Who We Are
The Alberta Native Trout Collaborative is a group of partner organizations — CPAWS Southern Alberta, Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society (Cows and Fish), and Trout Unlimited Canada — working in collaboration with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas to advance native trout recovery in Alberta.
Our member organizations coordinate resources to mitigate threats and promote recovery of Alberta’s Threatened native trout via watershed prioritization and on-the-ground habitat restoration and monitoring. But these efforts are unsustainable if they’re not supported and maintained by the general public. For this reason, we’ve created a communications subsection of our collaborative to focus specifically on outreach.
Our aim is to educate, engage and inspire all Albertans to take pride in native trout, and to take action to help care for their habitats.
Our Mission
When it comes to the health of Alberta’s headwaters, native trout are the canaries in the coal mine. Adapted to the cold, clean, clear, and connected waterways of the Eastern Slopes, they can only thrive when these waterways are well cared for.
Unfortunately, westslope cutthroat trout, Athabasca rainbow trout, and bull trout (Alberta’s provincial fish!) are all Threatened. This does not bode well for the health of our headwaters, or for the millions of Albertans downstream who rely on them.
The Alberta Native Trout Collaborative is working hard on the ground to restore native trout populations and habitats, but we all need to work together to make a difference. No matter how we use the land in the Eastern Slopes — camping, hiking, fishing, off-roading, farming, ranching — we can make the choice to pursue our activities in ways that keep our waters cold, clean, clear, and connected.
Our goal is to help all Albertans understand how and why they can help protect native trout and their habitats. After all, what’s better for native trout is also better for all of us!
How you can help
We appreciate any donations to help fund our education and outreach initiatives, and we’re also always looking for community partnerships. Whether you’re a leader or influencer, a likeminded company, or another non-profit who would like to collaborate, we’d love to hear from you.