Hasse Lake Fisheries Restoration   

In recent decades, changes in watershed land use have resulted in increased nutrient runoff, particularly phosphorus, into Hasse Lake that has led to increased intensity and frequency of 2 algal blooms, especially blue-green cyanobacteria blooms; poor oxygen conditions; and fish kills. Recurring summer and winter fish kills have decimated what used to be a popular stocked sport fishery; there has been no recreational fishery on the lake since 2012. In the summer of 2015, ACA initiated a project with the primary focus of working with local community groups and landowners in the watershed to reduce nutrient loading to the lake, improve water quality, and restore the recreational fishery. Each, year we monitored summer and winter water quality conditions; however, we did not conduct surveys during the summer of 2019 due to the departure from ACA of key project staff. In 2019, we also investigated the potential use of alum treatment and lake aeration as alternative approaches to improve water quality and support a year-round population of stocked fish. In the winter, much of the water column was anoxic under the ice by mid-February. Based on sediment phosphorus release rates, estimated cost for alum treatment of Hasse Lake was over US$660,000 (equivalent to over one million Canadian dollars); at this price, alum treatment is not an economically viable option for ACA. Following positive discussions with Parkland County and AEP, we plan to restock Hasse Lake with trout by fall 2020; we will extend the powerline and install aeration infrastructure on the lake by fall 2020 to enable use of winter aeration to support the stocked trout.

Partnerships

Alberta Environment and Parks, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, Northern Light Fly Fishers, Parkland County Alternative Land Use Services Program

Annual Summaries

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