The Oldman Watershed Council has won the 2025 Emerald Legacy Award for Environmental Excellence. (Logo: Oldman Watershed Council)

By David Opinko

Oldman Watershed Council wins environmental stewardship award

Aug 13, 2025 | 1:11 PM

A local organization is being honoured for a quarter of a century of ecological responsibility.

The Oldman Watershed Council (OWC) was presented with the 2025 Emerald Award for Environmental Excellence in the Legacy Community Group/Non-Profit category at the 34th Annual Emerald Awards in Edmonton on June 5.

Shannon Frank, Executive Director of the OWC, says the award affirms the power of collaboration in safeguarding the Oldman watershed.

“We share this honour with our volunteers, Indigenous partners, landowners, industry members, government, and supporters who work alongside us every day,” says Frank. “Together, we are creating a resilient water future for southwest Alberta.”

For more than 25 years, the OWC has led practical, science-based projects that strengthen the watershed’s ability to capture, store and release clean water.

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The group says they have stabilized more than 80 kilometres of streambank, planted tens of thousands of native trees and shrubs, and installed low-tech structures such as beaver dam analogues that slow runoff, recharge aquifers, and create habitat.

Outreach and training teams have equipped landowners, ranchers and Indigenous partners with restoration skills and helped to foster a stewardship ethic in over 40 communities.

According to a news release from the OWC, “Independent analysis estimates that these efforts have added more than $8 million to Alberta’s economy while improving recreation opportunities and drought resilience.”

The OWC was founded in the early 2000s and manages an area of 28,000 square kilometres in the Oldman River Basin.