People interested in learning how much natural plants are growing on the shores of Lesser Slave Lake and the Swan River can check out two recent studies.

In 2024, the Lesser Slave Watershed Council released two riparian assessments – one for parts of Lesser Slave Lake and the other for the Swan River system. Riparian areas are the land between a water body and the upland.

The executive summary of the Swan River one says, “Riparian lands have substantial ecological, economic, and social value. For example, intact riparian habitats stabilize the banks of water bodies and help modulate water velocities and high water events, thereby improving water quality and protecting surrounding lands from flooding. Intact riparian areas also play a vital role in the exchange of inorganic and organic material between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and regulate water temperature and the in stream light environment, thereby ensuring suitable habitat for a range of aquatic species. Given the significant role that an intact riparian zone has on providing ecosystem services and supporting healthy and functional aquatic ecosystems, there is a need to effectively manage riparian areas.”

Both assessments looked at Geographic Information System (GIS) images of the area, which use layers of data to build a graphic representation of the area. The study looked at the shoreline and a 50-metre swath of the land next to it.

The Swan River study looked at about 582 km of shoreline. This was the Swan, Inverness, and Moose rivers in the Swan Hills. The Inverness and Moose flow into the Swan. The Swan flows into Lesser Slave Lake.

When it comes to riparian health, ‘intactness’ means natural growth, which provides habitat and does the other things mentioned above.

The Swan River study found 96 per cent (557 km) high intactness, one per cent (seven km) moderate intactness, under one per cent (four km) low, and two per cent (14 km) very low.

The shoreline includes 554 km in Big Lakes County and 28 km in Swan River First Nation.

The Lesser Slave Lake study looked at 308 km of shoreline. These were Big Lakes County (114 km), M.D. of Lesser Slave River (57 km), Slave Lake (one km), Driftpile Cree Nation (20 km), Kapawe’no First Nation (three km), Sawridge First Nation (seven km), Sucker Creek First Nation (16 km), Swan River First Nation (21 km), Hilliard’s Bay Provincial Park (13 km), Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park (23 km), Lesser Slave Lake Wildland Provincial Park (30 km), and Police Point Natural Area (three km).

The study says, “Spatially, the majority of the areas along Lesser Slave Lake that were classified as very low and low intactness were located in built up or settled areas. The vast majority of the shoreline associated with provincial parks or natural areas was classified as high intactness.”

The study found the majority – 78 per cent (240 km) as high intactness, nine per cent (27 km) moderate, six per cent (17 km) low, and eight per cent (24 km) very low.

The study says 92 per cent of low and very low intactness was in the Slave Lake section (only one km). The longest section of very low intactness was 14 km in Big Lake County.

See www.lswc.ca.