An Integrated Watershed Management Plan (IWMP) is a guiding document for use by landowners, governments, planners, and stakeholders in a watershed. It sets out common goals and objectives for the long-term management of land and water resources in the basin. IWMPs are developed cooperatively by governments and stakeholders from across the watershed, including provincial and municipal governments, Indigenous communities, industry, non-government organizations, and others. The IWMP for the Lesser Slave Watershed Council states shared goals for water quantity, water quality, riparian areas, wetlands, and biodiversity, and outlines actions to achieve those goals.

The LSWC, in consultation with the community and stakeholders, developed a Terms of Reference to guide the development of the plan in 2015. The provincial Guide to Watershed Planning in Alberta (Alberta Government 2015) was utilized as a guide throughout the planning process. The IWMP aligns with current provincial planning initiatives. This IWMP does not have legislative authority. However, the Government of Alberta considers IWMP’s valuable planning documents that can inform other policy and regional planning initiatives. Municipal governments and other implementation partners utilize IWMP’s as information and guidance when developing their own plans and policies.

The Lesser Slave IWMP:

1. Provides specific recommendations that are accompanied by greater implementation detail, as opposed to general recommendations that are not easily implemented. 
2. Takes a strong, comprehensive watershed approach. 
3. Encourages municipal influence by providing recommendations related to municipal development planning, including land use by laws, for future lake shore (subdivision) development planning that is consistent with the goals and objectives of the plan. 
4. Considers fisheries and wildlife management

The Lesser Slave IWMP includes an implementation strategy. The strategy lists specific actions needed to implement recommendations, indicates who is responsible for implementing the recommendation and suggests timelines. A short-list of actions was prioritized by the LSWC and IWMP Steering Committee to initiate the implementation of the Plan. Priorities were directed to recommendations that had watershed-wide benefits, filled urgent needs or data gaps, and aligned with current goals and objectives. 

Administrative Priorities

1. Work with partners to identify priorities and refine implementation actions according to short-term, medium and long-term timelines.
2. Identify and seek funding and in-kind resource support.
3. Review plan implementation progress annually.

Project Priorities

1. Design and implement a water monitoring program for rivers and lakes.
2. Collaborate with partners to develop the watershed-scale hydrologic model to better understand watershed hydrology.
3. Implement recommendations that relate to stewardship of water and the aquatic environment.

A tracking spreadsheet was developed to monitor the ongoing progress and successes in the implementation of the recommendations in the Lesser Slave IWMP. Actions are documented for each of the plan’s recommendations and the LSWC periodically engages with implementation partners to receive updates on progress, which is reported periodically in an IWMP implementation updarte

Roles and Responsibilities

Collaboration between multiple levels of government, various industries, NGOs, landowners, leaseholders, and watershed residents is essential to managing cumulative effects in the watershed. Successful implementation of this plan will be achieved when agencies, organizations, and other recognize and accept their individual or shared responsibility for addressing collective goals and objectives. General roles and responsibilities for key stakeholders are described in section 8. A comprehensive list of applicable legislation, policies and guidelines is provided in Appendix B.