Alberta Environment and Parks Chief Scientist, Dr. Fred Wrona, will offer an overview of change in Alberta’s Rocky Mountain ecosystems. From Mount Sprague in Willmore Wilderness Park, to the Kananaskis range just outside the doors of Calgary, to High Rock Range in Southwestern Alberta, these areas are home to some of the most important headwaters in Alberta, providing habitat for an abundance of species, and freshwater for millions of people. To celebrate International Mountain Day, Dr. Fred Wrona will be talking about how climate change and human activities impact the sensitive Rocky Mountain ecosystem, including the scientific assessment of ecological stressors in the Castle Region of Southwestern Alberta.
About Dr. Wrona:
Dr. Wrona was the Senior Science Strategist and Advisor with Environment Canada. Dr. Wrona was based out of the University of Victoria, where he was a Professor in the Department of Geography and the Water and Climate Impacts Research Centre (W-CIRC).
He currently serves as science advisor to the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, and is Canada’s Head Delegate for the UNESCO-International Hydrology Program (IHP). Dr. Wrona also recently completed his tenure as the Invited Chair of the External Scientific Advisory Committee for the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) at the University of Aveiro in Portugal.
Well acquainted with the province of Alberta, Dr. Wrona served as the Scientific Director of the Northern River Basins Study (1992-96), and as a member of the International Science Advisory Committee of the Alberta Water Research Institute, which is now part of Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions. Over the past year, he has also been the co-chair of the Component Advisory Committee (CAC) for Water with the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) program.
Dr. Wrona is renewing his academic ties with the University of Calgary, where he earned his Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology (1982), and a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences (1977), and where he was a member of the faculty from 1982 to 2004.