Living in the Shed: Alberta's North Saskatchewan River Watershed

The following information is copied from the book Living in the Shed except for italicized and bolded text which is information from Marvin Bjornstad. Elk Point Historical Society member Billie Milholland did a lot of work on the maps, tables and illustrations in the book.

While creating Living in the SHED, many people offered moral support, advice and information, as well as editorial and research assistance. Not all information collected could fit into the book. Only a fraction of the rich history and pre-history is mentioned. Many spectacular photographs had to be left out. Additional information and images will be featured on the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance website: www.nswa.ab.ca. If anyone has information or images that could add to this ongoing story, please contact us.

Senior Editor: Eileen Bell

Maps, tables and illustrations by Billie Milholland unless otherwise stated.

The relationship between people and the places where they live, work and play is complex. The light, the seasons, the natural features all contribute to a sense of place. Because urbanization came so quickly to the North Saskatchewan River watershed, not many people retain roots in surrounding rural landscapes. The mountainous vistas in four headwaters subwatersheds may be more familiar to many of us. The other eight have their own, equally spectacular landscapes and fascinating histories that may surprise you. Living in the SHED invites you to explore and fall in love with all 12 subwatersheds.

You may find most information about our local area in the Frog Subwatershed.

The Frog subwatershed covers 562,622 hectares (1390269 acres). The Rannach Provincial Grazing Reserve borders the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River. The St. Paul Provincial Grazing Reserve is 19 km (12 mi) southwest of the Town of St. Paul on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River. The Frog subwatershed includes the municipal boundaries of Smoky Lake, St.Paul, Two Hills, and Vermilion River Counties as well as a small portion of the rural municipality of Bonnyville, Improvement District 18. It also includes the communities of Ashmont, Derwent, Duvernay, Elk Point, Heinsberg, Horseshoe Bay, Lafond, Lindbergh, Myrnam, Spedden, St. Edouard, St. Paul, St. Vincent, Vilna and the First Nations Reserves of Puskiakiwenin 122, Saddle Lake 125, Unipouheous 121, Makaoo 120, Fishing Lake Métis Settlement as well as the south portion of Elizabeth Métis Settlement.

This book is also available from the U of A as a PDF. This is the same PDF copied to this page. 

You can download it by clicking on the link so you can read the entire link.