Planning Area

The Buffalo Lake Integrated Shoreland Management planning area pertains to the shorelands and emergent vegetation found within the Right-of-Way (ROW) boundary which encircles Buffalo Lake. The ROW strip is comprised of approximately 1585 hectares (3917 acres) of land, but its extent (i.e., its actual surface area) will vary based on lake water levels. These ROW shorelands were purchased by the provincial government up to an established “take line” above the bank, which corresponds with an elevation contour of 781.2 meters. These lands may be subject to seasonal or significant flooding as they occur within Buffalo Lake’s 1:100 year flood zone. The ROW varies in width from several meters to several hundred meters, depending on lake water levels and shoreland topography.

It is important to note that the planning area consists of both a “wet” and a “dry” area. The wet area includes the bed and shore of Buffalo Lake and the initial stretch of water that extends into the lake up to a distance of 100 meters from the bank. The wet area encompasses a sizeable portion of the lake’s littoral zone. The dry area consists of the strip of public land that falls within the water management ROW.

The bed and shore of Buffalo Lake are public land (i.e., provincial Crown land) as defined with Alberta’s Public Lands Act. The purchase of shorelands around the lake by the Government of Alberta to establish the water management ROW resulted in the creation of additional (new) public land. This ROW falls under the administrative control and day-to-day management of Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP).  The location of the planning area is shown in Map 1. This map can also be viewed by clicking the map link