Meet our Board of Directors
The Cows and Fish Board of Directors and Members include local producer and community representatives as well as the following agencies and organizations:
Cows and Fish members provide the input, support, and guidance needed to achieve Cows and Fish’s mission. We also rely on financial and in-kind support from Donors and Funding Sources to accomplish our goals.
“A cooperative effort of agencies, organizations, producers and community groups”
We want to acknowledge the strong linkage and partnering with Riparian and Wetland Research Program (University of Montana) and now with Ecological Solutions Group LLC on riparian health assessment, inventory and classification for Alberta.
Donors and Other Funding Sources
Funding from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada through the Canadian Nature Fund’s Aquatic Species at Risk program supports our work with the Native Trout Collaborative and the Little Fish Big Stewardship project. They also fund us directly through the Habitat Stewardship Program for our work in the Beaver Creek Watershed. Their funding also supports projects we work on such as work by the Ghost Watershed Alliance Society (GWAS).
Funding from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas and Forestry and Parks enables our core work supporting environmental resource stewardship through proactive involvement of landowners and land users, as well as educating the public and supporting riparian health monitoring.
Our Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program grant has been supporting our Follow Up Project, enabling us to support landowners’ beneficial management practices, riparian health monitoring and awareness with numerous local communities.
The Rangeland Sustainability Program grant supports forage sampling in targeted riparian areas associated with beaver dam analogue projects, to understand forage productivity changes resulting from increased water availability.
Through a contract with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, we are increasing ecosystem services on agricultural lands by expanding engagement of women and Indigenous communities. This includes education and demonstration sites as well as direct support and training at the request of Indigenous groups.
The Hanen Society has been supporting our Follow Up project, and stewardship, including native trout streams, in southwestern Alberta. By engaging landowners, providing education and outreach, and providing riparian management expertise, this funding helps us work with landowners to continue to make further progress on their riparian management journey.
Through anonymous donations to the Edmonton Community Foundation, we are able to support core parts of our program, where needed.
Alberta PCF has provided funding to help us upgrade and repair our interactive youth focussed, Cows, Fish, Cattledogs and Kids! Gameshow.
We Also Want to Acknowledge:
Many local communities, conservation groups, counties, and watershed groups provide matching funds, cover costs of written extension materials and riparian health inventories, or cover some or all our costs for workshops, demonstration site monitoring, riparian management and restoration projects.
Individual landowners and land users provide both cash and in-kind toward projects on the lands they use and manage, as well as allow us to take tours, share those stories, and speak about their projects, promoting ongoing stewardship and increasing knowledge in their networks, as well as in our events, social media, and newsletters.
Alberta Ecotrust Foundation is supporting our collaboration with the Miistakis Institute and Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association. The pilot project will recommend and implement best practices in a beaver relocation project in the southwest part of Alberta.
Funding from Alberta Beef Producers enables our core work supporting conservation and stewardship through proactive involvement of landowners and land users.
With the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the federal Canada Water Agency’s Lake Winnipeg Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative, we are improving water quality in Lake Winnipeg, primarily in the Rosebud and Battle River watersheds, through education, riparian health, and grazing management changes.
With support from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, we are collaborating with the Sucker Creek First Nation on implementing beaver coexistence, providing skill development for local community members, addressing human-beaver conflicts, and increasing the ability of beavers to remain on the land.
Through funding to the Canadian Cattle Association from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for Species at Risk Partnership on Agricultural Landscapes (SARPAL), this work supports our riparian health monitoring and education work, to inform stewardship practices that enhance critical habitat for greater sage grouse. By partnering with the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Alberta Beef Producers, and Multiple Species at Risk (MULTISAR), it supports riparian restoration and beneficial grazing practice changes and ranch planning.
Alberta Conservation Association is supporting riparian restoration, habitat improvements and education to benefit threatened westslope and bull trout in southern Alberta. ACA also funded the Native Trout Collaborative’s Angling Fair, and contributed to two women’s grazing school committees, encouraging stewardship and learning that benefits habitat for fish and wildlife.
Past Supporters, Donors & Funding Sources
Calgary Foundation
MakeWay Foundation
Alberta Innovates – Beaver Coexistence in Alberta (Working with Beavers project)
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada – Canadian Adaptation & Rural Development Fund (CARD)
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada – Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program
Ag & Food Council – Community Riparian Program
Canada Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund (CABIDF)
Environment Canada – Habitat Stewardship Program
Wildlife Habitat Canada
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program
Shell Canada – Shell Environmental Fund
Alberta Real Estate Foundation
ConocoPhillips
Mountain Equipment Company
