Supporting land and water conservation

Post date: Oct 6, 2018 1:19:48 PM

The province is helping conserve 13,000 acres of private land containing vital watersheds, grasslands and wildlife habitats across the province.

Grants will support projects by the Alberta Conservation Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), the Legacy Land Trust Society, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society (SALTS) and Western Sky Land Trust.

SALTS received approximately $2.6 million for five different projects, including one that will protect 1,247 acres of ecologically valuable land at the WineGlass Ranch near Cochrane and Calgary. Home to many elk, deer and large carnivores, the area is under pressure from encroaching residential development. The land has been in the same family for more than 131 years.

Ducks Unlimited Canada will receive nearly $450,000 in grant funding to enhance protection of six parcels of land in central and southern Alberta. These land parcels are made up of key prairie landscapes, including native grassland, wetland and parkland habitats.

Two large parcels of land in southern Alberta will be conserved for future generations with a grant of more than $1.7 million for Nature Conservancy of Canada. Both of these parcels are made up vital native grasslands, which are under increasing pressure from development. These lands support diverse species that call southern Alberta home, including large carnivores, shorebirds and fish.