Lacombe County continues to take tabs on the current enrivonmental conditions.

The latest State of the Environment Report celebrates strides made to conserve and protect the environment, but it also notes where there are areas for improvement.

Environmental Coordinator Monica Boudreault says they will be expanding the Take it Off Program this year after having much success in a partnership with the Sylvan Lake Management Committee "when they first started after the March 31st deadline, they were finding there was a lot of fish huts still left on the ice in Sylvan Lake and some of these fish huts have anything from gasoline in them to metals and plastics.  So once the Sylvan Lake Management Committee had started the Take it Off Program, last year there was actually no fish huts left on Sylvan Lake.  So now this winter we are bringing this exact same program to Gull Lake".

Boudreault says they will also continue to monitor invasive species and work to educate lake users about the importance of washing and drying their boats in an effort to help preserve the beautiful lake system in Lacombe County.

In Central Alberta air quality standards are above national levels so that's also been a focus for Lacombe County according to Boudreault, with initiatives like an idle reduction campaign, and two new County shops "we built two remote shops in our County so our fleet vehicles will not have to drive all the way back to Lacombe they can go to our remote shops located on the east and west ends of the county.  We're hoping that will have a positive impact and reduce our footprint on the atmosphere".

The State of the Environment Report was launched in 2013 and it's updated annually.

You can visit Lacombe County for a copy.