Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a bitterly cold day with the wind blowing hard from the north and few trees to hide behind. Scott Proudfoot, though, has grown to cherish the wide-open spaces in the Special Areas of southeastern Alberta. “I’ve fallen in love with it out here. It’s one of the last places in the world you can […] Read more
Fostering forage and grasslands in the Special Areas
The region has been hit hard by a multi-year drought so rejuvenating forage stands is a challenge
Ranchers prefer conservation management agreements
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ranchers and farmers in Western Canada prefer conservation management agreements when it comes to protecting habitat, a survey of 200 producers by the University of Waterloo has found. These agreements are usually made with a conservation organization to undertake practices that benefit wildlife. Annual payments for habitat management were the preferred incentive. Market certification (having […] Read more
Film celebrates not just grass, but a special, overlooked habitat
Documentary shines a spotlight on grasslands and why they need to be protected and cherished
Reading Time: 3 minutes Not all superheroes wear capes — some put on work clothes and graze cows. Ranchers are the stars of a new mini-documentary called “Guardians of the Grasslands” and their mission is to protect this fast-disappearing habitat. Three-quarters of the country’s native grasslands have already been lost, and cattle are key to protecting those that remain […] Read more
Agreement shows how ‘cattle and conservation work together’
Ducks Unlimited Canada and Alberta Beef Producers to work together to raise public awareness
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ducks Unlimited Canada and Alberta Beef Producers have signed a three-year agreement to work together to “help Albertans gain a better understanding of how cattle and conservation work together.” The deal to work on joint public awareness campaigns is an acknowledgment their work on issues such as conservation, the environment and sustainable practices is complementary […] Read more
Preserving the land for future generations
Family wanted their operation to be a working ranch while preserving some key natural habitats
Reading Time: < 1 minute It wasn’t prime real estate a century ago, but the Hansen Ranch near Waterton Lakes National Park certainly is now. “When my family first came to this area in the 1920s, this was one of the last places people wanted to settle down,” said Shane Hansen, the third generation to work the land. “The snowfall […] Read more
Land stewardship for the long term
“Regenerating the land is a step ahead of sustaining it,” says one Alberta producer
Reading Time: 7 minutes Tom Towers grew up on stories of plenty and lack. As a boy, his grandfather would tell him about a time when you could take a boat from the family farmstead into town — and in the next breath, about a time it was so dry, you could drop a crowbar down the cracks in […] Read more
Conservation program has lots of love — but not as much money
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: April 20, 2019] An innovative ecosystem services program has grown at “lightning pace” in Alberta over the past three years — but future growth could be limited if ALUS Canada can’t attract additional funds. “We have a waiting list of new communities that would like to join the program, but right now our largest […] Read more
Wetland conservation a ‘win-win’ in dry ranching country
Wetland conservation has changed a lot since TK Ranch began partnering with Ducks Unlimited in 1957
Reading Time: 4 minutes Making a living off the land in Special Areas No. 2 has never been an easy prospect. During the Dirty ’30s, farmers in this little pocket of southeast Alberta were among the hardest hit in the province. And in a dry year, the area isn’t much better off today. There’s very little topsoil, very little […] Read more
Easement creates ‘massive block’ of protected land
Preserved area of White Moose and OH ranches 10 kilometres long and nearly as wide
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s the fulfilment of a long-term dream for rancher Stan Carscallen. “From the day our White Moose Ranch first acquired this breathtaking property in 1992, I knew that we needed to find a way to preserve it in its natural state,” said Carscallen. “We share a three-mile boundary on our south side with the OH […] Read more
Conservation deal ‘the right thing to do’ for historic ranch
Reading Time: 4 minutes When Edith Wearmouth thought of all the reasons why she loved the land her family has farmed for 113 years, it made sense to put part of it into a conservation easement. “When I was growing up here, I took a lot of things for granted — the creeks and the hills and that sort […] Read more
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