land Management. Learn more about the CCLM.
The CCLM is a collaboration between Ducks Unlimited Canada, NAIT Centre for Boreal Research, National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium, Natural Resources Canada and InnoTech Alberta with the Wetland Knowledge Portal facilitated by DUC and the NAIT Centre for Boreal Research. Learn more and explore the WKP.
Visit the CCLM Knowledge Portal
Wetland Knowledge Exchange
The Wetland Knowledge Exchange is the official newsletter, webinar series, and social media account of the CCLM Wetland Knowledge Portal. The Wetland Knowledge Exchange was initiated in 2016 and aims to increase information sharing and foster collaboration amongst diverse stakeholders interested in wetland management, conservation and reclamation.
The Wetland Knowledge Exchange is the official newsletter, webinar series, and social media account of the Canadian Conservation and Land Management Wetland Knowledge Portal (WKP). The Wetland Knowledge Exchange aims to increase information sharing and foster collaboration amongst diverse stakeholders interested in wetland management, conservation and reclamation.
Learn more and subscribe to the WKE
Sharing wetlands knowledge and BMPs is one of our top priorities. Over the last several years, DUC’s national boreal program has delivered in-person wetlands training to industry partners. To make boreal wetlands training more widely available, we have developed a new, online wetlands training that can accompany training in the field.
Learn more about our wetland trainings
The Wetland Centre at Evergreen Park provides a unique opportunity for multiple user groups to engage with boreal forest and wetland science projects. The Wetland Centre iss first wetlands focused, on-the-ground demonstration, training, and research site for practitioners in western Canada.
Learn more about the Wetland Centre
DUC’s Best Management Practices Program works with industry and government to develop guides and handbooks that support decision-making when working in and around boreal wetlands. With input from partners, we continue to develop user-friendly guides that provide solutions to commonly faced problems, like wetland classification, wetland road construction and incidental take.
Publicly available reports, guides and handbooks can be found here (link to Publications):
Contact the Best Management Practices team to learn more about our reports and guides.
DUC’s Best Management Practices Program works with the forest industry through partnerships, knowledge extension by developing guides and handbooks and providing input into forest management planning, guidelines and certification. DUC’s extensive knowledge and experience on wetlands and waterfowl can help forestry partners meet their regulatory and certification requirements as they relate to wetlands, such as wetland and other natural resource policies, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Canadian Standards Association and Forest Stewardship Council, and waterfowl, such as the Migratory Bird Convention Act, 1994. Considering wetlands in forest management planning and operations can also help save on the operational and maintenance costs of roads, promote safety and support productive and resilient forest ecosystems.
DUC has engaged in a number of collaborative projects with Canada’s forest industry including:
Contact the Best Management Practices team to learn more about our work with the forest sector.
Building and maintaining resource roads is a common activity across many industries operating in Canada’s boreal forest.
Because of the high density of wetlands in the boreal, it’s not always possible to avoid all wetlands when building roads. However, considering wetland type and how water moves through these wetlands when planning, designing and building resource roads can help reduce some of the challenges linked to this activity. These include flooding, rutting and compaction, bent culverts, erosion and sedimentation, resulting in increased maintenance costs and environmental and safety concerns.
DUC works with industry groups to learn more about how to design resource roads and to communicate this knowledge to planners and operators.
Contact the Best Management Practices team to learn more about resource roads and wetlands.