Watershed awards honour builder and company

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This article was published 27/12/2022 (1418 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former RM of Ste Anne Reeve and a leading hog producer were honoured as two of six Manitoba Watershed Award recipients announced Dec. 15.

Art Bergmann was presented with the Watershed District Builder Award while HyLife won an award for their work, both with the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District.

Lynda Nicol, Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, said the work done in watershed districts has a direct impact on water quality for all Manitobans.

“That’s why it’s so important to recognize the work being done throughout the province, and to celebrate those who have demonstrated excellence within the watershed district program,” she said. “The individuals and businesses presented with 2022 Watershed Awards are wonderful examples of how positive change is possible through dedication and community.”

Art Bergmann

Named reeve of the RM of Ste Anne in 2002, Bergmann served through 2018, sitting on the board of the Seine Rat River Conservation District, the predecessor to the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District, from 2004 through the rest of his tenure.

The conservation district was only two years old at that time, and the RM of Ste Anne was only the second municipality to join the organization that began in the RM of La Broquerie.

Bergmann said he recalled that the conservation district had a mandate to expand, but admitted his councillors weren’t all excited about the idea.

“We were a little cross at La Broquerie because we’d had a lot of flooding along the Seine River, and that water comes from upstream and had not historically been at levels as high as it was,” he said.

That caused problems for their municipality as they dealt with erosion and other impacts.

But Bergmann had a message for his councillors who balked at the idea of partnering in any way with the RM of La Broquerie.

“I said, well look, this water is coming. Do you want to be around the table to negotiate the rate of flow and stuff like that or do you just want to drink it?”

Facing pressure from the government to add more municipalities, Bergmann was a proponent of doing it in a methodical manner, limiting it to two new members annually.

“My perspective was, it’s great to have these people around the table, but it’s much better to have them wishing they were part of the conservation district than being on the conservation district and wishing that they were not there,” he said. “It could just be terribly overwhelming for our staff and for municipalities. If their expectations weren’t met, then you have soured partners and that’s not good.”

As a result of that approach, the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District slowly grew to include the 16 municipal partners it has today.

But it’s the attitude those partners bring that makes it successful according to Bergmann.

“They put on a watershed hat rather than a municipal hat and work for the better of the region,” he said. “I was just delighted with the direction it went.”

Bergmann has seen many projects over this time on the board, but none more challenging than the Forestry Road 13 Water Retention project.

At the time the province wanted to decommission the fire road.

Familiar with the road’s purpose as a firebreak from time spent in the logging industry, Bergmann and other project proponents saw the road as a way to slow water coming out of Sandilands Provincial Forest, allowing for managed flows after high water events.

But the project required massive partnerships including with five municipalities, a neighbouring watershed district and the province.

Not only was work on the road required, but multiple culverts had to be repaired and replaced in the water’s path.

“We felt if we could get those culverts in good condition that they would allow a metred amount of water out of the Sandilands during high water time,” he said.

Five municipalities paid half the $100,000 tab for the work, with the province picking up the rest of the bill. A long term agreement was put in place to pay for maintenance.

Nomination information credits Bergmann with ability to bring people together.

“Art’s ability to connect with people and communicate to a wide variety of partners was always evident around the board room table,” they said.

While Bergmann says the nominators may have been “very generous in their comments” he said it was possible for him to help people get away from thinking locally.

“We convinced people to think regionally,” he said. “You see people that have been neighbours but have not had a relationship all of a sudden strike up a relationship and work in directions that are mutually beneficial. That becomes a real nice place to be.”

Since his tenure ended, Bergmann’s respect for the local organization has only grown.

“I think they’re doing a marvellous job,” he said.

HyLife

Sheldon Stott, Senior Director of Corporate Sustainability said they were overwhelmed to receive the award, describing it as a great honour.

The business that would grow into HyLife began in 1994 in the RM of La Broquerie, the same place the now Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District got its start.

Stott said it’s an honour to have been able to grow alongside them.

“You’re working with a grassroots organization that’s really in touch with the needs of the local landscape and these individuals are residents in these areas, and they really identify those needs at a grassroots level,” he said. “It allows us to contribute meaningfully to the area and to the watershed as a whole.”

HyLife is one of the largest landowners within the area covered by the watershed district and has played an integral role according to the Manitoba Association of Watersheds.

“HyLife’s openness to discussing best management practices and how they can improve the environmental footprint of their operations has led to numerous opportunities for partnership between HyLife and Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District,” they said.

This led to the construction of four water retention projects, the installation of just as many alternative watering systems and numerous dugout and wetland fencing projects.

The award was given for exemplifying sustainable on-farm best management practices in their community and for their outstanding commitment to the health of the watershed.

Stott said their goals fit with those of the watershed.

“I think it’s important for us as citizens of this country and world that we have to build a better environment for ourselves and for our children,” he said. “I think that just parallels everyone’s sentiments, that we want to leave this place better than we inherited it and we’ve set goals to do that.”

While Stott said they appreciate the recognition, he added it’s Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District itself that deserves the most praise.

“They’re really the ones that deserve the most credit because they’re the ones on the ground facilitating and making sure these projects are completed… for the betterment of everyone.”