The Alberta Land Trust Grant Program is giving more than $7 million to support 24 different projects that will conserve 13,000 acres of private land containing watersheds, grasslands and wildlife habitats.

The grants will support projects by the Alberta Conservation Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, 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 at the WineGlass Ranch near Cochrane.

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

Two large parcels of native grassland in southern Alberta will be conserved for future generations with a grant of more than $1.7 million for Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The provincially funded Alberta Land Trust Grant Program, established in 2011, supports projects that conserve ecologically important areas to prevent habitat fragmentation, maintain biodiversity, and preserve native landscapes. This is accomplished through legally binding conservation easements that ensure good stewardship of private land and safeguard against most types of development.

To date, more than $55.7 million worth of grants have helped support the conservation of almost 111,000 acres of land in Alberta.