Eastern Slopes Watershed Assembly - Highwood River - Town of High River

What is the Eastern Slopes Watershed Assembly?

This gathering is part of a series of Eastern Slopes Watershed Assemblies taking place in communities across the front ranges of Alberta’s Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Together, we will:

• Learn about the Eastern Slopes headwaters that feed our rivers and communities.
• Explore how activities like logging, coal mining, recreation, and restoration affect water.
• Share local stories, concerns, and ideas about water in and around High River.
• Start identifying what’s working and what’s missing for long-term watershed health.

This is a people’s assembly: it’s open to everyone, and it’s designed to listen to community voices rather than deliver a top-down presentation.

Why High River? Why now?

High River lives downstream of the Eastern Slopes on the Highwood River. What happens in the headwaters, from clearcuts to roads to restoration projects, shows up in High River as:

• Flood and drought risk
• Water quality and drinking water security
• Impacts on fish, wildlife, agriculture, and communities

Across the Eastern Slopes, people are raising concerns about cumulative impacts, clear-cut logging, coal mining, off-highway vehicle use, and the long-term health of watersheds. At the same time, important work is happening in restoration, stewardship, and community organizing.

This assembly is a chance to:

• Connect local experiences in High River to the bigger headwaters story, and
• Help shape what future Eastern Slopes protection and restoration could look like.

What to Expect

This is an in-person, highly participatory event. No experience is required—just curiosity and a willingness to listen and share.

The evening will include:

• Welcome and Introductions
• Short Presentation: Why Water, Why the Eastern Slopes
• Water Stewardship Table Activity
• Future Visioning Exercise
• Naming Our Priorities
• Closing & Next Steps

Snacks, coffee/tea, and informal conversation will be available before and after the main program.

How Will This Input Be Used?

These assemblies are Phase 1 of a longer-term process.

• Over the winter, we’ll hold assemblies in multiple Eastern Slopes communities.
• The insights from each community will help shape a bioregional picture of headwaters priorities, what people want to protect, restore, and change.
• In a later phase, those community-level insights will support policy and strategy development in collaboration with watershed groups, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and other partners.
• We expect to bring more concrete proposals back to communities in a future round of assemblies to check, refine, and verify.

For now, the focus is on listening to community voices, not asking people to react to a pre-written policy.

Who Should Attend?

This event is for anyone who cares about land and water in and around High River, including:

• Local residents, farmers, ranchers, and landholders
• Members of local stewardship and community groups
• Youth, students, and educators
• Recreational users of the Eastern Slopes (hikers, fishers, paddlers, OHV users, etc.)
• Municipal staff and elected officials
• Anyone curious about how headwaters and local water issues are connected

No technical background is needed. You do not need to be an “expert” to participate—local knowledge, experience, and stories are central to this work.

What to Bring

• Your experience and stories about water here
• A friend, neighbour, or family member
• A notebook if you like to jot things down
• Reusable water bottle / travel mug (we’ll have drinks; you’re welcome to bring your own cup)

Snacks and hot drinks will be provided, subject to capacity and sponsorships.

Accessibility

• The venue is wheelchair accessible
• If you have specific accessibility needs (mobility, hearing, visual, scent-free considerations, or anything else that would help you participate), please contact us before the event at: info@landloversnetwork.ca

We will do our best to accommodate.